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63 About this deal
Now, let’s pull out this heatsink and take a look. I took this picture upside down, so let’s see the NH-D15S rightside-up. Yup. It is definitely asymmetric. NH-D15S vs NH-D15.The first chart below appears to show that the NH-D15S cools 3 °C better than the NH-D15. Relax. What this chart shows is that when you mount heatsinks, your mounts can vary. In fact, you are well-advised to mount and test your cooling, then remount and retest. Stop only when you have arrived at a really good mount.
The picture on the right shows a standard NH-D15. See how close it stands to the network card in the first slot. In the picture on the right, we can see how the NH-D15S stands a centimeter to the left. One aspect of Noctua’s heatsinks has not changed: the NH-D15S like the –D15, the –C14S, the -D14 and others, all use the SecuFirm system. If you mount one heatsink, you can swap it for another Noctua heatsink in minutes. They make a reviewer’s job much easier. NH-D15S Pros Noctua also sent out a Noctua NA-HC4 chromax.white heatsink cover kit for the D15S. The chromax series of heatsink covers is one of those rare ideas that takes an existing flagship product and without altering it, improves upon it without compromising the products’ greatest qualities.Attach the fan to the cooler as previously, making sure it is facing the desired direction ( airflow arrows can be seen on the side of the fan). Connect the fan to the 4-pin PWM connector once it’s been installed.
Having forged their reputation on amazing performance, exceptional quality, and ultra-low noise levels, Noctua stands out as a premier manufacturer of PC-cooling products. Their can't-miss color scheme of tan and brown may not be to everyone's taste, but it does make them stand out. In fact, just about anyone who has ever built a PC can spot a Noctua product. That awareness paired with the knowledge that they offer some of the best warranty and after-sales support of any PC-cooling company has certainly garnered them a great deal of favor among enthusiasts. Well, that and their long-lived support. Upon removing the heatsink covers, you’ll notice a gray fixture on the underside of each cover. If you pull away in the corner, the fixture will come off as you break the connection of the magnets holding it in place.
Conclusion
Noctua has released its NH-D15S to stand alongside its NH-D15. The NH-D15 is a huge heatsink, a full 15cm wide. The NH-D15S looks like the D15’s twin, also 15cm wide. Where do the two differ? The NH-D15S is moved over to make more room for the first PCIe slot, and it comes with one fan, not two – this keeps the price down. Otherwise they are the same heatsink. Think of the NH-D15S as the high-compatibility version of this heatsink. The single fan configuration gets you a highly capable dual tower cooler with very good RAM and PCIe compatibility. You can add a second fan according to your preference, be it a another NF-A15 if you use standard height RAM or a 120 mm if you need more space. The idea was to give customers more flexibility in configuring the cooler to their needs, be it for maximum compatibility or maximum performance. So let’s look at this heatsink. The NH-D15S is at least as good as its predecessor, the NH-D15. It accomplishes Noctua’s main aims of making more room for a 1 st-slot card, bringing down the cost of the cooler, and making this heatsink truly compatible with tall RAM. The front of the box displays the fan’s specs as well as a small picture of the fan outfitted with the different colored anti-vibration pads. It also displays the included pad colors next to the fan. If we installed a 2 nd fan, the D15S might even surpass an AIO. So, if you are after the highest possible performance and feel you must have an AIO to attain it, think again. We utilized an Intel Core i7-10700K for this test and used the factory CPU settings of 3.8GHz at 100% load to put the cooler to the test. The second and third tests were performed with an OC stage of 4.7GHz and 5.0GHz, respectively. We wanted to see how well the Noctua NH-D15S performed in standard and high-end OC modes.
The customization Noctua now provides with their chromax line further strengthens their already strong lineup of industry leading fans and heatsinks. Noctua NA-HC4 chromax.white Review Finally, a second box under the fan tray has the additional anti-vibration pads necessary for installation in every color. There are also four mounting screws if the fan is to be installed in a case. A low-noise adapter is also included. The Noctua NH-D15S is a fantastic value. Yes, it’s a bit more expensive but it’s well worth the investment. Not only does it rival AIOs in performance, it does so while maintaining a much lower noise profile. Plus, this heatsink can be carried over every time you upgrade or rebuild your computer. Lastly, Noctua brings a level of quality to the table that few manufacturers can match. The NH-D15S is no exception and its 6-year warranty is among the highest in the industry. In essence, I tried to do all the things you might find logical to try. I used two different mounts to compare the cooling. I mounted the NH-D15S a third time with the fans blowing up – I had recently tested the NH-C14S heatsink and found a 5 degree difference in cooling, depending on how I mounted it. So I tried this vertical mount to see if it made a difference in how well the D15S cooled. The results are presented in different charts to keep the different mounts separate. The stress tests were carried out with AIDA64 Extreme. We went with the Thermaltake View 71t instead of an open-bench setup. Three intake fans are located in the front of the Thermaltake View 71t, while one exhaust fan is located at the rear.
Unboxing & Overview
You prefer low noise levels: This cooler is equipped with a quality NF-A15 fan for improved and quieter performance, making it ideal for users who prefer a quieter PC environment. The box for the Noctua NA-HC4 chromax.white maintains the same aesthetic as other Noctua product boxes and displays the compatible heatsink model numbers on the front. The next picture shows you how you can fit a 140 mm fan (an NF-A15 in this case) as a push fan and still not interfere with your RAM – as long as you use low profile RAM. Finally, slide a cover over each fixture and the magnets do the rest. It’s that easy! You don’t have to detach the fan and can even do this while the heatsink is installed on the motherboard. Amazing!
The Noctua D15S is a most capable heatsink and it shows exactly why AIOs have not replaced traditional CPU cooling solutions. Plus, there is literally no maintenance with the D15S. Yes, AIOs don’t require maintenance but the liquid mixture inside them does eventually breakdown and they have been known to fail and even ruin systems with water going everywhere. These situations are rare but nevertheless do occur. Conclusion
However, even more impressive is our 79° temperature during 100% load! Just as with our idle temperatures, the D15S stayed in range of a high-quality 240mm liquid cooling unit, no pump noise necessary! Because Noctua provides only a single fan with this heatsink, if you have tall RAM you can use the money you saved and buy a 12cm fan. But really, there is no need for tall RAM in these days of 1.5v and 1.35v memory (even lower with DDR4). Buy low profile or ultra-low profile RAM. Inside you’ll find the instructions, two white heatsink covers and two steel clips. Before I get into the installation, I must give kudos to Noctua for the excellent design of these covers. Not only do they look stunning but they way they are installed is ingenious! The comparator heatsink was the Noctua NH-D15. Each Heatsink was mounted with a 6 mm blob of NT-H1 TIM. Each time a heatsink was mounted, the TIM was allowed a day to fully spread before the temperature tests were run. You want extra RAM clearance: If you have high-profile RAM modules and need a cooler that provides ample clearance for your RAM slots, the Noctua NH-D15S is an excellent choice due to its asymmetrical design.
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