Noctua NH-D15 – Still Worthy, 10 Years After Its Release?

With the release of the NH-D15 G2, I had to re-test the original D15, which was released on April 2014, almost ten-years ago. So I thought why not? Let’s see how the D15 fares against the modern competition, before I proceed with the D15 G2 review. 

On April 8th, 2014, Noctua announced the successor of the legendary NH-D14, the NH-D15, which was offered back then at 90 euros and 100 dollars in the respective markets. Almost ten years after the D15 release, Noctua announced the newer model, which keeps the same model number but also adds the “G2” to distinguish it from the previous product. Before I proceed with the NH-D15 G2 models (there are three versions) review, I had to re-test a brand-new NH-D15 to have an accurate reference point, and I thought, why not offer a complete review of it to check how it fares against today’s competition?

Coolers’ technology moves much slower than it does in other PC parts, like GPUs and CPUs, for example. This is why many users still prefer the ten-year-old D15 for their high-end processors. Noctua’s top-notch support offers mounting upgrades and keeps the cooler compatible with all modern sockets.