The NH-D15 G2 is a heatsink we’ve been waiting for for so long… It’s true that it took 10 years for the NH-D15 to get a successor. Indeed, the original D15, in its brown/beige color, saw the light of day in 2014. Then, in 2019, it came in black. In short, after all this time, Noctua has finally managed to launch its new model, which is now being tested in its standard version. Is the successor assured?
Presentation:
Noctua’s NH-D family is renowned for its performance, silence and, above all, its imposing stature. With this new generation, the Austrian brand is introducing three different heatsinks with different basic profiles. These are the :
- LBC(Low Base Convexity): for CPUs with flatIHS, such as Ryzen AM5s without offset mounting (more on this later), or Intel LGA-2000s.
- Standard: the all-purpose model.
- HBC (High Base Convexity): a version optimized for LGA-1700 or CPUs whoseIHS has been deformed under socket pressure, giving it a concave shape.
The brand also offers some very interesting documentation on the subject:
The new features of this heatsink include a revised structure. In addition to the base, which offers different profiles depending on the platform on which it will be mounted, the D15 features an improved number of heat pipes. These have been increased from six to eight. As for the dissipation surface, this has been improved by 20%, corresponding to the addition of 23 extra fins. Moreover, the fins are tighter together: 1.6 mm instead of 1.9 mm.
In spite of this, the company has kept the footprint of its cooler in mind. To achieve this, we find an eccentric copper base, the aim being not to cover the first PCIe slot. If you can simply raise the fan for RAM, you can’t cut the heatsink in half for a graphics card!
As far as mounting is concerned, it’s got everything you need for a all scenarios. Noctua supplies washers to reduce the pressure exerted by the LGA-1700 socket locking system. The heatsink can be mounted offset on socket AM5, so that the base is centered on the CCDs, not to mention the easy-to-use SecuFirm2 mechanism and long-term support. Because when you buy Noctua, you get free compatibility updates – you just have to pay the bills.
Last but not least, Noctua is equipping its cooler with its new top-of-the-range 140 mm fans, the NF-A14x25r G2. These fans are designed for high performance without making too much noise. To this end, we’ve made a number of improvements, but we’ll come back to these in a special report dedicated to these fans.
All that’s left is to talk about the sale price, which has seriously increased! On Amazon, via the brand’s official store, the price is €150. In fact, we can only recommend that you go through them, as other stores are more expensive.
