When it comes to cooling a CPU there are a variety of different ways you can go and each cater to how you plan to use your computer. For those looking to get the best thermal performance a self contained watercooler or large tower heatsink might be the best option, especially when overclocking. OEM replacement coolers are extremely popular in the DIY market and often sacrifice cooling performance for cost and quality of components. While these styles can often be found as hybrids of each other you can never replicate a third popular style, the silent cooler. Silent coolers are more than high performance heatsinks with slow moving fans but specifically engineered to get the best thermal performance when overall airflow may be at a premium.

In this review we will be looking at the Noctua NH-D15 D-Type heatsink. Around four years ago Noctua released the NH-D14 a dual tower dual fan cooler. It was extremely popular with cooling enthusiasts both for its sound performance and superior heat capacity. The NH-D15 is an upgrade of that classic design with larger fans, improved compatibility and the promise of better performance.