NH D15S vs NH D15 with 1 fan, i9 9900k.

Knjaz136 · Nov 24, 2018

Hello, OCN, after googling for a while had to resort to your help. Would there be any difference between the two, and if so, how much of a difference?
I can't seem to find direct comparison between two of these configs. And since it's 9900k we're talking about (with some mild OC, it's possible on air at times, as I see), each couple degrees will matter.

My NH D15S might arrive a week later so I'm left with the choice of either waiting yet another week (don't have the stomach for it anymore) or going more expensive NH D15 and removing frontal fan due to ram clearance (it's 42mm high). Llater I can put 120mm one in it, but that would happen way later.

Case is Cooler Master H500 (non P or M) which only allows for 167mm cooler clearance, which means i won't be able to move front fan higher either and so i either have to put it in the back or remove it.

TL;DR - will i lose in cooling performance at extreme temps (~90) if I go NH D15 single 140mm fan in the middle vs NH D15S stock.

ciarlatano · Nov 24, 2018

I have actually done this test, as has @doyll. Cooling performance is essentially identical. The S will give you better clearances all around. Given a choice, I would go with the S, as you can always add a fan down the line of you need it, and the better component clearance will always be a plus.

Falkentyne · Nov 24, 2018

I'm using the D15 with 2 fans.
Clearance isn't a problem. You can always move the first fan up. Unlike Thermalright heatsinks, the clips clip the sides of the fins, not tiny holes in the corners, so its easy to adjust.
I actually removed the original D15 fans and put them as case intake fans for my front panel, since they're so quiet. I already had 3000 RPM Noctua fans 140mm sitting around so I put them on the heatsink. But they are loud at max RPM.

Knjaz136 · Nov 24, 2018

ciarlatano said:
I have actually done this test, as has @doyll. Cooling performance is essentially identical. The S will give you better clearances all around. Given a choice, I would go with the S, as you can always add a fan down the line of you need it, and the better component clearance will always be a plus.

Thank you, but doesn't D15 without frontal fan has absolutely same clearances as D15S? Well, except for the first PCIE slot perhaps, but Z390 Aorus Ultra has two x16 afaik slots so I should be allright.

The only downside with it being more expensive, but at this point i'm ready to pay more for building my system 1 week earlier. My main concern was performance.

Falkentyne said:
I'm using the D15 with 2 fans.
Clearance isn't a problem. You can always move the first fan up. Unlike Thermalright heatsinks, the clips clip the sides of the fins, not tiny holes in the corners, so its easy to adjust.
I actually removed the original D15 fans and put them as case intake fans for my front panel, since they're so quiet. I already had 3000 RPM Noctua fans 140mm sitting around so I put them on the heatsink. But they are loud at max RPM.

Knjaz136 said:
Hello, OCN, after googling for a while had to resort to your help. Would there be any difference between the two, and if so, how much of a difference?
Case is Cooler Master H500 (non P or M) which only allows for 167mm cooler clearance, which means i won't be able to move front fan higher either and so i either have to put it in the back or remove it.

Falkentyne · Nov 24, 2018

Knjaz136 said:
Thank you, but doesn't D15 without frontal fan has absolutely same clearances as D15S? Well, except for the first PCIE slot perhaps, but Z390 Aorus Ultra has two x16 afaik slots so I should be allright.

The only downside with it being more expensive, but at this point i'm ready to pay more for building my system 1 week earlier. My main concern was performance.

Hi there,
The D15S is the exact same thing as the D15.
It just means "Single fan".

I had to find this out myself.
So it comes with 1 fan instead of 2. The heatsink is identical.
There are no clearance issues with the base heatsink as its designed to clear the RAM. 120mm fans also shoudln't have a problem clearing the RAM. It's just 140mm fans, but as I said you can always move the front fan upwards without problems, because the clips attach to the "middle" of the fins, and is an identical fit whether it's dead center or shifted up.

this heatsink has very strong performance.
You can tell, because when you start a big prime95 stress test, the temps instantly rise to a certain point right away, then slowly stops at about 5-6C higher, rather than continuing to rise. That means the heatsink is doing a wonderful job removing the heat. Heatsinks with poor dissipation would just keep rising. Then when you stop the test the cpu temps drop literally instantly to the low 40's (depending on ambient) or lower.

ciarlatano · Nov 24, 2018

Knjaz136 said:
Thank you, but doesn't D15 without frontal fan has absolutely same clearances as D15S? Well, except for the first PCIE slot perhaps, but Z390 Aorus Ultra has two x16 afaik slots so I should be allright.

