Noctua NH-D15 with SP140's from Corsair

[MonteXMat]

Hello,
I really hate how the NH-D15 stock fans look.
First of all. Is there a way to replace them ? And if yes, will there be any compatibility issues if I replace the stock ones with two SP140 RED LED fans like these?

NZXT H440 case is big enough to fit the Noctua NH-D15, but I've heard that there might be some RAM clearance issues so here's another question.
Is it all going to work with 2x4GB HyperX RAM (any better RAM at this price?) on a MSI Z97-GD65 board with the corsair fans mentioned before(if possible)?

This is my first build so I want to make sure that everything works perfectly fine.
Thanks a lot!

 

[kwa-e]

Consider the TC14PE-BK instead.

 

[RazerZ]

It should fit. The case has a 180mm cooler clearance. The NH-D15 is 165mm tall with the stock 140mm fans. 180-165=15mm of ram clearance to work with. The HyperX Cloud is 14.41mm taller than your average 32mm low profile ram, so if you used 140mm fans it would be a narrow fit. However since the set you chose is 120mm, you should be fine.

The fans are mounted by metal fan brackets, they are easily removable. They should fit the SP120s, but will get stretched out a bit since the fans are square shaped compared to the Noctuas it comes with (not that it matters).

I have the D-15, performance wise it is the best on the market. This might change with the new fans... if you don't want to spend a lot and have no need for the 140mm AF-15s it comes with you could always consider another air cooler with a matching color scheme.

 

[andreaszero]

The NZXT H440 has a width of 180mm while the Noctua NH-D15 is 165mm tall so it fits without any problem. I don't think the HyperX ram will cause any problem as its heatsink isn't that tall. If you wanna be 100% sure of that, get Crucial Ballistix Sport 2x4 RAM. It's the shortest ram in the market right now.

Here's a link to it: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU-Ballistix-240-pin-PC3-12800/dp/B006YG94Y2/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1433022919&sr=1-1&keywords=crucial+ballistix+sport+8gb

Yes it's all going to work all thought I suggest the mobo below. See below for reasons:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mod-1150-ASUS-Z97--Motherboard/dp/B00K80MMJ4/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1433022773&sr=1-1&keywords=z97+a

It's one of the best and more reliable z97 chipset mobos on the marker right now. Very high quality materials were used to build it and it's also cheaper and better than the one you mentioned above.

 

[synphul]

I agree, the fan colors aren't the best by far but swapping noctua fans for corsair is a downgrade in my opinion. Not just known for their coolers, noctua are known for their excellent fans. I'd just look at a different cooler, swapping the fans is basically spending $80-90 on a premium cooler then ditching $45 worth of fans soon as you open it. If you wanted the performance and simply didn't like the colors, were ok with spending on additional fans you could replace the nh-d15 fans with the redux 140mm round frame for a two tone gray color scheme without sacrificing quality or performance. It will still mean spending a good $130-140 between cooler and fans.

 

[MonteXMat]

Consider the TC14PE-BK instead.

TC14PE-BK is better only because of the fans, that I'd have changed as well x:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/noctua-nh-d15_6.html#sect1

 

[RazerZ]

Have you considered buying a LED strip to illuminate your case instead?

 

[synphul]

That's another good option. Using an led strip, especially a multicolor rgb or rgb+w will allow a variety of colors without worry about led fan colors.

 

[MonteXMat]

It should fit. The case has a 180mm cooler clearance. The NH-D15 is 165mm tall with the stock 140mm fans. 180-165=15mm of ram clearance to work with. The HyperX Cloud is 14.41mm taller than your average 32mm low profile ram, so if you used 140mm fans it would be a narrow fit. However since the set you chose is 120mm, you should be fine.

The fans are mounted by metal fan brackets, they are easily removable. They should fit the SP120s, but will get stretched out a bit since the fans are square shaped compared to the Noctuas it comes with (not that it matters).

I have the D-15, performance wise it is the best on the market. This might change with the new fans... if you don't want to spend a lot and have no need for the 140mm AF-15s it comes with you could always consider another air cooler with a matching color scheme.

Typo. The fans are 140mm. Still much performance loss?

 

[RazerZ]

Thermal performance will be slightly worse but they run noticeably louder compared to the NF-A15. Silence is a main selling point for Noctua.

 

[MonteXMat]

Thermal performance will be slightly worse but they run noticeably louder compared to the NF-A15. Silence is a main selling point for Noctua.

Ok now the final thing (I hope).
Space for the graphics card. If I buy the Noctua NH-D15, then will there be enough space to use the card in the first PCIe slot?
Or can I just use it in the second one with no problem?

EDIT: The card is MSI GTX 970

 

[RazerZ]

Ok now the final thing (I hope).
Space for the graphics card. If I buy the Noctua NH-D15, then will there be enough space to use the card in the first PCIe slot?
Or can I just use it in the second one with no problem?

The first PCI-Ex1 slot might be blocked, but you will have room for the graphics card on the first PCI-Ex16 slot. If you don't need the extra SATA ports that come with the Z97-GD65 you should consider other cheaper red/black Z97 boards such as this one:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£97.25 @ Ebuyer)
Total: £97.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-31 00:33 BST+0100

 

[MonteXMat]

Ok, that's it then!

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[MonteXMat]

Ok to be honest I have one more question.
Don't I need PWM version of fans if I want to replace the ones on NH-D15?

EDIT: 30dba is not loud at all anyway.
Nevermind!