• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Can Noctua NH-D15S at stock speed keep Intel I7 8700k cool enough

teigas

New Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
4 (0.00/day)
I am building a new computer and are looking in to air cooling and water cooling. I want to build in a fractal design case and see that if i go with water cooling i will loose my hd bay. So i was looking in to Noctua and wondering if it will be good enougf for keeping it cool at stock speed. I looked at the big brother with two fans, but I am not sure that it will clear my g skillz trident ram. So I was wondering if this would keep it cool or i should fine another case and go water cool?

The cpu: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-870...qid=1533593640&sr=1-2&keywords=intel+i7+8700k

The fan: https://www.amazon.com/noctua-D-Typ...pons&keywords=noctua+nh-d15s+cpu+cooler&psc=1

The case - https://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Desi...3922&sr=8-2&keywords=fractal+design+define+r6

The memory - https://www.amazon.com/G-SKILL-Trid...1533593968&sr=8-1&keywords=f4-3200c14d-32gtzr

The motherboard - https://www.amazon.com/Strix-Z370-F...0&keywords=asus+rog+strix+z370-f+gaming+s1151
 

crazyeyesreaper

Not a Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 25, 2009
Messages
9,763 (1.77/day)
Location
04578
System Name Old reliable
Processor Intel 8700K @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling Custom Water
Memory 32 GB Crucial Ballistix 3666 MHz
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X
Storage 3x SSDs 2x HDDs
Display(s) Dell U2412M + Samsung TA350
Case Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s) Samson Meteor Mic / Generic 2.1 / KRK KNS 6400 headset
Power Supply Zalman EBT-1000
Mouse Mionix NAOS 7000
Keyboard Mionix
Yeah the D15-S will do fine, just check the latest review: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ID-Cooling/Dashflow_360/6.html

D15 and D15S are both in the charts.

As for memory clearance, a simple check of the manufacturers website will tell you the D15S offers 65 mm of memory clearance. Meanwhile the Gskill Trident Z RGB memory modules are just 44 mm tall. meaning you have 19 mm of clearance. Its not an issue.

While the review is on an older platform I used Trident Z for clearance testing. As you can see its not a problem:
 

teigas

New Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
4 (0.00/day)
Thanks for the links and info. I will try the s version for my setup :)
 
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Messages
2,960 (0.89/day)
Location
Long Island
You could spend $90 on a Noctua NH-D15, an excellent product BTW, or, if money is tight, you could also spend half as much for a $42 for a Mugen Max or Scythe Fuma and get virtually the same results Depending on test performed, should be with + / - a degree or so of one another.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8YrcCJ/scythe-cpu-cooler-scmgd1000
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ffKhP6/scythe-fuma-revb-790-cfm-cpu-cooler-scfm-1100



The Scythe is generally 1 - 2 dbA quieter throughout most of the rpm range... all about the same at max speeds (42 dbA)

Clearance should not be an issue as the HS doesn't overlap the RAM slots .... tho you might have a problem on a ITX MoBo w/ just 2 RAM slots or if installing 4 sticks. OTOH, the Fuma is a lot shorter than most coolers allowing it to fit in cases that won't allow for a NH-D15, the R6 if memory serves has a substantial allowable cooler height so this should be anon issue. Fuma is 149 mm (w/ fans) ... NH -D15 is 165 and case allows 185

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Scythe/Fuma/4.html

be advised that at stock speed, just about any cooler will do just fine. Any of those coolers is capable of colling the 8700k overclocked, sometimes even up to 5.0 Ghz
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
7,412 (3.02/day)
Location
Poland
System Name Purple rain
Processor 10.5 thousand 4.2G 1.1v
Motherboard Zee 490 Aorus Elite
Cooling Noctua D15S
Memory 16GB 4133 CL16-16-16-31 Viper Steel
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage SU900 128,8200Pro 1TB,850 Pro 512+256+256,860 Evo 500,XPG950 480, Skyhawk 2TB
Display(s) Acer XB241YU+Dell S2716DG
Case P600S Silent w. Alpenfohn wing boost 3 ARGBT+ fans
Audio Device(s) K612 Pro w. FiiO E10k DAC,W830BT wireless
Power Supply Superflower Leadex Gold 850W
Mouse G903 lightspeed+powerplay,G403 wireless + Steelseries DeX + Roccat rest
Keyboard HyperX Alloy SilverSpeed (w.HyperX wrist rest),Razer Deathstalker
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores A LOT
D15S can deal with 8700k easily, and memory compatibility is great. I had predator ddr3 sticks which are just HUGE and there was still a lot of clearance. What I like most about noctua is the mounting process. You just can't screw it up, it's simple and fast, the cooler sits firmly when you put it on. I had TR macho before and it used to slide on the IHS unless you were very careful.
 

