NH-D15 Vs D15S - Cooling - Linus Tech Tips

• Triboal

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Hello guys,

First off, apologies if this question sounds silly but I just wanted to check with the wider community for advice.

I have decided to switch from my H115i AIO (selling to a friend) to an air cooler. I actually always really liked the Noctua line-up and wanted to go for the best of the best as it's in my budget (~£80) and I want to stick to a reliable and long lasting air cooler moving forward. I initially purchased the NH-D15 from Amazon, however, I am debating returning it (at no cost and it's currently unopened as I search for a nice case to house it in) and getting the D15S version. I feel like it will increase my motherboard options in future builds due to its asymmetric heat sink aiding with this compatibility flexibility moving forward. I also get to save a little bit of money which is nice too but it's only marginal.

The cheapest I can get a D15S is £66 on Amazon UK, the D15 cost me £78 also from Amazon UK. 

My question is: are the cooling performances of both air coolers the same if you equalize the fan factor (i.e. only the one fan installed in-between the heat sinks in both the default D15S setup and with one fan removed from the default D15 setup)? I know I can look at the CPU cooler performance list and see that the D15 is one tier higher than the D15S but I assumed this has more to do with the extra included Noctua fan of the D15. The CPU I'm looking to cool is my 3700X but also eventually looking at upgrading to a 12 or 16-core part in the future, either Zen 2 or Zen 2+/3, to cool.

What do you guys think? I know it seems silly but I have the cooler and it's unopened so I can still exchange without losing money whilst getting something that may be more motherboard friendly in the future. All advice is appreciated.

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• Energycore

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I'd say the amount of money you save is definitely worth it. The techpowerup review showed the D15S getting only 1 degree less performance than the D15.

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/noctua-nh-d15s/8.html

Adding a second fan puts is exactly in the same place as the D15, as per the review. Of course if you do that, you'll have to buy the fan which kills your savings. imo running it with one fan will be just fine as far as performance goes, the only reason I'd consider getting the other fan is for aesthetics.

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Computer Specs:

Mathresolvermajig: Intel Xeon E3 1240 (Sandy Bridge i7 equivalent)

Chillinmachine: Noctua NH-C14S Framepainting-inator: EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC2 Hybrid

Attachcorethingy: Gigabyte H61M-S2V-B3

Infoholdstick: Corsair 2x4GB DDR3 1333

Computerarmor: Silverstone RL06 "Lookalike"

Rememberdoogle: 1TB HDD + 120GB TR150 + 240 SSD Plus + 1TB MX500

AdditionalPylons: Phanteks AMP! 550W (based on Seasonic GX-550)

Letterpad: Rosewill Apollo 9100 (Cherry MX Red)

Buttonrodent: Razer Viper Mini + Huion H430P drawing Tablet

Auralnterface: Sennheiser HD 6xx

Liquidrectangles: LG 27UK850-W 4K HDR

• WoodenMarker and Zando_
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• Triboal

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7 minutes ago, Energycore said:

I'd say the amount of money you save is definitely worth it. The techpowerup review showed the D15S getting only 1 degree less performance than the D15.

 

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/noctua-nh-d15s/8.html

 

Adding a second fan puts is exactly in the same place as the D15, as per the review. Of course if you do that, you'll have to buy the fan which kills your savings. imo running it with one fan will be just fine as far as performance goes, the only reason I'd consider getting the other fan is for aesthetics.

It may also help with RAM compatibility as I'm running Corsair Dominator Platinum sticks so instead of swapping those out for some Vengeance LPX I have running about I can just go with the D15S, lose one degree performance which is nothing really and keep my current RAM sticks. If it's only one degree difference then I'm not too bothered about getting a second fan although aesthetically I do agree it looks better but arguably that can be something I can add at any time in the future.

Thanks for the help. 

• WoodenMarker and Energycore
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• Tonberry

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34 minutes ago, GeLi said:

It may also help with RAM compatibility as I'm running Corsair Dominator Platinum sticks so instead of swapping those out for some Vengeance LPX I have running about I can just go with the D15S, lose one degree performance which is nothing really and keep my current RAM sticks. If it's only one degree difference then I'm not too bothered about getting a second fan although aesthetically I do agree it looks better but arguably that can be something I can add at any time in the future.

 

Thanks for the help. 

Your options are these,

1. Buy D15 which has 2 fans, and take off the front fan to be the D15S in term of performance and RAM clearance but without better PCIE clearance.

