Noctua NH-D15 G2 LBC CPU Air Cooler Review

It is no secret that we have been fans of Noctua since we first had one in hand. This was back when dual-towers were hitting the scene, and while others were available, most were copies of the NH-D14, which kicked off monster-sized air coolers with little to no noise involved with the CPU cooling. While we have seen Noctua make every style of cooler, whether for ITX builds or monsters like the NH-D coolers turned out to be, they always had a special place in our memories.

For years, the question was, can it run Crysis? After that, can it cool better than the NH-D14 when comparing others in reviews? However, a lot of time has passed since all of that transpired, and as it flew by, so did the appeal of the likes of the D-14, which is why they did the NH-D15 and 15S coolers. While they had an edge on the NH-D14, size was becoming a concern for many users unless they were using test benches because you had to have a huge chassis to house those beastly cooling solutions.

We sit, nearly fifteen years later, looking at where Noctua evolved in this segment. The list of features of this new solution is super long, but throughout the rest of this review, we plan to go over the list of twenty or so points, not including the warranty terms listed there. For those in the market for a high-end CPU air cooler from a company that can make it a lifetime purchase with their "free to you" hardware upgrades, it could be the perfect time to make the switch, and we urge you to consider the new NH-D15 G2 in one of its three variations.

Our chart is based on the information from the product page and provides quite a bit about the NH-D15 G2 LBC. However, we do need to clarify the trio of options. The base, NH-D15 G2, has its medium base convexity, which is the general all-arounder for most users. An HBC version, which stands for High Base Convexity, is optimized for LGA1700. For flatter CPUs, like our AM4 or the likes of LGA20xx processors, there is the LBC or Low Base Convexity model.

Our NH-D15 G2 LBC will fit on LGA 115X and all newer mainstream Intel sockets, while AMD support is for AM4 and AM5.

Dimensionally, the NH-D15 G2 LBC stands 168mm tall, 150mm wide, and 152mm thick, weighing 1525 grams. Aluminum was used for the fifty-eight fins in each stack, copper for the base, and eight heat pipes. Noctua also mentions the solder used to connect the fins to the pipes and the nickel plating used on the pipes and base.

Rather than offering a TDP, Noctua offers ratings called Noctua's Standardized Performance Rating, or NSPR. The NH-D15 G2 LBC has the highest rating to date, 228. While this number will not help outside of Noctua, it does make it easy to relate to other choices Noctua offers.

As we can see, Noctua shows off fan compatibility and what it used to make it work; however, we are dealing with a pair of NF-A14x25r G2 PWM fans attached to the tower. These fans use the SSO2 bearing to spin on and allow the fan to top out at around 1500 RPM. Airflow is rated at 155 cubic meters per hour, and if our math is right, that is near ninety CFM. The noise level is a tad below 25 dB(A), the blades are designed to be a Progressive-Blend impeller, the fans are shown to last over seventeen years, and these fans will stop spinning if you adjust your fan curve to do so.

Whether you shop at Amazon or Newegg doesn't matter, as the listed price is identical. While we do find that the NH-D15 G2 LBC costs $149.99 for ownership, you must consider all aspects when considering that cost, but more on that later. For now, we will mention that you are covered for six years of ownership by Noctua's warranty, and while it took many years to get here, the wait was worth it.

The bulk of the NH-D15 G2 LBC is on the left of the panel in one of the two classic Noctua colors. The company name and logo are at the top, and notations of the dual 140mm fans, LBC, and G2 tech are at the bottom.

On the right side of the packaging, Noctua delivers the specifications with a pair of dimensional renderings. Along with that is a code to take you to the product page. But get a gander at that scope of delivery, where we get quite the set of goodies along with the NH-D15 G2 LBC.

Using the second of Noctua's colors for the back of the box, we see they used it to list features with lengthy descriptions. Noctua goes as far as to provide an audio chart to show how their speed offset works to limit noise levels. We also see that SECUFIRM2+ went Torx-based and another mention of the warranty.

The last panel, on the left, offers a story explaining the thoughts behind the NH-D15 G2 coolers and what to expect. The other half, with the charts, helps to explain NSPR and how they get the figures they do.

Previously, we were looking at a thin layer of cardboard to dress things up for the customer, but once removed, we found three layers of cardboard on all sides of the cooler, one under it, and the hardware placed above it all. Noctua is serious about ensuring their quality product gets to your door as intended.

As if three layers were not enough, beyond that, the cooler and fans are shipped inside another box, protecting it even further from damage.

