The NH-D15 G2
On the packaging front, Noctua has made a welcome change to its corporate identity. As you can see, the box visual is very much in the spirit of the times, with a beautiful illustration of the product on a brown background. On the sides and back, we have a reminder of the product’s functions and features.
Inside, the protections are of the highest quality. As you can see, the heatsink is surrounded by lined cardboard reinforcements. Not to mention that the accessory part rests on top.
Heatsink:
Weight and dimensions :
The NH-D15 G2 measures 150 (W) x 152 (D) x 168 (H) mm. Note that the height will also depend on the positioning of the front fan, which will need to be raised if you’re using memory with a high heatsink. Compared with the previous generation, this model is just as wide, shallower, but higher.
Weight-wise, it’s also a heavyweight, weighing in at 1.525 kg. But that’s to be expected, as the brand has increased the heat exchange surface and added more copper with the two extra heat pipes.
Base:
As you can see, the copper base benefits from the same treatment as the brand’s other heatsinks. At least in terms of finish. In fact, the base has been finely machined, so that you’ll barely feel the milling cut when you touch it. Otherwise, the base has a large surface area, measuring 44 x 51 mm.
As we can see, a total of eight 6 mm copper heat pipes each run from this base. It is also eccentric to the left, freeing up the motherboard’s first PCIe slot.
Heatsink:
The double-turn heatsink features two stacks of aluminum fins. Here, we count 58 per stack. We also note that they are particularly tightly packed, unlike the first D15 where they were more widely spaced… But also fewer in number.
The cutout is quite unusual, with three sawtooth shapes at the ends and a small chevron at the midpoint. Finally, on the sides, there are notches for steel fan claws.
We also note that the first seven fins have been shortened to leave as much room as possible for memory: up to 59 mm, although the brand recommends RAM no more than 32 mm high. The aim here is to avoid unnecessarily increasing the height of the heatsink by raising the front fan.
Finish:
As usual with Noctua, the finish is very good, although the company could go further. More and more brands are opting for top covers to hide the unsightly end of heat pipes, which is not the case here. While we imagine that Chromax covers are in the pipeline, they are not yet available.
You’ll also have to be careful not to get your fingers all over the radiator, especially on the sides and top. The brand’s aluminum is a real magnet for fingerprints.
Compatibility :
In terms of compatibility, Noctua states that its cooler can be mounted on the following motherboards:
- Intel: LGA-115x – LGA-1200 – LGA-1700 – LGA-1851
- AMD: AM4 – AM5
Since Intel no longer produces an HEDT platform, and AMD’s is… Particular, we find here only compatibility for so-called ” mainstream ” sockets. Furthermore, Noctua has already announced compatibility with Intel’s future LGA-1851, which, as a reminder, offers no change in dimensions compared with the LGA-1700.
Fan :
Ventilation is provided here by two 140 mm fans: NF-A15x25r G2. We’re back to new-generation fans where there are things to say (which will be said in a presentation article).
In the meantime, the fans feature a round frame with rubberized silentblocks. These are identical to those on the NF-A15, making them compatible with the colored NA-SAVP3.
As for the blades, there are nine of them, with a slim profile. The curvature is unusual, to say the least, with a break in the middle. Finally, at the tips of the blades we find the Flow Acceleration Channels found on NF-A fans. Otherwise, like the NF-A12x25, the gap between the blade tips and the frame has been reduced to a minimum, in this case 0.7 mm.
Connections are provided by a single cable terminating in a four-pin PWM-type fan connector. The cable has a thick black sleeve and is 20 cm long.
Let’s finish with the features. Here, we’re dealing with rather slow mills, running at a maximum of 1500 rpm. At full throttle, the airflow announced by the brand is 155.6 m3/h (91.58 CFM), while static pressure reaches 2.56 mmH2O.
However, if you’re sensitive to noise, you can always use an L.N.A. type speed reducer. Once connected, fan speed drops to 1250 rpm, air flow to 127.1 m3/h (74.81 CFM) and pressure to 1.3 mmH2O.
The bundle:
The accessory part, housed in a cardboard box, includes :
- Assembly instructions
- A set of washers for socket LGA-1700
- NA-TPG1 to avoid getting paste all over your Ryzen 7000
- A cleaning cloth
- Noctua Torx screwdriver
- NT-H2 thermal paste syringe
- A splitter for two fans
- LNA adapter
- Noctua badge
- AMD screws and mounting brackets
- Intel screws and mounting brackets
- Intel multi-socket backplate
With this accessory part, Noctua has gone very far, reminding us of Cryorig at the time. Everything is there, you have absolutely everything you need to mount your heatsink, no need for paper towels to remove the old paste from your CPU, nothing! Clearly, it’s great to see accessory parts like this, but let’s not forget that the NH-D15 G2 retails for €150!
Roughly speaking:
In broad terms, the NH-D15 G2 looks very good, but is still imposing, so be careful with the height of your RAM if you don’t want to raise the first fan. Likewise, the aluminum finish will be sensitive to fingerprints, so avoid touching visible parts, or else wear gloves. Finally, be careful with dimensions: not all cases are 168 mm high monsters!
