Noctua NH-D15 Mounting Brackets Question

[Ryan7968]

I'm considering a refresh of my cpu and motherboard, probably sticking with Intel and looking at either a 9700k or 9900k. I figure I can just keep using my Noctua NH-D15 that I've owned several years now. Does anyone know if there will be trouble mounting this on a z390 board using the brackets that originally came with the heatsink? Looking at the Noctua website I don't see any new mounting kits for sale and I think I should be fine, but it never hurts to ask.

As an aside, would anything outside of a custom water loop give me better performance in a meaningful way?

 

[mda]

Will be compatible. The 1156/1155/1150/1151 mounting holes are all compatible.

Can't answer your question on the loop, sorry.

 

[doyll]

What mda said.

As for H2O vs air cooling, there are a few AIOs (not CLCs) that are a little better than top tier air like your NH-D15, but they cost significantly more and won't last as long as D15. Swiftech Drive 2 H360 X3 is a few degrees better costing $164.95 and should to be serviced (drain, flush & re-fill with new coolant) annually. Alphacool Aisbaer seem to be decent too but again cost more than and need more maintenance than air cooling.