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Reddit
reddit.com › r/noctua › choosing between u12a, nh-d15 and nh-d15s
r/Noctua on Reddit: Choosing between U12A, NH-D15 and NH-D15S
April 8, 2022 -

Hi, I can't decide what cooler to choose.

I have tall ram: Corsair Vengance pro RGB - 51mm height

U12A has no problem with ram, but also it's the most expensive one.

NH-D15 will only work with one fan between the coolers, so it's kinda NH-D15S but i will get a extra fan to mount in the future when i buy a new platform with lower ram. Also NH-D15 and NH-D15S are close on the price.

I heard that NH-D15S has better compatybility with first pci-e slot, but how important is that? Is it ofter to run to problems with first pci-e slot?

In performance all three coolers are close to each other. But from the test i see that NH-D15 and NH-D15S can work on lower rpm when achieving similiar performance to U12A.

Thanks again for helping me guys

Top answer
1 of 5
16

U12A Chromax is what I'm using and it's worth every bit of the price. It has almost the same level of cooling capabilities as the NH-D15 with the difference being it looks cleaner in your system, isn't unnecessarily bulky, and you won't have clearance issues with basically any ram so you show off the rgb.

2 of 5
13

If cost is not a concern, I would choose U12A simply because it's less bulky.

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notebookcheck.net › Noctua-NH-D15-and-NH-U12A-Review-Two-powerful-air-coolers-for-all-common-CPU-sockets.686452.0.html
Noctua NH-D15 and NH-U12A Review: Two powerful air coolers for all common CPU sockets - Notebookcheck Review
January 27, 2023 - The dimensions of the Noctua NH-D15 ... test bench setup on our Streacom BC1 V2 Open Benchtable. ... The Noctua NH-U12A is also a tower cooler with six heatpipes....
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NH-D15 vs NH-U12A
In terms of absolute performance NH-D15 is your winner but in a case like 4000D that D15 will block half of the case and with a 4090FE running underneath, the air might be choked. Also I'm not sure you'll be able to use the 7mm offset with an D15 and with a D15S your heatsink might be too close to the top fan (if you'll have one). More on reddit.com
🌐 r/Noctua
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With an ambient temperature of 15c, my 9800X3D peaks at 50c while gaming, and it’s right above a RTX 5090 which has pass through cooling (GPU peaks at 66c). Inside a Fractal North (non-XL). Pretty sure everyone who says the U12A is not enough for a 9800X3D either is flat out lying, or they use a fish tank case with zero airflow, or they live out in the middle of a desert with 45c ambient temps. More on reddit.com
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pcpartpicker.com › forums › topic › 344743-noctua-battle-nh-u12a-vs-nh-d15
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Anyone else with these coolers have any more details or stories?. I'm about to pull the trigger on a CPU cooler and can't decide between these two. The NH-D15 is bigger and dual tower but the NH-U12A has an additional heat pipe and the new and improved fans. Both are so close in price too, ...
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versus.com › home › cpu cooler comparison › noctua nh-d15 g2 vs noctua nh-u12a
Noctua NH-D15 G2 vs Noctua NH-U12A: What is the difference?
Get the Noctua NH-D15 G2 — it wins Dimensions3 and Cooling1 — unless General info2 decides it for you.
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techpowerup.com › review › noctua-nh-u12a › 9.html
Noctua NH-U12A Review - Value & Conclusion | TechPowerUp
Noctua NH-U12A
Where to begin? From a performance and quality standpoint, Noctua manages to surprise yet again. While the NH-U12A fails to beat the NH-D15 or NH-D15S, it does put up some decent numbers, coming in just 1–2 °C behind its larger brothers. Taking that into account and considering this is a ... Noctua delivers top-tier air cooling performance in a compact design with the release of the NH-U12A. Sporting two of their latest NF-A12x25 PWM fans, what this cooler lacks in regards to RGB LEDs, it makes up for with brown and tan Noctua styling and a premium build quality that is second to none.
Rating: 5 ​
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Help: Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black v/s NH-U12A Chromax Black | Overclock.net
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A few years ago I wrote an article comparing the Noctua NH-D15 against five high end closed loop coolers and surprisingly the NH-D15 performed very well while offering the best noise-to-performance ratio. Many years have gone by since the release of the NH-D15 and Noctua has come out with the NH-U12A which is said to offer 140mm class performance in 120mm size.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r › Noctua › comments › 1jgqe76 › nh_u12a_or_nh_d15_g2_hbc_for_purely_noise_not
NH U12A или NH D15 G2 HBC? Только по уровню шума ...
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Pangoly
pangoly.com › en › compare › cpu-cooler › noctua-nh-u12a-vs-noctua-nh-d15-g2-chromax-black
Noctua NH-U12A vs NH-D15 G2 chromax.Black CPU Cooler Comparison | Pangoly
Compare CPU Coolers: Noctua NH-U12A vs NH-D15 G2 chromax.Black. 35% cheaper - you can save $60. Generally quieter under full load
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/noctua › nh-d15 vs nh-u12a
r/Noctua on Reddit: NH-D15 vs NH-U12A
December 25, 2023 -