teigas

New Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
4 (0.00/day)
D15S can deal with 8700k easily, and memory compatibility is great. I had predator ddr3 sticks which are huge and there was still a lot of clearance. What I like most about noctua is the mounting process. You just can't screw it up, it's simple and fast, the cooler sits firmly when you put it on. I had TR macho before and it used to slide on the IHS unless you were very careful.

Thanks :)

You could spend $90 on a Noctua NH-D15, an excellent product BTW, or, if money is tight, you could also spend half as much for a $42 for a Mugen Max or Scythe Fuma and get virtually the same results Depending on test performed, should be with + / - a degree or so of one another.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8YrcCJ/scythe-cpu-cooler-scmgd1000
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ffKhP6/scythe-fuma-revb-790-cfm-cpu-cooler-scfm-1100



The Scythe is generally 1 - 2 dbA quieter throughout most of the rpm range... all about the same at max speeds (42 dbA)

Clearance should not be an issue as the HS doesn't overlap the RAM slots .... tho you might have a problem on a ITX MoBo w/ just 2 RAM slots or if installing 4 sticks. OTOH, the Fuma is a lot shorter than most coolers allowing it to fit in cases that won't allow for a NH-D15, the R6 if memory serves has a substantial allowable cooler height so this should be anon issue. Fuma is 149 mm (w/ fans) ... NH -D15 is 165 and case allows 185

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Scythe/Fuma/4.html

be advised that at stock speed, just about any cooler will do just fine. Any of those coolers is capable of colling the 8700k overclocked, sometimes even up to 5.0 Ghz


I went with the one in the topic title will get it before the weekend or just after so we will see :) Thank you.

Yeah the D15-S will do fine, just check the latest review: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ID-Cooling/Dashflow_360/6.html

D15 and D15S are both in the charts.

As for memory clearance, a simple check of the manufacturers website will tell you the D15S offers 65 mm of memory clearance. Meanwhile the Gskill Trident Z RGB memory modules are just 44 mm tall. meaning you have 19 mm of clearance. Its not an issue.

While the review is on an older platform I used Trident Z for clearance testing. As you can see its not a problem:
Thank you i went with the
NH-D15S
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
7,412 (3.02/day)
Location
Poland
System Name Purple rain
Processor 10.5 thousand 4.2G 1.1v
Motherboard Zee 490 Aorus Elite
Cooling Noctua D15S
Memory 16GB 4133 CL16-16-16-31 Viper Steel
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage SU900 128,8200Pro 1TB,850 Pro 512+256+256,860 Evo 500,XPG950 480, Skyhawk 2TB
Display(s) Acer XB241YU+Dell S2716DG
Case P600S Silent w. Alpenfohn wing boost 3 ARGBT+ fans
Audio Device(s) K612 Pro w. FiiO E10k DAC,W830BT wireless
Power Supply Superflower Leadex Gold 850W
Mouse G903 lightspeed+powerplay,G403 wireless + Steelseries DeX + Roccat rest
Keyboard HyperX Alloy SilverSpeed (w.HyperX wrist rest),Razer Deathstalker
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores A LOT
enjoy this majestic cooler (and 6 years of warranty)
 

teigas

New Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
4 (0.00/day)
enjoy this majestic cooler (and 6 years of warranty)

Norway has
enjoy this majestic cooler (and 6 years of warranty)

Norway has actually much better waranty than the US or other countries. Many of the things have 1 - 3 year warranty but if they break we can complain and get them fixed if its the manufactors fault for 5 years. So if my western digital disk just shuts down after i four year or the cpu the company that sold them should give me a new one or get it repered if its ment to last for 5 years.. Small cheep electronics dont have the 5 year.
 
