Question Noctua NH-D15 G2

[Small_Town_Gamer]

If I do not overclock my CPU and my case has decent airflow, will a Noctua NH-D15 G2 be sufficient to cool an AMD 9950x3d CPU? What about an Intel 285k?

 

[Lutfij]

Yes. To also add, you don't need that beefy of a cooler but the answer is yes. I would forgo Intel, mind you.

What sort of workloads will you be taxing the system/platform with?

 

[Small_Town_Gamer]

The 9950x3d system will be used almost entirely for gaming. Fortunately, I'm blessed with less-than-perfect eyesight, so gaming on ultra-high settings @ 4k is wasted on me. I usually game on medium to high settings, with view distance set to max. This has allowed me to get decent FPS without overly taxing my system.

The 285k system will be for work. This involves modeling and algorithm development, with occasional training from large data sets. There have been times when it takes a few hours to complete a task (thus the desire for a separate gaming system). During these times CPU use and temp spike drastically, but this will be a significant upgrade so I'm not sure what to expect with the 285k.

 

[dwd999]

I've been using the Noctua NH-D15 G2 with an Intel 285K for the past 2 months. I ran the Aida 64 Extreme System Stability Test and there was NO throttling. However I must note that I have 8 Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 fans in my case (4 in 4 out).

 

[Small_Town_Gamer]

I will have 4x NF-A14x25 intake fans and 6x NF-A12x25 exhaust fans. I'm aiming for slightly negative case pressure. Sound like I'll be fine. Thanks to both of you!

 

[Small_Town_Gamer]

I've been using the Noctua NH-D15 G2 with an Intel 285K for the past 2 months. I ran the Aida 64 Extreme System Stability Test and there was NO throttling. However I must note that I have 8 Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 fans in my case (4 in 4 out).

Did you go with the HBC version?

 

[Misgar]

I've been running the old version NH-D15 on a 7950X since December 2022 with no problems. The CPU sits at 170W, 93°C (200°F) for long periods (up to 36 hours) during video renders and there are only four case fans (two intake, two exhaust). I am not using PBO.

 

[dwd999]

Did you go with the HBC version?

I went with the regular version because my personal opinion is that the whole cpu curvature problem is overrated. But that's just me.

 

[dwd999]

I will have 4x NF-A14x25 intake fans and 6x NF-A12x25 exhaust fans. I'm aiming for slightly negative case pressure. Sound like I'll be fine. Thanks to both of you!

Personally I prefer positive pressure since most cases have so many holes in the back panel that any excess air can exhaust that way.