Potential Noctua NH-D15 purchase

-Ice · Nov 29, 2015

I'm planning to buy a i5 6600K + Gigabyte Gaming 7 + Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 16GB setup and just realized that if I'm passing my CPU/motherboard/ram setup to my son, I'd need a new CPU cooler as well. My cooler currently is a CM Hyper 212 Evo which, for the price, I am very happy with.

Since I'm splurging a bit with my planned build, I thought I might as well do the same for the cooler. For almost 3x more in price, I have been looking at the Noctua NH-D15 at £70. Is there any other cooler I should be considering that is along the £60-80 price range (maybe even £90) that can give the D15 a run for its money? Most reviews I see, the D15 is among the top contenders in terms of cooling and low noise levels, but I have only been looking at coolers for the past 2 days so I'm asking here in case I missed something.

Thanks!

ATMINSIDE · Nov 29, 2015

What case is it going in?

Joe88 · Nov 29, 2015

I assume the Corsair Carbide 500R

ATMINSIDE · Nov 29, 2015

Joe88 said:
I assume the Corsair Carbide 500R

He said he's passing the current rig to his son, I assumed the 500R would go to the son and a new case would be bought.

Silver_Pharaoh · Nov 29, 2015

What about the Reeven Ouranos?

-Ice · Nov 30, 2015

Yeah, I'm keeping my case. I have the Corsair Carbide 500R and my son's case is my old Antec 300.

ATMINSIDE · Nov 30, 2015

In the price range you're looking, I'm not aware of a better cooler.
You have plenty of clearance in your case too :thup:

-Ice · Nov 30, 2015

What would you say is a better cooler without breaking the bank? What's the next step up from the D15?

ATMINSIDE · Nov 30, 2015

To get better you'd have to step into the AIO world.
Even then you'll only pick up a couple °C, but it'll be ~10dBa louder and cost a decent bit more.

Single rad AIO's need not apply, the only ones that are worth it are 240mm and 280mm.
Something like a Swiftech H220-x.

-Ice · Nov 30, 2015

So Swiftech H220-X is the next "step up"? Wow.

The Noctua NH-D15 is listed at £69.78. The Swiftech H220-X is listed at £144.98. More than double the price. I guess this has gone into "single GPU vs. SLI/Crossfire" territory wherein doubling the cost (SLI/Crossfire dual GPU) does not equate into doubling the performance.

ATMINSIDE · Nov 30, 2015

You'll definitely be adding an extra £50 to only gain 1-2°C.

And only 1-2°C behind the NH-D15 is the NH-D14, which has been around for ages.
You might be able to find one of those for a decent price difference from the D15.

-Ice · Nov 30, 2015

It's a £9 difference between the D14 and the D15 so I'm not too bothered about that. Thanks for sharing your insight!

ATMINSIDE · Nov 30, 2015

Yeah, that's not as much difference as I'd hoped for you.
Maybe you could find a nice used D14 out there?

Either way, you'll have an awesome cooler

-Ice · Nov 30, 2015

I wouldn't put a 2nd-hand cooler on a brand-new 6600K... that's disrespectful

Kenrou · Dec 1, 2015

And as owner to a NH-D15 i can tell you it's totally worth it, hand-in-hand with the top AIOS's like ATMINSIDE said and a whole lot quieter, easy to install and everything you will ever need as long as you don't pass ~1.45v (which i am sure you wont with a Skylake)

ATMINSIDE · Dec 1, 2015

Kenrou said:
And as owner to a NH-D15 i can tell you it's totally worth it, hand-in-hand with the top AIOS's like ATMINSIDE said and a whole lot quieter, easy to install and everything you will ever need as long as you don't pass ~1.45v (which i am sure you wont with a Skylake)

Kenrou, vCore limits for you on AMD FX don't cross over to other platforms.

Ice, please don't come near 1.45V on your Skylake system. That's way too high to be safe for daily usage.

Kenrou · Dec 1, 2015

ATMINSIDE said:
Kenrou, vCore limits for you on AMD FX don't cross over to other platforms.

Ice, please don't come near 1.45V on your Skylake system. That's way too high to be safe for daily usage.

I know they don't, thats why i said it

How much clearer can i be - "don't pass ~1.45v (which i am sure you wont with a Skylake)"

ATMINSIDE · Dec 1, 2015

Kenrou said:
I know they don't, thats why i said it How much clearer can i be - "don't pass ~1.45v (which i am sure you wont with a Skylake)"

Because you shouldn't even think about being near 1.45V (for daily use) on Skylake... or Haswell... or Ivy Bridge... or Sandy Bridge...

You could be plenty more clear by not citing a voltage that's not well outside the "safe zone" for his CPU, but is typical for your FX system.

Kenrou · Dec 1, 2015

Kenrou said:
which i am sure you wont with a Skylake

ATMINSIDE · Dec 1, 2015

Kenrou said:

You can bang your head however much you want, but the comment still reads like 1.45V should be considered for Skylake at times.
That CPU should never see over 1.35V for 24/7 usage. How about citing safe voltages for the CPU at hand instead of normal voltages from other CPU's.

Potential Noctua NH-D15 purchase

Member

Sim Racing Aficionado Co-Owner

Member

Sim Racing Aficionado Co-Owner

Likes the big ones n00b Member

Member

Sim Racing Aficionado Co-Owner

Member

Sim Racing Aficionado Co-Owner

Member

Sim Racing Aficionado Co-Owner

Member

Sim Racing Aficionado Co-Owner

Member

Member

Sim Racing Aficionado Co-Owner

Member

Sim Racing Aficionado Co-Owner

Member

Sim Racing Aficionado Co-Owner

Similar threads