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France, Paris
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500 Review
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Review on Noctua NH-D15S Dual-Tower CPU Cooler with NF-A15 PWM Fan - Premium Brown Edition by Lisa Ramirez

Revainrating 5 out of 5

The best CPU cooler I've ever had!

This CPU cooler is outstanding! I have OCD and carefully research and review dozens if not hundreds of coolers and AIOs. Different combinations, different fans, everything. I've been researching the AIO 280-360mm for ages and originally wanted to work with it. I didn't bother with 240s because I knew they could do better without worrying about leaks. After reviewing tests, watching videos, and comparing aesthetics and price, I settled on this one. Noctua NH-D15S. This is the best conditioner money can buy. It works just as well as any AIO and you don't have to worry about water around your expensive components. Although leaks are rare, they do happen. Air coolers never leak! The S version of the DH15 is more compatible with the top GPU slot and also allows for more RAM. My only issue with the cooler was the looks as the S version doesn't have a Chromax Black version like the regular N-DH15. To solve my visual issue, I ordered a Chromax Black 140mm fan instead of the fan that came in the box. Then I ordered an additional Noctua Chromax Black Slim 120*15mm fan. Thus, the cooler can have dual fans and still maintain excellent compatibility with the GPU and RAM while providing additional cooling efficiency. I also got the Noctua Chromax Black heatsink caps for the cooler. You can see in the photo I uploaded this N-DH15s looks amazing with Chromax fans and heatsink caps! I chose the black and blue theme, but you can choose any of the 6 included colors that you like. The cooler itself was packaged very well. All of the Noctua products I ordered, including several Y Chromax Black and Blue cables, a cooler, 140mm and 120mm fans and heatsink shrouds, weren't the best packaging I've ever received. The installation process was the easiest I have ever experienced installing a cooler. So simple, you attach two small rods and the cooler is screwed into place at two points with the supplied L-shaped screwdriver. It also comes with a low noise adapter, premium extension cable, premium thermal grease, extra fan clips, and 3 separate instruction booklets for different platforms. The cooler works great! I'm definitely a lifelong Noctua fan. The 140mm fan maxes out at around 1500RPM, while the slim 120mm fan maxes out at around 1900RPM. During long gaming sessions, both run at around 1000RPM and I can't hear her at all. Even during the Prime95 stress test at maximum RPM, it's still very quiet and I can only hear it if I put my ear to the case next to it, which is just the sound of air being pushed through it. As for gaming temps, no matter how much my overclocked Ryzen 3600X exceeds 63C! Both fans run at around 1000 rpm and the speed is around 50-60%. In a stress test with 100% load per core, my RAM (32GB, 3600MHz) and GPU (RTX 2070 Super) were maxed out and this thing is still keeping my CPU at 68-70C! It's just crazy. It's such high quality, very easy to install, looks amazing (if you have the right accessories) and is one of the most efficient CPU coolers you can buy if you count AIOs! I only use one 140mm fan and one thin 120mm fan, so with two 140mm fans you get even more power! The height of the cooler with radiators is approx. 165 mm. This adds 5mm to the height, so keep that in mind. My case can accommodate coolers that are 166mm tall or less and will fit mine easily. This cooler is great and if it fits your case then you should stop looking and just buy it. It can handle whatever you have with ease. Check out my photos to see what it looks like when everyone is together. One final note: Noctua's NT-H1 thermal paste is included, which is amazing, but I've always used Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut, so I used that as well. This is the best high performance paste you can buy but the materials included are more than good enough and a great paste too. Just something to watch out for if your temp differs from mine. I also have a full mesh case with amazing airflow, that's about it. IMHO the best cooler. If it suits your occasion, buy it!

Pros
  • Fingers crossed
Cons
  • Lots

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