Noctua NH-D15 G2 Review & Benchmarks, HBC & LBC Comparison, & Best CPU Coolers

Sponsor: NZXT C1500 Platinum PSU on Amazon This is our most in-depth CPU cooler review & benchmark yet. We test Noctua’s new NH-D15 G2 for thermals (Intel & AMD temperature testing), acoustics, frequency response, flatness, pressure, and more. The benchmarks also cover Noctua’s three alternatives for the Noctua NH-D15 G2, including the base model and HBC vs. LBC differences (High Base Convexity & Low Base Convexity). Because Noctua includes washers for a washer mod on the Intel ILM, we also ran benchmarks for that, plus tests of the old vs. new fans. The NH-D15 G2 is Noctua’s first major dual-tower release since 2014, and now it faces competition from the Thermalright Peerless Assassin, ID Cooling A720, Arctic Liquid Freezer III, and other cheaper coolers. This is EXPENSIVE testing. To help support our ability to continue bringing high-quality and independent reviews like these, grab something on our store! Consider grabbing one of our 3D emblem commemorative pint glasses: Buy a GN Large Anti-Static Modmat for PC Building! Buy a GN Soldering & Project Mat: Like our content? Please consider becoming our Patron to support us: RELATED PRODUCTS [Affiliate Links] Noctua NH-D15 G2 on Newegg: Noctua NH-D15 G2 on Amazon: Noctua NH-D15 G2 HBC on Newegg: Noctua NH-D15 G2 HBC on Amazon: Noctua NH-D15 G2 LBC on Newegg: Noctua NH-D15 G2 LBC on Amazon: ALTERNATIVES TO NH-D15 G2 [Affiliate Links] Thermalright Peerless Assassin SE on Amazon: Thermalright Peerless Assassin SE on Newegg: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 Black on Amazon: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 Black on Newegg: ID Cooling A720 on Amazon: Thermalright Frozen Prism 360 on Amazon: TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Noctua NH-D15 G2 Review & Benchmarks 02:16 - Price & Basics: NH-D15 G2 vs. LBC, HBC 06:42 - Laser Scanning: HBC, LBC, & G2 Coldplates 08:29 - Thermal Testing Methodology 10:32 - 200W AMD: Noctua-Only at Full Speed 12:33 - 200W AMD: Noctua-Only Noise-Normalized 12:51 - 250W Intel: Noctua-Only Noise-Normalized 14:10 - 250W Intel: Noctua-Only at Full Speed 14:40 - 250W Comparison, Noise Normalized (Intel) 16:13 - 200W Comparison, Full Speed (AMD) 17:54 - 200W Comparison, Noise Normalized (AMD) 18:20 - 250W Comparison, Full Speed (Intel) 19:11 - Core-to-Core Deltas (250W Intel) 20:10 - Pressure Testing (HBC vs. Washer vs. LBC vs. G2) 21:53 - Acoustic Testing 23:12 - Frequency Spectrum (NF-A14 G2 vs. Original) 24:34 - Noise Samples (NH-D15 G2 vs. NH-D15) 26:38 - AMD Installation Instructions (AM4 and AM5 ) 28:47 - Intel Installation Instructions (Noctua NH-D15 G2) 30:26 - Intel Washer Mod Instructions 32:15 - Praise & Criticism of Installation 34:21 - Conclusion ** Please like, comment, and subscribe for more! ** Links to Amazon and Newegg are typically monetized on our channel (affiliate links) and may return a commission of sales to us from the retailer. This is unrelated to the product manufacturer. Any advertisements or sponsorships are disclosed within the video (“this video is brought to you by“) and above the fold in the description. We do not ever produce paid content or “sponsored content“ (meaning that the content is our idea and is not funded externally aside from whatever ad placement is in the beginning) and we do not ever charge manufacturers for coverage. Follow us in these locations for more gaming and hardware updates: t: f: w: Steve Burke: Host, Test Lead, Writing Mike Gaglione: Host, Testing Vitalii Makhnovets: Camera, Video Editing Tim Phetdara: Camera