Noctua even goes as far as supporting the towers from something heavy being put on top of them. If it's dropped, squeezed, whatever happens, this amount of cardboard must ensure a perfect product comes out of it.

Looking down the barrel, we see the NF-A14x25r G2 PWM fan covering the bulk of the tower, and Noctua puts a ring of cardboard in the frame to ensure the blades do not mar the frame. We can also see the winglets on the blades and the hub, which are all part of that Progressive-Bend impeller design.

Changing the view shows us low-hanging fans in this tower, much lower than the bulk of the fin arrays with tabs to capture airflow and keep fin spacing correct. Looking closely, we can also see smaller fin arrays under the main stacks, for a total of twenty percent more cooling area than the old D15 while still being smaller than it.

From the back, we get to see a lot. It is our first unimpeded view of the eight heat pipes and how they travel through the fins. There are fifty-eight fins here, although seven of them are the smaller ones at the bottom, and the entire base is pipes from side to side.

We will need to remove the fans to mount it in a bit, so we got rid of them and laid the D15 G2 LBC on its side so we can see things better. The front and back of each stack can have a fan mounted to it, and you can play with three fans, two fans, or single fan setups, but with all that aluminum bent over between those grooves, air will have a tough time escaping this tower, improving efficiency.

We are used to the edge design. The lowest point is the central line, top to bottom. The sides lift from that line and run into some saw teeth. There is another small groove and then a raised area on both sides where the fans are to rest. The lower fin array is only five pipes wide; you can tell they are not very deep.

The top of the tower is left in its natural state with a ton of exposed aluminum to show off. Rather than a line or a curve, Noctua aligns the eight pipes in a waveform across the fins, and the top section has the Noctua name and logo embossed in it.

While spring-loaded crossbar mounting is nothing new, the fact they used Torx screws is. However, we wanted to focus on the aluminum base above the pipes, where ours has the LBC name on it. We must imagine the G2 has nothing, and the HBC has HBC etched into it.

On our way to get an image of the base, we stopped to look at the fins and pipes. We noticed the tiny holes next to the pipes, which is how the soldering is performed. Noctua has been using this trick to boost thermal transfer for, well, forever.

As LBC alludes, the base is convex, just not as much as others. However, we still find deep and noticeable machine marks in the base. This is yet another trick of the trade, adding surface area for better thermal transfer.

The box we found packed on top of the cooler contains all your goodies. Noctua separates AMD from Intel and keeps all the universal bits at the bottom.

The first part Intel users will need is the universal SecuFirm2 Intel backplate. It has all the holes to evade the socket screws and eliminate orientation issues, yet still delivering a hefty chunk of metal to mount to.

The rest of the Intel gear consists of the mounting bars on the left, a set of four clip-on spacers, four bolts, blue LGA1851/1700 spacers, black LGA1200/115x spacers, and thumb screws to secure it all.

The AMD kit is more simplistic, with a set of screws for the factory backplate, a pair of brackets, and gray spacers. The AMD brackets have two holes on either side, allowing for an offset when installing. It is suggested to use the -7mm holes unless conflict occurs.

Part of the universal bits are shown here, including the pair of LNA, NA-RC16 adapters, the tube of NT-H2 thermal paste, and the NA-YC1 splitter cable for the fans. A Wera-grade Noctua Torx driver is also included to work with the SecuFirm 2+ hardware.

We also found an NA-CW1 cleaning wipe, which could be used for an older CPU or the cooler's base if everything is new. We also got a packet of washers to help improve LGA1700 contact, a metal case badge, and a thermal paste guard for AM5 users.

We are accustomed to the Noctua manual. Once unfolded, it covers Intel and AMD in different sections with color-coded illustrations and excellent text explanations. If you are having issues, take the time to reread, as this leaves nothing to question and should have you up and running relatively quickly.

Following what the manual tells us to try first, we removed much of the factory hardware, left the backplate in place, and got started. You first set the gray spacers on the protruding bits of the backplate, and using the -7mm offset in the brackets, we secured them in place with the provided screws.

With the mounting hardware in place, again following the instructions, we used five dots of TIM and set the cooler on the hardware. With the fans off of the tower, you can easily reach the pair of spring-loaded Torx screws with the provided high-quality driver.

After remounting the fans, we noticed that the fan needs to rest on our Vengeance RAM to keep the overall height close to what we are told it is. Even so, we are a few millimeters taller than when we first looked at the cooler, which means you need naked sticks under here to keep the 168mm height.