The only downside with it being more expensive, but at this point i'm ready to pay more for building my system 1 week earlier. My main concern was performance.

The RAM clearance is identical. The difference in clearance is for the first PCIe slot on many boards. I only suggested the S over the normal since you can add a fan to the S down the road if you want to, but you won't be able to get the NH-D15 out of the way of a PCIe slot if you decide to change boards.

Falkentyne said:
Hi there,
The D15S is the exact same thing as the D15.
It just means "Single fan".

I had to find this out myself.
So it comes with 1 fan instead of 2. The heatsink is identical.

I'm guessing "finding out for yourself" didn't involve having both of them in front of you at the same time. Or actually looking at them if you did. The D15S clearly has a different offset than the D15. While this does not affect performance to any degree that would even likely be measurable in a case like this, the D15S is clearly not "identical" or the "exact same thing" as a D15.

Falkentyne · Nov 24, 2018

ciarlatano said:
The RAM clearance is identical. The difference in clearance is for the first PCIe slot on many boards. I only suggested the S over the normal since you can add a fan to the S down the road if you want to, but you won't be able to get the NH-D15 out of the way of a PCIe slot if you decide to change boards.

I'm guessing "finding out for yourself" didn't involve having both of them in front of you at the same time. Or actually looking at them if you did. The D15S clearly has a different offset than the D15. While this does not affect performance to any degree that would even likely be measurable in a case like this, the D15S is clearly not "identical" or the "exact same thing" as a D15.

Well this is news to me.
I searched for NH-D15s vs NH-d15 directly on google before buying my NH-D15 and all I could find was the S was cheaper because it came with 1 fan.
I never found or saw this

thank you.
However I'm still looking at those pictures.
Just to be sure here:

Are you 100% sure that heatsink is offset?
What if it's rotated 180 degrees?
I'm looking at the top and bottom it it looks like one side being offset is offset by the other side being shorter.
So if it's rotated 180 degrees they should be identical. In this case it would be the position of the fan being different.

ciarlatano · Nov 24, 2018

Falkentyne said:
Well this is news to me.
I searched for NH-D15s vs NH-d15 directly on google before buying my NH-D15 and all I could find was the S was cheaper because it came with 1 fan.
I never found or saw this

thank you.
However I'm still looking at those pictures.
Just to be sure here:

Are you 100% sure that heatsink is offset?
What if it's rotated 180 degrees?
I'm looking at the top and bottom it it looks like one side being offset is offset by the other side being shorter.
So if it's rotated 180 degrees they should be identical. In this case it would be the position of the fan being different.

I own both, so I'm very sure. The D15 is perfectly centered, the S is asymmetrical.

http://www.legitreviews.com/noctua-nh-d15s-versus-nh-d15-cpu-cooler-review_188613

And about a thousand other sources including the Noctua website.

Lady Fitzgerald · Nov 24, 2018

Falkentyne said:
Well this is news to me.
I searched for NH-D15s vs NH-d15 directly on google before buying my NH-D15 and all I could find was the S was cheaper because it came with 1 fan.
I never found or saw this

thank you.
However I'm still looking at those pictures.
Just to be sure here:

Are you 100% sure that heatsink is offset?
What if it's rotated 180 degrees?
I'm looking at the top and bottom it it looks like one side being offset is offset by the other side being shorter.
So if it's rotated 180 degrees they should be identical. In this case it would be the position of the fan being different.

Yes, the 15s is definitely offset. Look more closely at the photos.

Falkentyne · Nov 24, 2018

Ok guys, thank you !

Knjaz136 · Nov 24, 2018

ciarlatano said:
The RAM clearance is identical. The difference in clearance is for the first PCIe slot on many boards. I only suggested the S over the normal since you can add a fan to the S down the road if you want to, but you won't be able to get the NH-D15 out of the way of a PCIe slot if you decide to change boards.

That's actually a valid point i didn't think about that much ahead of time... hm. now i'm kinda in doubts again, as that will limit my board choice in future when i move from 9900k to smth else.

...then again, it'll be several years until next upgrade if everything works out fine, but a valid point nevertheless.

GeneO · Nov 25, 2018

Knjaz136 said:
That's actually a valid point i didn't think about that much ahead of time... hm. now i'm kinda in doubts again, as that will limit my board choice in future when i move from 9900k to smth else.

...then again, it'll be several years until next upgrade if everything works out fine, but a valid point nevertheless.

