PC Gamer - UK (2022-01)

NH-D15Chromax Black

NOCTUA£90

Air cooling at its best

The Noctua NH-D15
Chromax Black is
considered by many to
be the best air cooler on the
market. We really love it too. It
performs brilliantly, it’s got
excellent fans that are a welcome
black colour, and its build quality
is fantastic. Really only 360mm
AIO coolers outperform it. If you
want an air cooler that can handle
any consumer CPU on the
market, you might find one to
match the Noctua flagship, but
you won’t find any that truly beat
it. Under normal operation the
NH-D15 can be considered silent,
but when pushed hard it

becomes louder than you might

expect. Though we don’t mind

having some optional cooling

headroom when needed.

Its expense, and sheer size,

are the only things that count

against it in my eyes. Notably,

though, Noctua has a tradition of

support for new sockets, and LGA

1700 support will either be

included in the box or available to

you as a free kit, depending on

when that NH-D15 was made.

SPECS SOCKET SUPPORT: INTEL LGA 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 1200, 2011, 2011-3, 2066, AMD AM4, AM3, AM2, FM2 & FM1
COMPATIBLE / FANS: 2X NF-A15 HS-PWM/ FAN SPEEDS: 300-1500 RPM / DIMENSIONS(L X W X H): 161 MM X 150 MM X
165 MM/ NOISE LEVEL: MAX 24.6 DB(A)

3

Excellent fans

Optional cooling headroom

Can handle any consumer CPU

VERDICT

NH-P1

NOCTUA£100

Quiet computing enthusiasts, look here

Noctua’s NH-P1 passive

cooler is very much a

niche product, and one

that fans of quiet computing have

been looking forward to for some

time. It’s expensive, bulky, and

generally limited to CPUs in the

65W range. Sounds like a dud?

Hell no. Its appeal may be limited,

but if you’re a user who values

silence above anything else, then

the NH-P1 will be exactly what

you’re looking for. The NH-P1 is a

great match for something like an

AMD 5700G. That way you could

omit a discrete GPU and play

esport titles in silence. The NH-P1

will keep this class of CPU

boosting to its max, but only if

you have at least some airflow.

The chances are you have a rear

case fan that’s not far away from

it anyway. If you want, you can still

opt to attach a fan, too.

The NH-P1 is built for a

specific purpose. If you sleep near

your PC or run a lounge room

media centre, the NH-P1 will go a

long way to ensuring that your PC

is truly silent. Clearly it’s not

meant for everyone though.

SPECS SOCKET SUPPORT: INTEL LGA 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 1200, 2011, 2011-3, 2066, AMD AM4, AM3, AM2, FM2 & FM1

COMPATIBLE / FANS: N/A / FAN SPEEDS: N/A / DIMENSIONS(L X W X H): 152MM X 154 MM X 158 MM/ NOISE LEVEL: 0

DB(A)

4

Silent!

Every aspect of it is premium

You can add fans if you want

VERDICT

3

EXCELLENTFANS

THATAREAWELCOME

BLACK COLOUR

GROUP TEST