Noctua NH-D15 User manual

Dear customer,
Congratulations on choosing the Noctua NH-D15.
Built on the basis of the legendary NH-D14 and carrying on its
quest for ultimate quiet cooling performance, our flagship model
NH-D15 is an eliteclass dual tower cooler for the highest
demands. I’m confident that you will be able to sense some of the
research, attention and care we’ve put into making this cooler.
Enjoy your NH-D15!
Yours sincerely,
Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO
This manual will guide you through the installation process of the
SecuFirm2™ mounting system step by step.
Prior to installing the cooler, please consult the compatibility list
on our website (www.noctua.at/compatibility) and verify that the
cooler is fully compatible with your motherboard. Please also make
sure that your PC case offers sufficient clearance for the cooler and
that there are no compatibility issues with any other components
(e.g. tall RAM modules). Double check that the heatsink and fan
clips do not make contact with the VGA card or other PCIe cards.
Noctua cannot be held responsible for any damage or losses caused
by compatibility issues.
Should you encounter any difficulties, please check the FAQs on our
website (www.noctua.at/faqs) and don’t hesitate to contact our sup-
port team at suppor[email protected].
Multilingual versions of this manual are available on our
website: www.noctua.at/manuals
Required mounting parts:
2x NM-IMB2 bounting bars1x NM-IBP2 backplate
4x NM-ITS1 thumb screws4x NM-IPS1 spacers
Noctua NH-D15 | Installation Manual | LGA115x
LGA115x
Caution: The supplied backplate will install over the motherboard’s
stock backplate, so the motherboard’s stock backplate must not
be taken off.
Attaching the backplate2
Place the backplate on the rear side of the motherboard so that the
bolts stick through the mounting holes.
Caution: Please make sure that the three cut-outs in the
supplied backplate align with the screws of the motherboard’s stock
backplate.
First put the NM-IPS1 plastic spacers onto the bolts of the back-
plate, then add the NM-IMB2 mounting bars.
Installing the mounting bars3
Caution: Choose the alignment of the mounting bars according to the
desired final orientation of the cooler:
Orientation A Orientation B
In case you want to use the cooler on an assembled system and
your case doesn’t have a cut-out at the rear side of the motherboard
tray, you first have to remove the motherboard from the case in
order to be able to install the supplied backplate.
Removing the motherboard1
Caution: Make sure that the curved sides of the mounting bars are
pointing outwards.
Fix the mounting bars using the 4 thumb screws.
Caution: Gently tighten the screws until they stop, but don’t use
excessive force (max. torque 0.6 Nm).
If there are residual traces of thermal paste or thermal pads on your
CPU, please clean them off first. Then press a small drop (4-5mm
diameter) of NT-H1 onto the centre of the heatspreader.
Applying the thermal paste
Caution: Applying too much thermal paste will lower heat
conductivity and cooling performance!
4

Noctua NH-D15 | Installation Manual | LGA115x
LGA115x
Even with high-grade products and strict quality control, the
possibility of defects cannot be eliminated entirely. Therefore,
we aim at providing the highest possible level of reliability and
convenience by offering a warranty period of 6 years and direct, fast
and straightforward RMA service.
Should you encounter any problems with your NH-D15, please
don’t hesitate to contact our support team ([email protected]).
Please also consult the FAQ section on our website:
www.noctua.at/faqs.
Warranty, Support and FAQs!
As it is not possible to reliably calculate or control the forces
that act upon a system during transport (e.g. in shipping), we gen-
erally recommend, for safety reasons, taking the cooler off. Noctua
cannot be held responsible for any damage that may arise due to
excessive stress during transport if you keep the heatsink installed.
Transporting your system!
Reattach the centre fan and, optionally, install the second fan (in
grey) using the supplied steel clips:
Fan Setup6
Use the heatsink with the centre fan only in order to guarantee best
compatibility with tall RAM modules. Add the second fan to the
front fin-stack for further improved cooling performance.
Connect the fan(s) to the motherboard’s CPU fan header(s). If nec-
essary, use the supplied NA-YC1 y-split cable to connect both fans
to one fan header.
Depending on your CPU and the temperature inside the case,
you may interconnect the supplied NA-RC7 Low-Noise Adaptors
(L.N.A.) in order to further reduce the fans’ operating noise.
Caution: Never use one adaptor for both fans by putting it before
the y-split cable.
Caution: When using the L.N.A.s, check the temperature of your
CPU using appropriate software (e.g. the respective applications
of your motherboard manufacturer), in order to evade automatic
throttling of the CPU due to the increased temperature. If the
cooling performance is insufficient, please increase case ventilation
or remove the L.N.A.s.
Motherboard Fans
Low-Noise Adaptor Y-Split Cable
Y-Split Cable Low-Noise Adaptors
3.
2.
1.
Caution: Please first take off the center fan as well as the protection
cover at the bottom side of the heatsink.
Caution: Gently tighten the screws until they stop, but don’t use
excessive force (max. torque 0.6 Nm).
Fastening the heatsink to the CPU5
Then put the heatsink onto the CPU and screw it to the screw
threads of the mounting bars. Perform 2-3 turns on each screw,
then repeat until both are fully tightened.

