Noctua updates its flagship NH-D15 CPU cooler

Noctua—a darling of the home PC builder community for its high-quality cooling parts and understated brown aesthetics—has a new flagship CPU cooler. The Austrian company revised its dual-fan NH-D15 design with a collection of engineering improvements that make it quieter, stronger, and even better at air cooling.

The NH-D15 G2 has a lot of subtle design improvements, starting with offset, asymmetrical fin stacks above eight separate heat pipes. These redesigned hunks of metal now offer 20 percent more surface area for cooling via dual 140mm fans, plus a more smoothed-out acoustic profile.

According to Noctua’s promotional video, the cooler is approximately 20 percent better at dissipating heat load at 60 degrees Celsius.

Noctua is offering the NH-D15 G2 in three different configurations:

Standard for AM5 and LGA1700 sockets;HBC (High Base Convexivity) for convex or slightly warped CPUs;LBC (Low Base Convexivity) for flat CPUs with offsets or older AM4, LGA2066, or LGA2011 sockets, as well as custom heatspreaders.

Oh, and they say that the 168mm-tall, 150mm-wide cooler shouldn’t touch a graphics card in the top PCIe slot in standard configurations.

All of them get a redesigned Torx-based mounting system, complete with a screwdriver and Noctua NT-H2 thermal compound included in the box, plus an impressive 6-year warranty.

The NH-D15 G2 is available for purchase right now for a hefty $150, ditto for the HBC and LBC models. Have an older compatible cooler? Noctua will also sell the new NF-A14x25r G2 fans in single and double packs.

Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld

Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he’s the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop “battlestation” in his off hours. Michael’s previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he’s covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he’s always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.

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