The Noctua NH-D15 CPU Cooler: Installation Guide for AMD's AM4 Platform 

Great video. Installed my NH-D15 so long ago I'd forgotten the steps and wanted to change CPU. This video is a perfect and well polished how to demonstration. With respect to removing the video card with the fans installed mentioned at the end of the video. Simply depress the Video Card latch with a thin long bladed screwdriver.

absolutely amazingly detailed video. I understand that many experienced PC builders may not need a lot of this install information but I absolutely do since I am new to this and your video has been the most helpful for me.

Thank you for this wonderful video. Even a year later, it’s still relevant as the cooler is so good at what it does…

What a nice install video! I kind of wish this was released a week ago, because I just did a build for a friend using this cooler. Installing it wasn't too bad or anything, but having this video would have been just that much more convenient. I did initially install the frontplates upside down though and then applied thermal paste, so I had to unscrew and fix them while avoiding the thermal paste. And this video would have been nice for doing the fan clips, too. Welp, at least I can see that I did everything correctly. And hopefully applied enough thermal paste, too.

saving this video for next month, i really needed this!

Your production quality made me think you're one of the big guys. Amazing stuff and keep it up.

Use masking or cleanroom tape to hold the backplate while installing the mounting bracket.

Excellent video bro. I have also ordered this CPU cooler and I'll soon put up a video on this!

Very great video, insightful and every step explained in great detail! Thank you!

Thanks for this! Just a note in case others are having trouble with the screws like I was just now - they take a lot more force than you think they do! I went back and forth getting one screw on a bit and then the other wouldn't seem to go on - but eventually realized I just wasn't putting enough force onto the second screw. Be careful that your screwdriver doesn't slip! But the springs on the screws can probably handle more force than you think.

Nice video! Simple, easy to follow.

NH-D15s with a second fan fixes the fitting problems, thank God. That said, very comprehensive video, thankyou!

Just wanted to say thank you so much for taking the time to go over small details that many other videos seem to gloss over or ignore. I'm sure many of the details are pretty obvious to experienced/knowledgeable pc builders. But it is extremely helpful for novice like me!

Awesome Install guide. I haven't seen one better. Using a White Case helps see a lot of detail against the darker components for step-by-step updates. I heard it's a good idea to briefly test run your system after applying the fresh paste, then turn it off and let the paste solidify during cool down for better performance next boot. Rather than, apply paste and benchmark or stress test repeatedly before shutting off the system at all with "wet" paste.

I naturally found myself in the situation of comparing the Noctua NH-D15 and the Artic Liquid Freezer II 360 AIO. I tested both. I found the Noctua NH-D15 to be the best choice for me.

Thank you so much for this man, seriously. I can't thank you enough I really appreciate you!

Just bought a brand new DH15 Chromax today! : ) Can't wait for it to arrive

i use the brown nh-d15, becuase i got it like 3 years ago. and i love this cooler. i have never had a problem with it, my temps along with the fan curve, even while gaming are around 50c tops. and it is whisper quiet.

What I learned from what I needed, so I was confused by the 3 fans needing to connect to the mb, I learned a splitter is included to fix that, I learned I don’t need to worry about thermal paste since it’s going to be included, as well as any tools I need, I learned it is a big sized cooler so once it’s in place, the side panel to my pc may not fit but atleast my cpu will be breathing properly (also it works with am4 and am5 so I’m good )

I didn't need this video, but if I did, it would have been a perfect guide. Really good job.

Quick and complete information, thx.

It took me a while to realize what case you were installing this in. It looked familiar at first then I realized it was a Be Quiet case like I have, but mine is black. There certainly is a lot of room like you showed above the cooler to work with and plenty of clearance for cooler height.

Excellent vid, keen to install my D15!

Perfect video for the purpose. Thank you.

My friend this video was incredibly through and amazing!

Thanks for the instructional video, have a great weekend

LoL, I just ordered one of these since my cooler pump died. The cool part is I have the exact cpu you have in the video. So basically a perfect install video.

You can actually mount the Noctua in any orientation you like. In fact some mothers boards wont allow a GPU in the top slot without turning the Noctua 90 degrees right or left. The Asus Maximus IX Apex motherboard in one of these boards. It will perform exactly the same as long as proper airflow is allowed in the case.

Very useful tip! Another way is to put one book behind the pc case space for the backplate and another towards the lower part of the case so as to have a kind of ''bridge''.If you put the second book at the right point it holds the backplate well.

God bless you, sir!