I will tell you I wish I went with the S. I have a non-S and have to take my graphics card out if I want to unclip the middle fan.

The Noctua website has all of the information about clearance with dimension diagrams BTW.

Knjaz136 · Nov 26, 2018

In order to avoid spawning more threads, I'll just ask it here - what would be the best 120mm frontal fan for NH D15 and D15S ? Performance in mind, looks don't matter, with sane levels of noise (in case somebody would propose 3000rpm industrials)

GeneO · Nov 26, 2018

Knjaz136 said:
In order to avoid spawning more threads, I'll just ask it here - what would be the best 120mm frontal fan for NH D15 and D15S ? Performance in mind, looks don't matter, with sane levels of noise (in case somebody would propose 3000rpm industrials)

Might I ask why you are putting a 120mm rather than a 140mm on a D15? Will this be in combination with a center fan, and if so, what is in the middle?

Knjaz136 · Nov 26, 2018

GeneO said:
Might I ask why you are putting a 120mm rather than a 140mm on a D15? Will this be in combination with a center fan, and if so, what is in the middle?

My ram height is 42 or 45mm so 140mm fan won't fit, case cooler clearance is 167 mm so i can't mount it higher either.
My only option is to remove front 140mm fan and run with one 140mm fan in the middle (like in D15S), or install additional 120mm in the front.

doyll · Nov 26, 2018

Knjaz136 said:
My ram height is 42 or 45mm so 140mm fan won't fit, case cooler clearance is 167 mm so i can't mount it higher either.
My only option is to remove front 140mm fan and run with one 140mm fan in the middle (like in D15S), or install additional 120mm in the front.

Could you mount fans as pull/pull with back fan on back of cooler and middle fan mounted to front finpack?

Honestly, in my experience the difference between 1 and 2 fans is only about 1c, 2.5c at most.

ciarlatano · Nov 26, 2018

Knjaz136 said:
My ram height is 42 or 45mm so 140mm fan won't fit, case cooler clearance is 167 mm so i can't mount it higher either.
My only option is to remove front 140mm fan and run with one 140mm fan in the middle (like in D15S), or install additional 120mm in the front.

@doyll is correct about how nominal the difference is. Say it's even 3C. Keep in mind that the reference would be 3C under unrealistic loads in stress tests for extended periods, which obviously is not how you will be using your PC. Under normal computing and/or gaming, the difference will be essentially nothing.

That said, if you really want a 120mm on the front, grab a be quiet Silent Wings 3, Noctua NF-F12, Phanteks F120MP or the like.

Lady Fitzgerald · Nov 26, 2018

I would just use the middle 140mm fan (actually, that is what I'm going to do with mine). As already pointed out, there will be little to no difference in temperatures. Adding a 120mm fan with the 140mm might even throttle the 140mm a bit since they are mismatched.

doyll · Nov 26, 2018

Are you sure your case airflow is supplying air at or near room temp to the cooler? Many cases do not come with good case fans and the ones that do usually need them moved and/or need additional fans. Keep in mind every degree warmer the air is going into cooler translates almost exactly to a degree hotter CPU is. If air temp into cooler is only 2-3c warmer than room you are find, but it can easily be 10, 15, even 20c warmer after 20-30 minutes when both CPU and GPU are working hard .. like when playing some games. Here is link to basic guide to how airflow works and how to optimize case airflow.
https://www.overclock.net/forum/246.../forum/246-air-cooling/1491876-ways-better-cooling-airflow-cooler-fan-data.html

GeneO · Nov 26, 2018

Knjaz136 said:
My ram height is 42 or 45mm so 140mm fan won't fit, case cooler clearance is 167 mm so i can't mount it higher either.
My only option is to remove front 140mm fan and run with one 140mm fan in the middle (like in D15S), or install additional 120mm in the front.

Even though I have the clearance, I only use the center fan. I tried a 140 Noctua on the front and it made 1-2c difference.

It would probably be less with a 120 mm fan, and if you use just one, you do not have to worry about airflow difference that you will probably get with a 120mm, which could even defeat any gain.

NH D15S vs NH D15 with 1 fan, i9 9900k.

Knjaz136

ciarlatano

Falkentyne

Knjaz136

Falkentyne

ciarlatano

Falkentyne

ciarlatano

Lady Fitzgerald

Falkentyne

Knjaz136

GeneO

Knjaz136

GeneO

Knjaz136

doyll

ciarlatano

Lady Fitzgerald

doyll

GeneO

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