Hey there,
I'm building a new PC that will use the following parts:

  1. 7950x

  2. 4090 FE

  3. Corsair vengeance 32GB ram * 2 (35mm in height)

  4. 4000d Airflow case

Given these parts, what would you recommend between the NH-D15 and NH-U12A?
I'm mainly interested in the best thermal performance, so my initial thought was to just go with the D15.
But lately I've seen that the performance between the D15 and U12A is quite negligible, and the size of the U12A is a plus compared to the D15.

Top answer
1 of 5
4
In terms of absolute performance NH-D15 is your winner but in a case like 4000D that D15 will block half of the case and with a 4090FE running underneath, the air might be choked. Also I'm not sure you'll be able to use the 7mm offset with an D15 and with a D15S your heatsink might be too close to the top fan (if you'll have one).
2 of 5
2
I had same dilemma as you, even bought both of them to try before finally deciding on U12A. What really made me pick U12A was it's comparable performance to D15, while having way smaller footprint. With D15, majority of upper area of case was blocked off, which made it extremely hard and tedious to so something as simple as cleaning your PC, let alone changing the ram or swapping your primary slot SSD. Another thing to consider is whether you'll be able to use both the fans with Ram you have. I have HyperX predator RGB and cooler master mb511 case. With first fan moved up enough so that it would clear the ram, it made it impossible to close the side panel since the height of the cooler was now more than the cooler clearance my case provided. I had to run my D15 with single fan in that regards, which made the made the 2-3° C difference they had to level out. (Both of them used on a 3700X). Now it's up to you whether you want best performance, or take a slight hit on performance to have more open area in your case. Whichever path you choose, you won't be disappointed. :)
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r › Noctua › comments › 1gfqe75 › which_one_to_choose_nhu12a_or_nhd15s
Lequel choisir entre le NH-U12A ou le NH-D15s ? : r/Noctua
October 30, 2024 - Devrais-je opter pour le U12A pour la compatibilité RAM ou le NH-D15s ?
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/noctua › nh-d15 g2 or nh-u12a (more info down below)
r/Noctua on Reddit: NH-D15 G2 or NH-U12A (more info down below)
June 27, 2025 -

Hello,

new here, and I am thinking of buying one of the mentioned coolers for my R5 7600x. I have a Fractal North case, based on specifications both coolers would fit technically although the NH-D15 G2 is a very tight fit as it would only have 1-2mm between the backplate of the GPU and the cooler, the NH-U12A would have about 15mm. Since I have a large hand I already have to use a stick or something for the GPU release thingy so it does't matter if the space is smaller from this standpoint, I'm just not sure if it matters from a thermal standpoint of the GPU.

Which cooler shall I go for?
Thank for the advice in advance.

Top answer
1 of 1
2
With an ambient temperature of 15c, my 9800X3D peaks at 50c while gaming, and it’s right above a RTX 5090 which has pass through cooling (GPU peaks at 66c). Inside a Fractal North (non-XL). Pretty sure everyone who says the U12A is not enough for a 9800X3D either is flat out lying, or they use a fish tank case with zero airflow, or they live out in the middle of a desert with 45c ambient temps.
🌐
VERSUS
versus.com › home › cpu cooler comparison › noctua nh-d15 g2 vs noctua nh-u12a chromax.black
Noctua NH-D15 G2 vs Noctua NH-U12A Chromax.Black: What is the difference?
November 1, 2018 - What is the difference between Noctua NH-D15 G2 and Noctua NH-U12A Chromax.Black? Find out which is better and their overall performance in the CPU cooler ranking.
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Noctua
noctua.at › en › expertise › tech › nh-d15-g2-vs-nh-d15-performance-data
NH-D15 G2 vs. NH-D15 performance data | Noctua
Noctua’s Standardised Performance Rating (NSPR) is a platform-independent classification system that allows customers to assess and compare the efficiency of Noctua CPU coolers at a glance: The higher the NSPR score, the better the heatsink’s performance. With a score of 228, the NH-D15 G2 sets a new benchmark.
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