Differences Between the ND-D15 and NH-D14

There were a few differences that I had noticed between the different generations. First thing that was noticed was that there weren’t any rubber strips on the metal fins. It’s assumed they removed them because Noctua upgraded the bearings to SSO2 (self-stabilizing oil-pressure bearings)

It’s also a little bit bigger and the center fan is a little further away from the fins. The fins had been widened from 140 to 150mm and heatpipes spaced further apart, which allows for a more uniform heat distribution over a larger surface area.

Conclusion

Even though there are only a few differences between the Noctua NH-D15 and Noctua NH-D14, those differences greatly enhanced the performance of the current model. It’s also compatible with current AMD and Intel motherboards, making it versatile. The 6 year warranty is also a very nice touch.

The downside to this is the price, size and aesthetics. The MSRP is $99 and the size is a huge downfall. Not being able to utilize the second fan because of the heatsink pushing on other components in a mid-tower, standard ATX motherboard is almost a deal breaker and it also makes upgrading RAM much more difficult. The color and look of the fan is unappealing and strange, but that imperfection is probably minor for most people.