Noctua's next-gen flagship CPU cooler finally arrives — Noctua NH-D15 G2 released at $150

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Grab one now from Amazon, but they cost $40 more than the original model.

Noctua NH-D15 G2
(Image credit: Noctua)

Noctua has finally released its highly anticipated NH-D15 G2 CPU cooler. We saw the final design at Computex in early June, and today the Austrian PC cooling specialist has made the revamped NH-D15 available via its Amazon outlets. The Noctua NH-D15 G2 is listed at $149.95 in the US and €149.90 in the Euro-zone. In the US, the new product demands a premium of $40 over the original model or $30 over the chromax.black model.

Introducing the Noctua NH-D15 G2 - YouTube Introducing the Noctua NH-D15 G2 - YouTube
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The product redesign and pricing increase are justified by Noctua in its latest barrage of press materials and social media postings. Noctua’s NH-D15 G2 is claimed to use the firm’s latest technologies to refine this flagship CPU cooler from multiple angles. Probably most importantly to the end users, the result is asserted to be improved performance (quieter running) plus enhanced system compatibility with the new offset design.

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Noctua NH-D15 G2
(Image credit: Noctua)

One of the most important changes to the Noctua NH-D15 G2 comes due to the use of the new NF-A14x25r G2 PWM fans. These round-frame fans are also supposed to hit retail today at $$39.90 per piece. However, we didn’t see them listed on the Noctua Amazon Store at the time of writing. A double pack, for push-pull configurations, is also going to be made available as the NF-A14x25r G2 PWM Sx2-PP.

In addition to the new fans, the major changes to the Noctua NH-D15 G2 include more heatpipes, a denser fin stack, and a new offset design. The previous design sported six heatpipes, which have been increased to eight in the G2. Denser asymmetrical fin stacks are estimated to deliver 20% more surface area for convective heat dissipation. Lastly, the new offset design provides better clearance over the top PCIe x16 slot on most current motherboards. Apparently, the new-generation changes mean that the Noctua NH-D15 G2 can offer higher Turbo speeds, and will be noticeably better with extreme heatloads. Please wait for our review testing for our assessment of such claims.

If you go looking for the Noctua NH-D15 G2 you might notice two further variants that are available, at the same price. The standard Noctua NH-D15 G2 has a baseplate with medium convexity. However, it will also offer the NH-D15 G2 LBC (Low Base Convexity) and NH-D15 G2 HBC (High Base Convexity). Noctua today published a video to help you decide which may be best for your setup.

Base Convexity Explained: Which version of the NH-D15 G2 should I choose? - YouTube Base Convexity Explained: Which version of the NH-D15 G2 should I choose? - YouTube
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Buyers of the new Noctua NH-D15 G2 will also get a Torx-based SecuFirm2+ mounting system, screwdriver, a shot of NT-H2 thermal compound, a thermal paste guard for AM5 chips, and a set of NA-ISW1 shim-washers for improved contact on LGA1700. Noctua backs its new product with a six-year warranty.

Mark Tyson
Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

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147 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Amdlova
    With thermalright selling AIO with a price TAG lower than 60usd it's hard to see the market for these noctua air coolers
    Reply
  • vanadiel007
    We have reached a point in CPU thermals where extra cooling is offering little average performance increases. Overclocking used to provide a big boost to CPU performance. These days with the boost technology the headroom for overclocking is narrow, and in my opinion not worth the headaches that come with it, including the increased cost in cooling solutions.
    Reply
  • kristoffe
    a new level of derp has arrived, $150 plus tax for an overly large, heavy air cooler. No.
    Reply
  • kanewolf
    Amdlova said:
    With thermalright selling AIO with a price TAG lower than 60usd it's hard to see the market for these noctua air coolers
    AIO are not as reliable as standard air only coolers, IMO. Lots of things to fail with an AIO, but big air just works.
    Reply
  • Albert.Thomas
    $150 for an air cooler? What is Noctua smoking?
    Reply
  • Notton
    The way I see it, the only improvement they could possibly make is adding a vapor chamber to the base.

    I have a NH-D14 from 12yrs ago, it still works, but it had its crown taken away by the U14 and D15 not too long after I bought it. And back then, it only cost C$60 on sale.
    Reply
  • ingtar33
    This is a little high priced for a tower cooler. when i got a ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360mm for $99

    and that arctic tops all the cooling charts.
    Reply
  • dwd999
    I'll definitely get one but I'm not going to disassemble my current build. So they'll have to wait until next year's cpus and Z890 motherboards before they get my money.
    Reply
  • boju
    ingtar33 said:
    This is a little high priced for a tower cooler. when i got a ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360mm for $99

    and that arctic tops all the cooling charts.

    Thing is, air coolers last forever and Noctua offers free mounting kits with proof of purchase if continue to use on different sockets. Their mounting system and build quality is pretty good, so really, can't argue you won't see benefits from a $150 cooler that'll serve you pretty much a life time. And in saying that, and this goes for any decent tower cooler, never will i have an aio in a computer. It may look pretty but that's all it is, pretty. Well air coolers don't look bad either, but no, aio's is not practical long term imo. Unless water is absolutely necessary then ok but let's be honest, it's mostly not. Just the uncertainties surrounding how long the pump would last and the added costs in replacements that can make aio cooling solutions more expensive along with anxiety disorders :P
    Reply
  • rluker5
    Amdlova said:
    With thermalright selling AIO with a price TAG lower than 60usd it's hard to see the market for these noctua air coolers
    I replaced my NH-D15 gen 1 with a Thermalright Frozen Notte 240 and gained an easy 50w thermal headroom on my 13900kf. And added no noticeable noise. Also gained the space to put a fan on my ram. When the FN240 dies in 4 more years maybe I will go back. But we might be on a different socket mount by then.

    Big air has it's benefits, but having the best cooling isn't one and Noctua isn't just competing with AIO cooling, but with air coolers that are nearly indistinguishable in performance for a fraction of the price.
    Reply