current best air coolers

I can do 260w with my 5900X and Evo, it’s a good cooler, especially for its size. It works well with a T30 in the center. Or T30s plural..
 
Fan speed percentages are bogus data because fans speeds are all different!
50% speed of 1000rpm fan is 500rpm​
50% speed of 1500rpm fan is 750rpm​
50% speed of 2500rpm fan is 1250rpm​
Doesn't take much intelligence to know which one will be loudest​
​
Ideally it should be amount of airflow thru fixed resistance at same noise level .. noise normalization, not % of fan speed
Rev. Night said:
So my take away is that I don't need to update what I have. I was less than impressed by the TPU review and the price.

I'm still waiting for a swap of the fans to see how that impacts things
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Indeed, don't need new cooler, but maybe new fans could improve performance / make less noise.

We've seen some real improvements in fans in last several years. Not to say some old fans perform very well too.
 
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chameleoneel said:
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/noctua-nh-d15-g2-cpu-cooler/7.html
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pendragon1 said:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zqPICl5zjA
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"Where to begin? From a performance and quality standpoint, Noctua delivers yet again, holding the crown for the best-performing air cooler. On the AMD AM5 test bench, it maintains the highest overall TDP during testing at 242.6 watts, beating the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO by around 3 watts. On the Intel LGA1700 test bench, it holds a 2-watt lead at 323.0 watts versus 321.5 watts. Both coolers registered the same 53 dBA at max fan speed"

a beast in terms of performance...a dud in terms of value...I'll take the performance!
 
Haven't bothered looking at any reviews. Has anyone shown this new Noctua against the ThermalRight Frost Spirit 140? (Are the reviewers even allowed to? lol) I mean, one would hope this overpriced ugly tan ass would beat 120 coo!er, although not by enough to care about for the price.
 
polonyc2 said:
"Where to begin? From a performance and quality standpoint, Noctua delivers yet again, holding the crown for the best-performing air cooler. On the AMD AM5 test bench, it maintains the highest overall TDP during testing at 242.6 watts, beating the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO by around 3 watts. On the Intel LGA1700 test bench, it holds a 2-watt lead at 323.0 watts versus 321.5 watts. Both coolers registered the same 53 dBA at max fan speed"

a beast in terms of performance...a dud in terms of value...I'll take the performance!
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NH-D15 G2 performance is so close to competition it's not worth mentioning.
Cooler testing differences of 2-3c are within the differences in readings reviewer / testers get doing a remount of cooler on same CPU test system.
Change CPU to another of same model on same motherboard would create even more difference in temps / wattage reading.

323w vs 321.5w is a 1.5w difference. You saying 2 watts better is 0.5w exaggeration. At 321.5w, a 0.5w improvement at is only a tiny 0.45% difference.

"Same 53 dBA at max fan speed" is nice to know, but many of us don't want to have our computer putting out 53 dBA. A nice quiet room is about 30-35 dBA, same as leaves rustling on quiet day or someone whispering to you. The experts say a bedroom should be 25-30 dBA. My office is 30-35 dBA. My computer under heavy load is 35-42 dBA (@ 1 meter / 39")

But I get it. The only way Noctua can justify G2's price and time potential customers have had to wait for it to release is by getting reviewers to hype it up as much as possible.

Also keep in mind these reviewers / testers getting free samples to test depends on source company being happing with their reviews. So reviewers tend to make good / positive statements about product with few if any bad / negative input. ;)
 
doyll said:
But I get it. The only way Noctua can justify G2's price and time potential customers have had to wait for it to release is by getting reviewers to hype it up as much as possible.

Also keep in mind these reviewers / testers getting free samples to test depends on source company being happing with their reviews. So reviewers tend to make good / positive statements about product with few if any bad / negative input. ;)
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so you're saying Steve from GN is a shill?...lol...doesn't seem like you're familiar with him or his channel...DUDE!...the G2 is an excellent cooler...there's no denying that...it's a premium top of the line air cooler...no one with an ounce of impartial common sense can deny that...the only issue is the price!...Steve from Gamers Nexus said it well:

"this is not for the majority of people because you can get close enough performance for much cheaper...it's a really good cooler- the engineering is cool, the packaging is great, the manual is really good, support is great...but there are reasons not to buy it especially if you're on more of a budget and you can't justify the extra $100+ for a cooler when you can put that towards a CPU or GPU...little bit of a nuance to the conclusion that is left to the buyer to determine if it's worth it for them"
 
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The 3c for $150, 10 years too late cooler noone wants...yay for Noctua? Once again they half step the release of a premier product by omitting the chromax version that will actually sell 🤓 Way to go all in on that train to obscurity that so many before you have ridden Noctua.