The is hands down the best tutorial video for the Noctua cooler. Thanks for the great explanation. Sucks that it will obscure my EVGA 3080 GPU release latches. Hate that I have to remove cpu to remove my gpu…

Amazing cooler! My 5600x was overheating at 96 degrees with the stock cooler so I bought this, I know it's overkill but I assume I'll have this for future upgrades. Haven't seen my CPU go over 60 degrees and with a new overclock on the GPU I am getting 30-35% more FPS in CPU demanding titles.

The last words made me think hard i should wait with mounting until i have the right gpu, thanks for the video

Thank you. Very helpful..

Scored the standard NH-D15 brand new in box for $40 and yesterday picked up this new black version with the white chromax covers for $70 lightly used. Cooling performance is not the only factor in buying a quality cooler but how they install. Some install with far more juggling of parts, backplates and screws. Others you simply set it down on the CPU and easily start the install. Noctua do make some of the better installation methods. All time favorite is my Prolimatech Megahalems which you could finger tighten the crossbar for effortless no risk, no heavy pressure install. I bought a Vetroo V5 for $20 recently for my childs Ryzen 1600AF system and it cools well enough just the install method was no where as good.

Great video once again! I would like to kindly request a TBG quality review of the highly anticipated 'Le Grand Macho RT (w/ TR-TY147B fan) supposedly dethroning the supreme NH-D15 -- a review that would be invaluable to me and perhaps other enthusiasts. Thank you for your effort!

thank you for the video bro!

The CPU backplate is usually comes installed on the motherboard with the default mounting hardware. If you don't have these you probably bought it from someone who used the motherboard earlier with a custom cooler and they didn't place back the backplate and mounting kit after removing their custom coolers. If you buy a used motherboard, make sure you have these. Normally the first step would be to remove the default mounting hardware and leaving the backplate on the motherboard. You can install the cooler mounting hardware on the motherboard box in a horizontal position. The heatsink itself is best installed after the motherboard is installed in the PC case with all the cables connected.

Thanks!

thx man :) works like a charm

You're perfect! Thank you bro :)

Thanks for this great vid! Btw what is the height of your ram?

Thanks so much for clearing up that 3 pin 4 pin thing. I couldn't fit the front color because of my cabinet clearance, and couldn't understand why I got CPU fan error afterwards. Must have plugged it in the 3 pin..

great video! I'm using a lian li o11d xl and i have a vertical mounting bracket available, will the vertical mounted gpu fit? your test rig seems similar to my case

brilliant video

Thanks for this, helped a lot. Black version looks so much cleaner too damn. Should you wait a bit to play games after installing a new cooler?

Thanks for the video^^ May I ask you something, just in case you happen to know... Should I get the Noctua NH-D15 S instead of the regular NH D-15 for cooling a Ryzen 9 5900X? I live in Greece and temperature is quite high during Summer... I will miss one fan but I will have more room for the video card and the M.2 Slot. Hopefully I will be able to open the top M.2 Slot without unistalling the cooler (I'm not sure though). I could also buy a second fan later on, but they are expensive and I'd rather avoid it... The motherboard is an MSI X570 MAG Tomahawk. Thank you in advance for your time!

I love how easy it is to pop these Noctua coolers off and back on after its mounted.

I bought this cooler based on reviews and pretty much price... just went with a 100 dollar cooler....this thing is huge!

Gem of a video. 💎

I've bought 3 of these D15 coolers now on the local market. Brand new in the box standard D15 both for $40 each. Used but like new D15 Black version with White Chromax covers for $70. Great coolers cooling stock clocked 5600X,5800X and 5800X3D. Overkill yes but at those prices why not.

Awesome video, question: so i have 3 fans atm that are corsair fans that are very loud. And i recently ordered 2x arctic p14 and i am thinking of replacing the arctics with my corsair in the front. But i still got one in the back and i was wondering should i maybe take the front fan of my nhd15 and use at as a exhaust case fan? How big is the difference when using dual fan and single fan?

As for accessing gpu latch in case you wish to unmount your GPU. I just used plastic pin (don’t use anything made of hard material to not scratch anything) to press on the latch.

Looked at several installation videos and yours was the best. Told me how to clip on the second fan. The only thing missing was the orientation of the fans. Which direction do you have them going???? I assume in the same direction? But how do you tell which direction is which?

Great tutorial

You can hit the latch on the GPU. Even though it looks really close, you can get you finger in there and click that latch.