2. Buy D15S which has only 1 fan and better PCIE & RAM clearance out of the box, but get the hassle and extra cost later to get a second fan for it to be the D15 in term of performance. This will give you a D15 with better PCIE clearance with little hassle and put extra cost later, while if you buy D15, it's a top tier performance out of the box without any hassle while put an early extra cost. Need better RAM clearance while having the D15? Just take off the front fan, and you get the D15S in no time, you only lose the PCIE clearance which is not a big deal.

Compare both total cost, between D15 vs D15S by adding the second fan. Does they cost the same in total or not?

I think the D15S by adding the second fan will be more expensive than the D15 because the PCIE clearance on the D15S.

Your call..

SILVER GLINT

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X || Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 I Aorus Pro WiFi || Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 3600 MHz || GPU: Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT || Storage: Intel 660P Series || PSU: Corsair SF600 Platinum || Case: Phanteks Evolv Shift TG Modded || Cooling: EKWB ZMT Tubing, Velocity Strike RGB, Vector RX 5700 +XT Special Edition, EK-Quantum Kinetic FLT 120 DDC, and EK Fittings || Fans: Noctua NF-F12 (2x), NF-A14, NF-A12x15

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• Triboal

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5 minutes ago, PotatoCanDo! said:

Your options are these,

 

1. Buy D15 which has 2 fans, and take off the front fan to be the D15S in term of performance and RAM clearance but without better PCIE clearance.

 

2. Buy D15S which has only 1 fan and better PCIE & RAM clearance out of the box, but get the hassle and extra cost later to get a second fan for it to be the D15 in term of performance. This will give you a D15 with better PCIE clearance with little hassle and put extra cost later, while if you buy D15, it's a top tier performance out of the box without any hassle while put an early extra cost. Need better RAM clearance while having the D15? Just take off the front fan, and you get the D15S in no time, you only lose the PCIE clearance which is not a big deal.

 

Your call..

I see what you mean and I understand it goes both ways: I can just keep the D15, remove the front fan and get the RAM clearance without worrying about getting another Noctua fan in the future should I feel the need to improve CPU cooling. My main concern is PCIe clearance because I'm worried about being in a position in the future where my choice in motherboards is dictated by PCIe clearance. Sure, I could move the GPU to the second slot but that's not really a solution considering not all motherboards run both PCIe at x16 (unless I'm mistaken which if so, please correct me) because SLI is pretty much dead. D15S offers total flexibility in this and all other departments with a minimal performance hit (1 degree).

I'm not trying to sound like I've made my mind up, I'm just trying to think of reasons why the D15S is a better option and seeing if there are good counter-arguments which validate me keeping my D15. Thanks for your feedback!

• WoodenMarker and Tonberry
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• Zando_

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1 minute ago, GeLi said:

I'm not trying to sound like I've made my mind up, I'm just trying to think of reasons why the D15S is a better option and seeing if there are good counter-arguments which validate me keeping my D15. Thanks for your feedback!

No reasons to get the D15 over the D15S I can think of unless you just want 2 fans. Not much of a difference between one or two fans on my NH-D15S except for the times I've had it in cramped cases or a wack orientation, if you install it normally and have airflow it's fine with one fan. 

Gaming PC NAS Laptop Workstation

CPU: i5 12600KF 6P+4E Ryzen 7 3700X M4 SoC 4P+6E Xeon X5690 6c12t

Cooler: Noctua NH-D15S Wraith Stealth w/NF-A9 Passive Apple CPU Cooler

Motherboard: ASRock Z690 ITX/ax ASUS Pro B550M-C/CSM Apple J713AP Mac-F221BEC8 (Mac Pro 5,1)

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OS: Gentoo Linux TrueNAS Scale macOS 26 Tahoe Fedora Linux

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Mouse: EVGA X17

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• Tonberry
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• Energycore

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16 minutes ago, PotatoCanDo! said:

Your options are these,

 

1. Buy D15 which has 2 fans, and take off the front fan to be the D15S in term of performance and RAM clearance but without better PCIE clearance.

 

2. Buy D15S which has only 1 fan and better PCIE & RAM clearance out of the box, but get the hassle and extra cost later to get a second fan for it to be the D15 in term of performance. This will give you a D15 with better PCIE clearance with little hassle and put extra cost later, while if you buy D15, it's a top tier performance out of the box without any hassle while put an early extra cost. Need better RAM clearance while having the D15? Just take off the front fan, and you get the D15S in no time, you only lose the PCIE clearance which is not a big deal.

 

Compare both total cost, between D15 vs D15S by adding the second fan. Does they cost the same in total or not?