The tower is designed to accommodate taller memory, but the 140mm fan with the cooler will complicate that. You do have the option to run without a front fan, which is why Noctua offered a fan compatibility list so that users can prepare for such things.

Although it may be more compact than the original, the NH-D15 G2 LBC is still a big boy. It covers the board from the RAM on the left to the 8-pin EPS connector on the right. If you are putting this into a chassis, we recommend connecting the 8-pin prior to motherboard installation.

This view takes us back to 2009 when we first saw the D14. A ton of natural aluminum, fans colors that scream Noctua, and a bold contrast to all of the black that makes up most systems.

To see our testing methodology and to find out what goes into making our charts, please refer to our 2020 CPU Cooler Testing and Methodology article for more information.

At 58°C, the promise to mix it up with AIOs and other top-tier air coolers comes true. The AK620, A115, and A620 PRO SE are slightly better, but Noctua does get the NH-D15 G2 LBC into the top five air coolers ranking and outpaces the D14 and D15, as we were told on site.

Adding more heat into the mix, the NH-D15 G2 LBC reached 64.7°C, bested by the AK620 and A620 coolers but with much, much less noise. Still in the top five, Noctua delivers on everything they said about what we should expect to see from this cooler compared to others in the game and their previous solutions.

After allowing the fans to run at full speed, we found another 3.6°C in the tank, which is one of the larger gaps in thermals from PWM to manual control. However, we understand why Noctua did what they did, leaving so much on the table.

In the stock PWM thermal test, we saw the fans top out at 761 RPM for the test, and the second fan on our cooler was always 50 RPM behind it as part of that offset in acoustics. It works, as we saw 22 dB on the meter while running this test.

Putting an all-core load on the cooler, with PWM still in control, the front fan spun at 873 RPM, slightly over half of the fan's potential. However, at 26 dB under load, we can see why such decisions were made to limit the PWM fan curve this much.

The specifications told us that the maximum speed is 1500 RPM, give or take, and ours stopped at 1555 RPM when forcing 12V to them. Doing so ramps the noise levels quite a bit, where they are delivering 55 dB of noise if left to spin at their maximum.

Noctua makes a lot of comments on their product page, and while we did not doubt them, it was a long list of points to check off. With many innovations tied to a lot of nostalgia, Noctua brought much-needed life back to their D-Style cooler lineup. It is smaller than both the D14- and D15, even the D15S, and with some added love to capture airflow, more heat pipes to expand thermal transfer abilities, soldered pipes, thicker fins, and so on. If you are looking for the engineers' dream of CPU cooling, no others come close to the level of detail and ability that Noctua puts into their flagship coolers.

Thermally, we love what Noctua can do. While there are a few more affordable cooling solutions, compared side by side, you can quickly tell one is built affordably, and the Noctua is built like a tank. ID-Cooling and DeepCool may have a leg up by a fraction of a degree. Still, for Noctua to be able to make a smaller product that is sometimes three or four degrees better than where it all started, we must give Noctua the respect they deserve for making such magic happen. With or without an overclock applied, the NH-D15 G2 LBC is able and willing to take whatever you throw at it.

On top of the thermal performance we are given, there is a near lack of noise from normal usage. If you stick with PWM control, the NH-D15 G2 is likely the quietest thing in the chassis, even when ramped, we only got to 26 dB in the open air. You will be hard-pressed inside a chassis to know if the fans are spinning. Speaking of the fans and if they are spinning, Noctua allowed them to go to 0 RPM mode if you set the custom fan curve in the motherboard BIOS or software to make such things possible.

You are shelling out AIO money when considering the NH-D15 G2 LBC. At $149.95, it is one of the more expensive MSRPs on an air cooler we have seen to date. Times have changed since we last got pricing for a D15 variant. We checked back at old reviews and noticed the D15S cost nearly $100, and then the global price hike happened. It is priced accordingly, and while expensive for some, you must consider this a long, very long-term investment. Because it is backed for six years by warranty, and the fans should spin for around seventeen years, you can see many potential system swaps and socket changes. We do not know anyone who has published that every time we see a new socket, you can ask for new hardware like Noctua does.

On top of that, if you have your receipt, you can get newer hardware for upgrades and retro hardware as well, should you want to use it playing around with overclocking on more affordable parts.

Performance

96%

Quality

100%

Features

95%

Value

90%

Overall

95%

Pricing is a concern, but the Noctua NH-D15 G2 LBC delivers nostalgia with thermals and audio levels on par with what we expect today. A CPU cooler that will be with you forever, if you want.