Who wants to bet that same $150, the competition wont take a single year to develop and release a G2 killer, much less the ridiculous 10yrs it took them to improve the fans on this shiny turd?
 
hititnquitit said:
Once again they half step the release of a premier product by omitting the chromax version that will actually sell
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you mean the same way that AMD omits the X3D versions that will sell from their initial launch?...it's called marketing
 
polonyc2 said:
so you're saying Steve from GN is a shill?...lol...doesn't seem like you're familiar with him or his channel...DUDE!...the G2 is an excellent cooler...there's no denying that...it's a premium top of the line air cooler...no one with an ounce of impartial common sense can deny that...the only issue is the price!...Steve from Gamers Nexus said it well:

"this is not for the majority of people because you can get close enough performance for much cheaper...it's a really good cooler- the engineering is cool, the packaging is great, the manual is really good, support is great...but there are reasons not to buy it especially if you're on more of a budget and you can't justify the extra $100+ for a cooler when you can put that towards a CPU or GPU...little bit of a nuance to the conclusion that is left to the buyer to determine if it's worth it for them"
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No, in no way is Steve a shill.

But he is a consumer product reviewer, and as such is not going to be negative about what he tests and reviews unless it is so obvious it can't be ignored. He does not want to make his suppliers (in this case Noctua) mad enough to stop giving GN / him samples.

Steve is one of the most honest / outspoken reviewers out there.

I'm saying this based on my years of experience in testing / reviewing different product. Keeping sample sources happy is a fact of life to reviewers in general. It's a big part of why there are so few negative reviews of consumer products by consumer product reviewers. ;)
And I wouldn't be as open about all of this if I was still actively testing and reviewing products. ;) For reason stated above. ;)
 
doyll said:
But he is a consumer product reviewer, and as such is not going to be negative about what he tests and reviews unless it is so obvious it can't be ignored. He does not want to make his suppliers (in this case Noctua) mad enough to stop giving GN / him samples
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smaller review sites or YT channels sure...but a big channel like Hardware Unboxed or Gamers Nexus won't care if they stop getting review samples...they will just buy it themselves...and the negative publicity they get will hurt them more than if they had just gotten the manufacturer to send them the review samples to begin with
 
hititnquitit said:
The 3c for $150, 10 years too late cooler noone wants...yay for Noctua? Once again they half step the release of a premier product by omitting the chromax version that will actually sell 🤓 Way to go all in on that train to obscurity that so many before you have ridden Noctua.

Who wants to bet that same $150, the competition wont take a single year to develop and release a G2 killer, much less the ridiculous 10yrs it took them to improve the fans on this shiny turd?
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To be fair, original NH-D14 and Silver Arrow performance is only 2-4c warmer than current best. With same fans new coolers the difference is 1-2c, so half or less of best new coolers.
 
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polonyc2 said:
smaller review sites or YT channels sure...but a big channel like Hardware Unboxed or Gamers Nexus won't care if they stop getting review samples...they will just buy it themselves...and the negative publicity they get will hurt them more than if they had just gotten the manufacturer to send them the review samples to begin with
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You are entitled to your opinion.
Those who has tested / reviewed / ran a consumer review site agree with me.
Sure, bigger sites can publish more negatives and risk loosing some income, but it's still lowers their profit margin. End result is they avoid whenever possible.
 
polonyc2 said:
you mean the same way that AMD omits the X3D versions that will sell from their initial launch?...it's called marketing
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Nah man, sorry but that's a terrible analogy. Not even close to the same playing field. We're not talking about two players with completely captive audiences. We're talking about massive competition amongst boatloads of cutthroat companies from all over the world that continue to innovate their coolers from aesthetics, to performance, to price. There's no logical reason to hold back products today. It's a balls to the wall market in 2024 (this isn't the good ole days when Noctua and Thermalright were two of the few great heatsink companies). Meanwhile, we have Noctua releasing fan frames and as ridiculous as it sounds, 120 and 140mm desk fans of all things. That's called falling behind. Again, slowly slipping into obscurity.

True marketing is remaining relevant in the ever changing consumer mind. Noctua fails at that everytime they push back another release date or like I said, sits on the cooler that will actually sell (chromax g2) and maybe even gain a few new customers. While the competition laps them again and again racking up Noctuas lost sales. Face it, the days of plain jane aluminium heatsinks are quickly coming to an end. Like it or not, the kids have permanently changed the market in favor of black fins, rgb fans, glass windows and more and more frequently, AIOs.
 
freeagentt said:
Thermalright 360 AIOs are actually pretty strong.

Stronger than their current line of air coolers.
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I'm sure you are correct. You work systems hard and I assume for long periods of time so loop coolant equalizes to high load.

But you are not the normal user.
Most user never optimized case airflow when using air coolers, then slap on a new CLC and never run stress test long enough to equalize / max out loop coolant temp thru rad, plus all their testing is done on brand new CLCs.

Do you have a temp meter? I wonder what your coolant temp max's out at in line flowing from rad to waterblock in long stress run?
 
doyll said:
Do you have a temp meter? I wonder what your coolant temp max's out at in line flowing from rad to waterblock in long stress run?
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No sir, I do not. I did run the heck out of one for about a year, then bought another and temps were the same, so no degradation in a year :D
 
freeagentt said:
No sir, I do not. I did run the heck out of one for about a year, then bought another and temps were the same, so no degradation in a year :D
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I suspect coolant seepage thru tubing would take a few years to get low enough to cause issues. It's possible new tubing is better than old and/or dependent on manufacturer.
Don't feel bad, I don't have a IR temp gage either. ;)
Keep threatening to get one.
 