 

I think the D15S by adding the second fan will be more expensive than the D15 because the PCIE clearance on the D15S.

 

Your call..

The D15S also has an offset fin stack to help with RAM and GPU clearance. It's not just the D15 without one fan

We have a NEW and GLORIOUSER-ER-ER PSU Tier List Now. (dammit @LukeSavenije stop coming up with new ones)

You can check out the old one that gave joy to so many across the land here

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Computer Specs:

Mathresolvermajig: Intel Xeon E3 1240 (Sandy Bridge i7 equivalent)

Chillinmachine: Noctua NH-C14S Framepainting-inator: EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC2 Hybrid

Attachcorethingy: Gigabyte H61M-S2V-B3

Infoholdstick: Corsair 2x4GB DDR3 1333

Computerarmor: Silverstone RL06 "Lookalike"

Rememberdoogle: 1TB HDD + 120GB TR150 + 240 SSD Plus + 1TB MX500

AdditionalPylons: Phanteks AMP! 550W (based on Seasonic GX-550)

Letterpad: Rosewill Apollo 9100 (Cherry MX Red)

Buttonrodent: Razer Viper Mini + Huion H430P drawing Tablet

Auralnterface: Sennheiser HD 6xx

Liquidrectangles: LG 27UK850-W 4K HDR

• freeagent and Zando_
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• Tonberry

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14 minutes ago, Energycore said:

The D15S also has an offset fin stack to help with RAM and GPU clearance. It's not just the D15 without one fan

That is exactly what I said. You just cant understand it clearly..

GPU clearance = PCIE clearance

D15S RAM clearance = D15 without front fan

SILVER GLINT

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X || Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 I Aorus Pro WiFi || Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 3600 MHz || GPU: Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT || Storage: Intel 660P Series || PSU: Corsair SF600 Platinum || Case: Phanteks Evolv Shift TG Modded || Cooling: EKWB ZMT Tubing, Velocity Strike RGB, Vector RX 5700 +XT Special Edition, EK-Quantum Kinetic FLT 120 DDC, and EK Fittings || Fans: Noctua NF-F12 (2x), NF-A14, NF-A12x15

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• Tonberry

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27 minutes ago, GeLi said:

I see what you mean and I understand it goes both ways: I can just keep the D15, remove the front fan and get the RAM clearance without worrying about getting another Noctua fan in the future should I feel the need to improve CPU cooling. My main concern is PCIe clearance because I'm worried about being in a position in the future where my choice in motherboards is dictated by PCIe clearance. Sure, I could move the GPU to the second slot but that's not really a solution considering not all motherboards run both PCIe at x16 (unless I'm mistaken which if so, please correct me) because SLI is pretty much dead. D15S offers total flexibility in this and all other departments with a minimal performance hit (1 degree).

 

I'm not trying to sound like I've made my mind up, I'm just trying to think of reasons why the D15S is a better option and seeing if there are good counter-arguments which validate me keeping my D15. Thanks for your feedback!

Doesnt have PCIE clearance vs lose 1C?

I'd choose losing 1C, so D15S is my personal choice.

Why? Because air cooler is tend to last very very long time than liquid cooler. And losing 1C is negligible for having a PCIE clearance for next decade to be comfortably open to any future motherboards with their each PCIE positioning which might incompatible with D15. So D15S is a better bet.

SILVER GLINT

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X || Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 I Aorus Pro WiFi || Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 3600 MHz || GPU: Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT || Storage: Intel 660P Series || PSU: Corsair SF600 Platinum || Case: Phanteks Evolv Shift TG Modded || Cooling: EKWB ZMT Tubing, Velocity Strike RGB, Vector RX 5700 +XT Special Edition, EK-Quantum Kinetic FLT 120 DDC, and EK Fittings || Fans: Noctua NF-F12 (2x), NF-A14, NF-A12x15

• WoodenMarker and Triboal
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• Triboal

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4 minutes ago, PotatoCanDo! said:

Doesnt have PCIE clearance vs lose 1C?

I'd choose losing 1C, so D15S is my personal choice.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too.

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• Tonberry

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4 hours ago, GeLi said:

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too.

Yes, we'd better get the D15S

4 hours ago, Energycore said:

The D15S also has an offset fin stack to help with RAM and GPU clearance. It's not just the D15 without one fan

The D15S is just simply D15 with sideway offset. And the side offset nothing has to do with RAM clearance. The RAM clearance it has is just simply like taking off the D15 front fan. D15S doesn't offset towards rear to get better RAM clearance. It has the exact same symetrical front-rear measurements with the D15, D15S only has side offset but without rear offset.