Dear customer,
Congratulations on choosing the Noctua NH-D15.
Built on the basis of the legendary NH-D14 and carrying on its
quest for ultimate quiet cooling performance, our flagship model
NH-D15 is an eliteclass dual tower cooler for the highest
demands. I’m confident that you will be able to sense some of the
research, attention and care we’ve put into making this cooler.
Enjoy your NH-D15!
Yours sincerely,
Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO
This manual will guide you through the installation process of the
SecuFirm2™ mounting system step by step.
Prior to installing the cooler, please consult the compatibility list
on our website (www.noctua.at/compatibility) and verify that the
cooler is fully compatible with your motherboard. Please also make
sure that your PC case offers sufficient clearance for the cooler and
that there are no compatibility issues with any other components
(e.g. tall RAM modules). Double check that the heatsink and fan
clips do not make contact with the VGA card or other PCIe cards.
Noctua cannot be held responsible for any damage or losses caused
by compatibility issues.
Should you encounter any difficulties, please check the FAQs on our
website (www.noctua.at/faqs) and don’t hesitate to contact our sup-
port team at suppor[email protected].
Multilingual versions of this manual are available on our
website: www.noctua.at/manuals
Noctua NH-D15 | Installation Manual | LGA20xx
LGA20xx
Installing the mounting bars1
Caution: Choose the alignment of the mounting bars according to
the desired final orientation of the cooler:
Caution: Make sure that the curved sides of the mounting bars are
pointing outwards.
Orientation A Orientation B
Required mounting parts:
2x NM-IMB2 mounting bars
4x NM-ITS1 thumb screws4x NM-IBT2 bolts
If there are residual traces of thermal paste or thermal pads on your
CPU, please clean them off first. Then press a small drop (4-5mm
diameter) of NT-H1 onto the centre of the heatspreader.
Caution: Applying too much thermal paste will lower heat
conductivity and cooling performance!
Caution: Please first take off the center fan as well as the protection
cover at the bottom side of the heatsink.
Fastening the heatsink to the CPU3
Caution: Gently tighten the screws until they stop, but don’t use
excessive force (max. torque 0.6 Nm).
Fix the mounting bars using the 4 thumb screws.
Applying the thermal paste2
First screw the NM-IBT2 bolts into the screw threads of the LGA20xx
socket frame.
Then put the NM-IMB2 mounting-bars onto the bolts.