Joined
Feb 22, 2016
Messages
1,488 (0.50/day)
Processor Intel i5 8400
Motherboard Asus Prime H370M-Plus/CSM
Cooling Scythe Big Shuriken & Noctua NF-A15 HS-PWM chromax.black.swap
Memory 8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LT DDR4-2400
Video Card(s) ROG-STRIX-GTX1060-O6G-GAMING
Storage 1TB 980 Pro
Display(s) Samsung UN55KU6300F
Case Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 3
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III 750w
Software W11 Pro
Joined
May 12, 2017
Messages
2,207 (0.87/day)
FAN SPEED

Take this information as a pinch of salt as it may have no real effect whatsoever.

Someone posted on another website that if you have a dual fan set-up (same fans, make & model) one of the fans has a slightly higher max fan speed than the other. This is what I found when using Noctua NH-C14S. The difference in RPM can be as high as 25 RPM. So I place the fastest fan pushing though the radiator, while the slightly slower fan is pulling. Note that any fan that is pushing though the radiator slows down a little.

EXAMPLE: If I had the heatsink in this thread with a three fan set-up, I would put the fastest of the three fans on the outside pushing though the radiator & the slowest at the far end.

You could call this fan/airflow optimizing, but I have no idea if it has any real effect on performance or noise level.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
20,945 (5.97/day)
Location
The Washing Machine
Processor i7 8700k 4.6Ghz @ 1.24V
Motherboard AsRock Fatal1ty K6 Z370
Cooling beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200/C16
Video Card(s) ASRock RX7900XT Phantom Gaming
Storage Samsung 850 EVO 1TB + Samsung 830 256GB + Crucial BX100 250GB + Toshiba 1TB HDD
Display(s) Gigabyte G34QWC (3440x1440)
Case Fractal Design Define R5
Audio Device(s) Harman Kardon AVR137 + 2.1
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse XTRFY M42
Keyboard Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint II
Software W10 x64
FAN SPEED

Take this information as a pinch of salt as it may have no real effect whatsoever.

Someone posted on another website that if you have a dual fan set-up (same fans, make & model) one of the fans has a slightly higher max fan speed than the other. This is what I found when using Noctua NH-C14S. The difference in RPM can be as high as 25 RPM. So I place the fastest fan pushing though the radiator, while the slightly slower fan is pulling. Note that any fan that is pushing though the radiator slows down a little.

EXAMPLE: If I had the heatsink in this thread with a three fan set-up, I would put the fastest of the three fans on the outside pushing though the radiator & the slowest at the far end.

You could call this fan/airflow optimizing, but I have no idea if it has any real effect on performance or noise level.

Spoiler: it does not. 25 RPM is nothing, even 100 is negligible
 
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Messages
2,960 (0.89/day)
Location
Long Island
With the sides closed in all fans would invariably have the same amount of air pass thru them. If a fan was actually sending more air to the one downstrea, it would theortetcially just escape out the sides. However, air will escape or get sucked in thru the sides in any case.
 
Joined
May 12, 2017
Messages
2,207 (0.87/day)
Spoiler: it does not. 25 RPM is nothing, even 100 is negligible

Sorry, the 25RPM difference is my set-up should have made this clear. I have the same fan on another set-up & it's around 100RPM slower, so it varies from fan to fan from the same make & model as you have already pointed out.

It also seems the slowest fan in a two or three fan set-up must connect to the PWM signal when using the Y adaptor.

Again take this info as a pinch of salt & conduct your own experiment to see if you can detect any differences. Listen carefully to acoustic changes (if any) when fans are at max speed if you have more than one fan.
 
Last edited:

las

Joined
Nov 14, 2012
Messages
1,533 (0.37/day)
System Name Obsolete / Waiting for Zen 5 or Arrow Lake
Processor i9-9900K @ 5.2 GHz @ 1.35v / No AVX Offset
Motherboard AsRock Z390 Taichi
Cooling Custom Water
Memory 32GB G.Skill @ 4000/CL15
Video Card(s) Gainward RTX 4090 Phantom / Undervolt + OC
Storage Samsung 990 Pro 2TB + WD SN850X 1TB + 64TB NAS/Server
Display(s) 27" 1440p IPS @ 280 Hz + 77" QD-OLED @ 144 Hz VRR
Case Fractal Design Meshify C
Audio Device(s) Asus Essence STX / Upgraded Op-Amps
Power Supply Corsair RM1000x / Native 12VHPWR
Mouse Logitech G Pro Wireless Superlight
Keyboard Corsair K60 Pro / MX Low Profile Speed
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
Yeah it will cool it just fine but temps will be high because of the TIM job.