It's nice, that Noctua launched black line after years and years of complaining about brown and beige pattern letting you only color match your Louis Vuitton themed build. My favourite additon in Chromax D15 are these mysterious white code numbers on most exposed point of fans :> But if you can mount these fans upside down to get full blackout look and without exposing the cables or any problems with them - great.

Yeah definitely need this one. I recently got a 3070 and my cpu is running 90c on almost all my games.

That's great Noctua designed it so you can't over torque and damage the cpu and motherboard with spring stopper.

Excelente!!! ganhou um inscrito

Hey man! I would be glad if you will notice this but, I don't know if I am being nuts with my question but, should I stop screwing the screws until I feel them not turning anymore? Does it really need to be that tight? With no allowance? Thanks in advance man.

Gorilla tape the back plate, holds it nicely and takes 30 seconds to put on and take off afterwards 👌

i have the NH-D15 SE-AM4. it makes me want to get a full tower case. about ready to take this out and replace it with a 3rd gen ryzen(vs 1st gen). doing the gpu card upgrade also(980 to 3060). should be cool smooth running for gaming

Gonna be building my first pc with a buddy soon, I opted to get this cooler instead of AOI liquid. Hope it goes as smooth as it did for you 😂

My pc build is most likely the same . I just had a problem with 2nd fan over ram . I couldn’t close my case so I installed fan a little further

Do you need both fans or is one enough for a 3950x in a high airflow case?

Tnx, finally notice that i did wrong.. didnt use the right line to setup my fan 👍🏻 finally no noise when the fan gear up

Hi! With the displacement of the cooler above the ram, what is the distance between the cpu and the top of the fan, to know the size of pc case i should buy

Small issue, it seems that my case is not thick enough for it to sit on top of the ram or else it will not close, can i put the fan on the second fan on the back instead of the front? will it cause any damage if i do?

there is a way to swich the front fan to the rear side, i mean, the middle stay where it is, but if you wont rise up the front fan and swich it to the opossite side near the back fan of the case is it possible? i saw a video where this noctua was like i say and it make me fell good because my ram is 44mm and the specs says no more than 40mm xD. p.D: maybe the secure of the fan have to flip to match the opssite side.

You jumped over a step I may have a problem with. The cover on the base interface is a hard transparent plastic molding which in my case fell out of the packaging when I opened it. This is the cover you're talking about? or do you mean there is an additional peel off soft plastic cover I should have peeled off before mounting the cooler?

Pro Tip: Cooler bracket mounting is easiest when the motherboard is not in the case. Always install bracket mounts onto motherboard with backer plate before installing the motherboard if possible. This does not include upgrading to a new cooler with an existing build, as removing the motherboard to do this install is more hassle than the awkwardness of installing new brackets. But if this is a fresh build, ALWAYS do this step first!

I still can't figure out what you mean by "the right orientation". I assume you're using the readability of the logos to determine it, but what part of the motherboard counts as "up"? The spring-loaded mounting screws make it impossible to install it flipped 90 degrees the wrong way, but how do I know I don't have the metal shell flipped 180 degrees the wrong way?

I bought the light brown colored version for 80euros. Funny to see you used the Fuma 2 screw driver :)

Painters tape. Its your best friend with that god damn am4 backplate. Just make sure to ground the tape to the psu before you stick it on, and also make sure you peel it off very carefully.

will this cooler fit a Corsair Carbide spec 01 case? mobo is a ASUS Tuf x570 AM4 socket 3700x CPU. its a small case i dont know if it would fit it looks like a monster of a cooler. using the stock wraith right now temps in 70s

I have a U12S on my 5600x, can't recommend noctua enough. Full stock boost, 100% load...65 degrees. Insane.

Thanks. God bless.

The scythe screwdriver is quite handy 😁

Thermal paste application is always something that seems to divid opinion, the problem with separate splodges is that it can encourage trapped air bubbles in-between.

number one!

Man I was excited to grab this one but after showing the final build I'm kinda worried that once I've installed everything, it's all locked in place for good... any good tips for removing the cooler later when it's time to upgrade or clean stuff? I know the first step is probably to remove the GPU, but accessing that latch... is even more hostile here because I've filled all RAM slots and there's a chonky nvme that gets in the way of unlatching it by finger (it's one of those horizontal latches from Aorus boards that looks like the RAM latches, I think it opens by pushing it down or pulling it towards the front? Been a while since I messed with it)... seen suggestions in the comments to use a long screwdriver or a ruler, is this the best way to go? I wish they designed these coolers keeping in mind how cramped it gets by adding an easy way to remove the fans with the cooler installed, so all you had to do next was the super easy step of removing two screws from the mounting bracket and then taking the cooler out of the case vertically...

