The Noctua NH-D15 is widely regarded as one the best CPU coolers in the world thanks to its combination of incredible cooling performance and whisper quiet operation, and now it finally has a successor. The Noctua NH-D15 G2 incorporates a decade of research and development, fine-tuning the original’s formula to provide even more cooling capacity with even lower noise.
In our Noctua NH-D15 review we noted that its six heatpipes and two massive 140mm fans combine to make it the single best CPU cooler on the planet, at least as far as conventional air coolers go. You can get even more cooling performance with all-in-one liquid coolers and custom water-cooling but those are pricey and often noisier options.
The new Noctua NH-D15 G2 ups the ante on its predecessor in one very obvious way, which is that it goes from having six to eight heatpipes. These small copper tubes use a liquid that continually evaporates from your CPUs heat then cools down and liquifies again at the heatsink, pulling heat away from the CPU. Using capillary action, the liquid then is drawn back to the CPU plate to be heated again in a continuous loop.
The move to eight heatpipes immediately enhances the ability of the cooler to quickly pull heat away from your CPU where it can be dissipated by the huge heatsink and fans.
Other enhancements include the use of new NF-A14x25r G2 fans which incorporate a host of design tweaks such as a progressive bend impeller with a centrifugal turbulator hub and winglets. These features help the fan “push more air towards the outer blade areas where efficiency is higher” as well as ensuring even loading across the blade, to keep it from distorting.
The NH-D15 G2 uses these new fans in conjunction with a reconfigured heatsink fin stack that uses a 5mm thinner stack on the front to balance the overall load with the middle fan in the push-pull fan configuration used. The higher pressure/airflow performance of the new fans also allows Noctua to reduce the spacing between the fins from 1.9mm to 1.6mm.
As a result, the NH-D15 G2 shows a slightly disappointingly small difference in performance to the G1 cooler. So good was that cooler that the G2 will only “typically translate into a 2-3°C temperature reduction” compared to the G1 with current CPUs. That said, Noctua’s tests show it does have significantly more overall thermal dissipation capacity, being able to dissipate 620W compared to the G1’s 460W for a sustained 15-minute load.
The new cooler is available in three main versions, with Noctua’s signature brown and beige color scheme the only option right now. There’s the standard base plate version then one with a high base plate curve (HBC) that’s optimized for use with Intel 13th and 14th gen CPUs that benefit from the center of the cooler pushing down harder on the CPU. There’s also a low base curve (LBC) version that’s good for AMD AM5 CPUs or other flat CPUS such as AM4, LGA2066, LGA2011, and lapped or custom flat heatspreaders.
So how much will this marvel of CPU cooling set you back? A lot. With an MSRP of $150, it’s one of the most expensive non-liquid-based coolers you can buy. But, if you want the best – especially if you don’t care too much about internal PC aesthetics – its performance is unlikely to be beaten. You can already buy the new cooler on retailers such as Amazon US and Amazon UK.
If you’re not keen on quite such a pricey CPU cooler, check out the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo, which has enough cooling capacity for low to mid-range CPUs while costing just $40. Or check out our best AIO CPU cooler guide for more pricey options that have even more cooling capacity than the Noctua and make for better-looking PCs.