If you build a new PC, wait for 9th gen. Launching soon.

i9-9900K, i7-9700K and i5-9600K will use STIM aka solder which will make them much easier to cool (and they will run higher clocks/boost and have more cores).

A single tower 120-140mm will be cool these just fine on stock without massive throttling.

Compare this to 8700K which needs 240mm+ AIO or high-end air to not trottle or be in 90C range.
 
D

Deleted member 178884

Guest
Forget the post above, the 8700k will be perfectly fine to cool.
 
Joined
Nov 7, 2009
Messages
4,473 (0.85/day)
Location
Denmark
System Name The work PC /2700x/5950x
Processor 3900X stock/ 2700x stock/ 5950x 4200 MHz fixed @ 1,056-1,08V
Motherboard Gigabyte AORUS Master X570/2xMSI X470 M7 AC
Cooling Custom WC XSPC RX480, Laing DDC, XSPC Laing DDC Top V3 and EK Velocity/NH15/NH-U12S SE
Memory 32 GB Viper 3600/14 /16 GB Trident Z F4-4000C18D-16GTZSW 3600 /32 GB G Skill Flare CL14 3400
Video Card(s) 2070 Super X MSI/GTX 970 MSI/ GTX 970 MSI
Storage 1 TB SSD+500 GB NVMe / 500 GB SSD/ 500 GB SSD
Display(s) Dell UltraSharp U2518D/2408WFP
Case Corsair 800D / Lian test bench/NZXT 500
Power Supply AX 850 Titanium/AX 860i/AX 760
Software Dual boot/Win 7 & 10 / Linux / Win 10
Even a D14 could keep my 130 W TPD i7-970 cool (60-65 C) running 100 % for years at a decent OC. No problem there.
 

crazyeyesreaper

Not a Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 25, 2009
Messages
9,763 (1.77/day)
Location
04578
System Name Old reliable
Processor Intel 8700K @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling Custom Water
Memory 32 GB Crucial Ballistix 3666 MHz
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X
Storage 3x SSDs 2x HDDs
Display(s) Dell U2412M + Samsung TA350
Case Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s) Samson Meteor Mic / Generic 2.1 / KRK KNS 6400 headset
Power Supply Zalman EBT-1000
Mouse Mionix NAOS 7000
Keyboard Mionix
Yeah it will cool it just fine but temps will be high because of the TIM job.

If you build a new PC, wait for 9th gen. Launching soon.

i9-9900K, i7-9700K and i5-9600K will use STIM aka solder which will make them much easier to cool (and they will run higher clocks/boost and have more cores).

A single tower 120-140mm will be cool these just fine on stock without massive throttling.

Compare this to 8700K which needs 240mm+ AIO or high-end air to not trottle or be in 90C range.
Not entirely true, Overclocking the 8700k a lower end cooler can do just fine with the CPU pushing 4.8 GHz with an AVX offset. In my reviews I use 1.3v typically you can get away with far less at 4.8 somewhere between 1.2 and 1.25 volts. With regular loads temps will be just fine only AVX workloads push the CPU to extreme temps and 99% of programs will not use AVX 100% of the time.

NH-U12S single tower single 120 mm fan manages to handle 4.8 at 1.3volts with no AVX offset. Drop voltage to more appropriate settings and temps will be fine. Typical workloads show most coolers are just fine so use a 100-200 Mhz AVX offset and boom done stable on an affordable air cooler. Sure you won't be rocking 5 GHz overclocks but majority of people wont anyway unless they delid. There is also the fact that the new generation is likely to be more expensive than the previous gen and for gaming / daily workloads the difference between an 8700k and the more expensive 9000 series will likely be minimal. Considering Intel's rumored shortage of parts.

 
Last edited:
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Messages
2,960 (0.89/day)
Location
Long Island
Id use a NH-D15 before Id use any 240/280 CLC type AIO. If ya want better, Swifteck or EK OLC type AIOs are your best option short of a custom loop.
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
13,791 (1.93/day)
My 5820K at 4.5GHz feels perfectly comfy on a single 120 AiO. And I don't even run some crazy fan RPM. It's sub 75°C even with AVX. Without, it's usually around 60-65°C. Given 8700K is newer on smaller node (although using crappy toothpaste as IHS TIM), it shouldn't be a problem despite higher clocks.
 
Top