Biggest "problem" for this cooler is Noctua's own D15S - more compatible with RAM and GPUS, almost the same performance and is also cheaper.

What about radiators from this Noctua cooler likely touching GPU plate? And also rubber covers on the fan that sit’s in a middle also touching GPU plate? Is this not an issue? Even potential fire hazard as the rubber could melt?

You can use some thin double sided tape. I wasted a glob of thermal paste the other day coz the backplate fell off when I unscrewed the nuts. So stuck some double sided tape on it; now it won't fall off.

did everything in the video, the cooler fits on one screw the other screw is an 1/8th of an inch off from fitting, im using the am4 adapter that came with the cooler any idea on whats wrong?

You can unlatch your gpu by using a ruler. A ruler is long and thin enough to push the latch down.

does anyone having issue with the paste applications? i have Gigabyte B550 auros elite v2 mobo, did all correct spacers and applied like 1/3 paste compared to in this video and still my paste coming out of edges. had to clean the excess paste 3 times and now im not even sure if there is enough paste left.

Can you do an installation guide for the brown one?

Thoughts on this video jotted down while watching. The CPU backplate can be temporarily held in place with a piece or two of tape. Makes installing it a lot less fiddly. Alternatively if you are installing the cooler while building the computer then attach the backplate before installing the motherboard in the case. When tightening the screws holding the CPU backplate you don't really need to cross tighten them. There is nothing to compress in the middle of the plate so each screw is only putting pressure on the PCB immediately between the CPU backplate then the spacer, and the pressure under one screw doesn't change no matter how hard or lose you screw down any of the others. So just tighten down each of these four screws and be done with it. However just like shown in the video you need to cross tighten the two screws. Everyone has their own technique for this. Personally I start with backing the screw until I feel it skip on the beginning of the first thread, then I give it one turn making sure it engaged the thread. Repeat this with the other screw but I give that one two turns instead. Now I switch between the screws every time giving them two turns. This way the pressure center will only shift slightly up and down every time and it makes sure that it's always very close to the center of the heat spreader. If you feel this takes too long then give the first screw two turns the first time and then use four turns each time you switch screw until they bottom out. This moves the center of pressure a bit more each time but halves the number of times you switch between the screws. Finally regarding the size of this cooler it should be noted that if you look at 10:25 you can see that this cooler actually is so large that on this motherboard it actually covers up the first expansion slot, and that the graphics card is installed in the second slot. This is important to know as there are motherboards that have the x16 PCI-e slot intended for graphics cards in the first slot position. On these motherboards this heatsink will obstruct that slot preventing the installation of a graphics card there. Also note that even if your motherboard have two or even more x16 slots it's very uncommon for any but the first one to actually be wired for more than x8. If in doubt check the motherboard manual to make sure. Also Noctua have a pretty large database on their site where you can see if the cooler will fit a certain motherboard. I think they also have a case compatibility database, so before ordering it might be worth taking a look there.

pc shop mounted this 90° pushing air on top instead of back pc, so that's is bad for good °C?

What is the max RAM clearance for this cooler? Will the Corsair Vengeance RBG Pro or Vengeance SL fit without moving a fan up? ( I know you can, but I don’t know if my side panel will allow for that (I have the Rosewill ThorV2 (it has a side fan) Will there be enough space for the Vengeance Rbg Pro

Hello, could you tell me if you were able to close ur case without any issue . I can tell the cpu cooler outer fan that is above the ram is making it hard to close the desktop case. And do you have any recommendations to choose an atx case for this fan?

does this cooler bend the motherboard by any chance? did you had any problems? could u answer me? i have a x570 UD gigabyte and i´m in doubt if this will hold.

do you need special height ram to fit with the heat sink?

Will having the noctua heat sink the opposite way affect performance at all or is it just so that it looks good the right side up?

I realize this is an older video but I wondered one thing. How does this compare to the Corsair A70? I notice that this heatsink has more heat pipes. I also did a search for liquid cooling and a lot of posts I see recommend this cooler. I know Noctua is a good brand but I never had any of their products before. They are known for quieter fans mostly

By sitting the front fan directly on top of the ram, do you mean it's touching the ram? Is that OK, or should I be leaving a tiny gap?

can i fit it with h5 flow case and with my corsair vengeance rgb pro. rams i thibk cant fit with d15:(

Wish you had done the little stringy wires part of the fans cant figure it out