Question 1

Is this cooler compatible with AMD RYZEN 9 3900X processor and will it fit in Cooler Master HAF-X case ?

Accepted Answer

This is one of the best air CPU coolers on the market.  I think it would be fine for the 3900X especially since it's TDP is listed as 105 which Intel exceeds when OCed.  A reviewer on YT used basically this cooler for his 9600K benchmarks and got that to 5ghz without issue it seemed, so this is probably one of the best choices as far as air coolers go.    Not sure on fit, but it fits in my Define R5, so you could compare it to those width dimensions.

Question 2

Will it block the first PCI-E slot?

Accepted Answer

It does not block any slots on my ASUS nor MSI ATX motherboards. I do have it mounted facing towards the IO and not the top of the case. I'm not sure you can mount it so that the fans blow up out of the top of the case, though I imagine it might block the PCI slot if you found a way to do that.

Question 3

Has this behemoth ever damaged anyone's motherboard or CPU before (it looks incredibly heavy to be hanging vertically)?

Accepted Answer

I have owned 2 NH-D15's.  One on my AMD board and one for a Intel build I had.  I have not had a issue with damaging either board.  If it will fit in your case it is right on par with closed loop liquid coolers and you don't have to worry about any leaks.

Question 4

What temperature does Ryzen run under full load with this cooler at stock frequency? When overclocked?

Accepted Answer

I am clocked at 4.0 with no issues and a quiet fan.  The fan ramps up in speed at  4.1 and 4.2 doesn't feel very stable.

Apparently the CPU temp is like 20 degrees off from what it actually is.  AMD put this offset in for "reasons".  So this problem throws things off a little bit.

The fan is a monster but really nice quality.  What it does is let your run it at super low/quiet all the time.  I am very happy that I chose this expensive fan over an AIO water cooler.

I've done water cooling before.  You need a certain amount of fans and radiator size to achieve a certain amount of cooling.  The air fan surpasses what water cooling can accomplish unless you make the water cooler LOUD.  Between noise, installation annoyance, maintenance annoyance, and cost; AIO is not the way to go.  Sorry fanboys.

Question 5

does it fit on Asus Prime X470 Pro board with G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series DDR4 Ram? Doesn't it go over the RAM slots?

Accepted Answer

It should fit as long as you can move the fans up a little bit. I had to do that even with Corsair LPX ram. Also make sure the case is wide enough my one fan is millimeters away from my glass on my Corsair 570x.

Question 6

i have an Antec P-280 case and a MSI Z97-G45...with a coolermaster hyper 212 evo installed.  Do I need to remove the motherboard for installation?  Thanks in advance!

Accepted Answer

To install the Noctua NH-D15 you will not need to remove your motherboard in your case as the Antec P-280 exposes the underside of the motherboard enough for you to install the NH-D15's bracket by removing the side panel of your case. I should point out though that the MSI Z97-G45 is an intel board. This version of the Noctua ND-D15 is for AMD AM4 socket motherboards. You will need the version that has the Intel bracket: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAADY44C6006&cm_re=NH-D15-_-35-608-045-_-Product

Question 7

What does "Fan without Adapter" mean in the description?
1500 RPM (Fan without Adapter) 1200 RPM (with L.N.A.)
140.20 m3/h (Fan without Adapter) 115.50 m3/h (with L.N.A.)

Accepted Answer

L.N.A = Low Noise Adapter = 4 pin pass through except resistor on +12 volts - limits current , thus speed, of fan.

Description is stating the delta (change) in speed due to having the LNA in series, or LNA totally out of the loop.

The "Low Noise" part refers to lowered speed => quieter

Question 8

will this fit in GIGABYTE X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING AM4 AMD X470  with 4 ram slots used?

Accepted Answer

It should you will just have to move the fan up to accommodate as the the ram. Make sure you case can close. Corsair 570x  is like 6mm away from the glass with corsair LPX ram.

Question 9

has anyone installed this in a Corsair 450d case?

Accepted Answer

I haven't but I looked it up for you.  The maximum cooler height for that case is 165mm and the cooler is 165mm.  Even if someone has the fan fitting in his 450d case, you are still taking a chance that your case and fan are exactly the same as yours.  A better choice might be the slightly shorter Noctua NH-U12S SE-AM4 and you simply purchase the second NF-F12 fan so you have 2 fans.  That cooler comes with a second clip.  Newegg sells it as of when I wrote this post.

Question 10

whats the difference berween this and the standard Novtua NH-D15 SSO2... if the am4 special is sold out can I get by ordering the SS02 and a compatability kit to run this on the AMD4 asus crosshair VI hero?

Accepted Answer

This kit does not come with any mounting plates. It includes 4 screws & plastic spacers which fit into the standard AM4 plate which comes with the motherboard.  In addition to these, there are 4 curved metal brackets:
 2 shorter brackets for mounting the cooler for front to back airflow
 2 longer brackets for mounting the cooler for bottom to top airflow
Each bracket has 2 holes for attaching to to the screws coming up from the base plate.  The center of each bracket has a fixed male threaded screw which points upwards.
The heatsink, itself, has 2 female threaded receptacles, pointed downwards, which have phillips heads on their tops, and are spring loaded.
There is no Intel or AM3+ hardware included.
Otherwise, I believe the kits are the same.

Questions & Answers