I ordered this one for my daughter's rig. I think it was $19 dollars lol.

Thermalright Assassin King 120 SE White ARGB CPU Air Cooler, AK120 SE White ARB, 5 Heatpipes, TL-C12CW-S PWM Quiet Fan CPU Cooler with S-FDB Bearing, for AMD AM4/AM5/Intel LGA1700/1150/1151/1200 https://a.co/d/1kK7pim


I'm going to build a 12700KF mini Z790 rig for her and test this compact thermalright on it and report back my results. It gets over 235 nearly 5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reviews so I'm sure it's going to be nice especially after a a proper tune.
 
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Noctua's New NH-D15 G2 CPU Cooler Plagued by Complaints of Rattling Sounds

Noctua’s preliminary analysis is that the suspected loosened top fin can vibrate when the cooler is in action, and “may result in slight rattling sound”...its observation is that this issue causes acoustic impacts that are “very small (<0.5dB(A))”...

it is issuing full refunds to NH-D15 G2 customers affected by ‘Rattlegate’...

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-com...se-affecting-its-new-nh-d15-g2-cpu-air-cooler

https://x.com/Noctua_at/status/1812823073575281143?t=CA741rWcvKjUXXtIp1kGug&s=19
 
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polonyc2 said:
Noctua's New NH-D15 G2 CPU Cooler Plagued by Complaints of Rattling Sounds...the Austrian firm thinks something might have been knocked loose in shipping and is still analyzing the situation but will agree to full refunds...

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-com...se-affecting-its-new-nh-d15-g2-cpu-air-cooler

https://x.com/Noctua_at/status/1812823073575281143?t=CA741rWcvKjUXXtIp1kGug&s=19
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Only the most premium of Austrian-designed made in China foam will be able to fix that one. Gonna need to tack on an extra $20 :)
 
I was all set to get the G2 but due to the rattling issue I'm leaning towards getting the last gen NH-D15 but pairing it with the new G2 fans (NF-A14x25r G2)...although the new fans are also expensive as hell- $40 each!

I'm guessing Noctua is going to do a slightly revamped design to fix the issue on the G2 so it's better to wait for that revision (if you're set on getting the G2)
 
polonyc2 said:
I was all set to get the G2 but due to the rattling issue I'm leaning towards getting the last gen NH-D15 but pairing it with the new G2 fans (NF-A14x25r G2)...although the new fans are also expensive as hell- $40 each!

I'm guessing Noctua is going to do a slightly revamped design to fix the issue on the G2 so it's better to wait for that revision (if you're set on getting the G2)
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According to your sig, you already have one, just carry it over to the new build and change the fans.
 
CAD4466HK said:
According to your sig, you already have one, just carry it over to the new build and change the fans.
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nah...I like to keep a fully operational secondary build for testing or in case anything goes wrong with my main system...I even bought a new case for my new build- Fractal Design Torrent...I also didn't update my sig...in January I bought an ASUS TUF 4080 Super, so I'll use that with my new build and have the RTX 3080 with the other system
 
So looks like my NH-15DS Chromax should move over to a AM5 rig which is a bonus. Didnt really want to have to shell out on a new cooler. Think I might get the second fan though.

Been working great on a hot old Intel 5th gen i7 so...
 
polonyc2 said:
Noctua's New NH-D15 G2 CPU Cooler Plagued by Complaints of Rattling Sounds

Noctua’s preliminary analysis is that the suspected loosened top fin can vibrate when the cooler is in action, and “may result in slight rattling sound”...its observation is that this issue causes acoustic impacts that are “very small (<0.5dB(A))”...

it is issuing full refunds to NH-D15 G2 customers affected by ‘Rattlegate’...

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-com...se-affecting-its-new-nh-d15-g2-cpu-air-cooler

https://x.com/Noctua_at/status/1812823073575281143?t=CA741rWcvKjUXXtIp1kGug&s=19
Click to expand...

I e-mailed Noctua about this and they responded back:

We are still working hard on a permanent solution, which we will make available to all of our customers.

Meanwhile, we recommend putting a piece of tape along the side of the fin stack. This will stop the rattling.
 
For the price they charge, the fins should all be welded in, like their passive heatsink. I shouldn't be able to pop a fin loose by accidentally putting mild pressure with a finger (like many heatsinks). Or by fumbling a bit with a fan mount.
 
doyll said:
Fan speed percentages are bogus data because fans speeds are all different!
50% speed of 1000rpm fan is 500rpm​
50% speed of 1500rpm fan is 750rpm​
50% speed of 2500rpm fan is 1250rpm​
Doesn't take much intelligence to know which one will be loudest​
Click to expand...
The 60mm Delta 6000rpm fan is the loudest.
 
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