Here you go..

Left is D15, right is D15S

SILVER GLINT

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X || Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 I Aorus Pro WiFi || Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 3600 MHz || GPU: Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT || Storage: Intel 660P Series || PSU: Corsair SF600 Platinum || Case: Phanteks Evolv Shift TG Modded || Cooling: EKWB ZMT Tubing, Velocity Strike RGB, Vector RX 5700 +XT Special Edition, EK-Quantum Kinetic FLT 120 DDC, and EK Fittings || Fans: Noctua NF-F12 (2x), NF-A14, NF-A12x15

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• Energycore

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8 hours ago, PotatoCanDo! said:

Yes, we'd better get the D15S

 

The D15S is just simply D15 with sideway offset. And the side offset nothing has to do with RAM clearance. The RAM clearance it has is just simply like taking off the D15 front fan. D15S doesn't offset towards rear to get better RAM clearance. It has the exact same symetrical front-rear measurements with the D15, D15S only has side offset but without rear offset.

 

Here you go..

Left is D15, right is D15S

 

I could have sworn they also offset it for RAM clearance, but the pictures are proof.

The D15S's best perk is the price. It's basically the same performance.

We have a NEW and GLORIOUSER-ER-ER PSU Tier List Now. (dammit @LukeSavenije stop coming up with new ones)

You can check out the old one that gave joy to so many across the land here

Computer having a hard time powering on? Troubleshoot it with this guide. (Currently looking for suggestions to update it into the context of <current year> and make it its own thread)

Computer Specs:

Mathresolvermajig: Intel Xeon E3 1240 (Sandy Bridge i7 equivalent)

Chillinmachine: Noctua NH-C14S Framepainting-inator: EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC2 Hybrid

Attachcorethingy: Gigabyte H61M-S2V-B3

Infoholdstick: Corsair 2x4GB DDR3 1333

Computerarmor: Silverstone RL06 "Lookalike"

Rememberdoogle: 1TB HDD + 120GB TR150 + 240 SSD Plus + 1TB MX500

AdditionalPylons: Phanteks AMP! 550W (based on Seasonic GX-550)

Letterpad: Rosewill Apollo 9100 (Cherry MX Red)

Buttonrodent: Razer Viper Mini + Huion H430P drawing Tablet

Auralnterface: Sennheiser HD 6xx

Liquidrectangles: LG 27UK850-W 4K HDR

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• St.Nick

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Do note that the D15's offset for PCI-E clearance makes it not play nice with some x570 motherboards due to tall vrm heatsinks though! 

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• Triboal

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1 hour ago, St.Nick said:

Do note that the D15's offset for PCI-E clearance makes it not play nice with some x570 motherboards due to tall vrm heatsinks though! 

On the Noctua website it shows the D15S being compatible with all X570 motherboards apart from the Asrock Phantom Gaming ITX - but the D15 has the same issue with that motherboard. On those compatibility lists the D15S is a lot better than the D15 and hence one of the reasons I started this thread asking for advice.

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• Snadzies

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I see no reason to get a D15 over a D15S especially when you can get a D15S for cheaper.

Even if you get a second fan for the D15S and that brings your overall money invested about equal to a standard D15, you'll still get better compatibility with various MB, RAM and GPU combinations with the D15S. 

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• Triboal

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5 hours ago, Snadzies said:

I see no reason to get a D15 over a D15S especially when you can get a D15S for cheaper.

Even if you get a second fan for the D15S and that brings your overall money invested about equal to a standard D15, you'll still get better compatibility with various MB, RAM and GPU combinations with the D15S. 

Yup, that was my thought process exactly. Thanks a lot for the help guys! I decided to return my D15 at no extra cost and purchased the D15S.

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• 2 years later...

• wisnoskij

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Just purchased and installed a D15S mostly because of this thread which seems to be the only one seriously comparing these two nearly identicle models on the entire internet. I will note that while it did not make the cooler incompatible, my VRM heatsink seems to prevent the fan from sitting perfectly aligned and as far down as it overwise would go (MSI Pro Z690-A). It still fit in my case even with the fan perfectly centered. That said, it is NOT crowding the top of my case at all and seems centered with similarly sized top ceiling gap and bottom GPU gap. So my takeaway is, yes the D15S probably makes it physically usable on more small form factor MBs, but the D15 might be more perfectly compatible for the average MB. If you do not see yourself putting this cooler on some random ITX MB in the future, and do not have any specific reason to need a D15S, D15 might be be a slightly better experience on an average MB.

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