Noctua NH-D15 | Installation Manual | LGA20xx
LGA20xx
Even with high-grade products and strict quality control, the
possibility of defects cannot be eliminated entirely. Therefore,
we aim at providing the highest possible level of reliability and
convenience by offering a warranty period of 6 years and direct, fast
and straightforward RMA service.
Should you encounter any problems with your NH-D15, please
don’t hesitate to contact our support team ([email protected]).
Please also consult the FAQ section on our website:
www.noctua.at/faqs.
Warranty, Support and FAQs!
As it is not possible to reliably calculate or control the forces
that act upon a system during transport (e.g. in shipping), we gen-
erally recommend, for safety reasons, taking the cooler off.
Noctua cannot be held responsible for any damage that may arise
due to excessive stress during transport if you keep the heatsink
installed.
Transporting your system!
Use the heatsink with the centre fan only in order to guarantee best
compatibility with tall RAM modules. Add the second fan to the
front fin-stack for further improved cooling performance.
Connect the fan(s) to the motherboard’s CPU fan header(s).
If necessary, use the supplied NA-YC1 y-split cable to connect both
fans to one fan header.
Depending on your CPU and the temperature inside the case,
you may interconnect the supplied NA-RC7 Low-Noise Adaptors
(L.N.A.) in order to further reduce the fans’ operating noise.
Caution: Never use one adaptor for both fans by putting it before
the y-split cable.
Caution: When using the L.N.A.s, check the temperature of your
CPU using appropriate software (e.g. the respective applications
of your motherboard manufacturer), in order to evade automatic
throttling of the CPU due to the increased temperature. If the
cooling performance is insufficient, please increase case ventilation
or remove the L.N.A.s.
Motherboard Fans
Low-Noise Adaptor Y-Split Cable
Y-Split Cable Low-Noise Adaptors
3.
Reattach the centre fan and, optionally, install the second fan (in
grey) using the supplied steel clips:
Fan Setup4
1.
Caution: Gently tighten the screws until they stop, but don’t use
excessive force (max. torque 0.6 Nm).
Then put the heatsink onto the CPU and screw it to the screw
threads of the mounting bars. Perform 2-3 turns on each screw,
then repeat until both are fully tightened.
2.

Dear customer,
Congratulations on choosing the Noctua NH-D15.
Built on the basis of the legendary NH-D14 and carrying on its
quest for ultimate quiet cooling performance, our flagship model
NH-D15 is an eliteclass dual tower cooler for the highest
demands. I’m confident that you will be able to sense some of the
research, attention and care we’ve put into making this cooler.
Enjoy your NH-D15!
Yours sincerely,
Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO
This manual will guide you through the installation process of the
SecuFirm2™ mounting system step by step.
Prior to installing the cooler, please consult the compatibility list
on our website (www.noctua.at/compatibility) and verify that the
cooler is fully compatible with your motherboard. Please also make
sure that your PC case offers sufficient clearance for the cooler and
that there are no compatibility issues with any other components
(e.g. tall RAM modules). Double check that the heatsink and fan
clips do not make contact with the VGA card or other PCIe cards.
Noctua cannot be held responsible for any damage or losses caused
by compatibility issues.
Should you encounter any difficulties, please check the FAQs on our
website (www.noctua.at/faqs) and don’t hesitate to contact our sup-
port team at suppor[email protected].
Multilingual versions of this manual are available on our
website: www.noctua.at/manuals
Noctua NH-D15 | Installation Manual | AMD
AMD
Removing the stock retention module -
Putting the backplate in place
1
Please first choose the correct set of plastic spacers and the correct
set of holes on the mounting bars depending on whether you are
using a socket AM4 or a socket AM2(+)/AM3(+)/FM1/FM2(+)
motherboard:
Required mounting parts:
If there are residual traces of thermal paste or thermal pads on your
CPU, please clean them off first. Then press a small drop (4-5mm
diameter) of NT-H1 onto the centre of the heatspreader.
If your motherboard comes with a pre-installed CPU cooler
retention module, please first remove it by unscrewing it from the
backplate. The SecuFirm2™ mounting system will install directly to
the stock backplate, so please keep it in place.
If your motherboard does not come with a pre-installed CPU cooler
retention module, the AMD stock backplate should be included with
the motherboard accessories. Please put the backplate on the rear
side of the motherboard so that the screw-threads of the backplate
stick through the mounting holes of the motherboard as shown
below. If your motherboard does not include a stock backplate,
please contact Noctua customer support at [email protected].
AMD stock backplate
(included with the motherboard)
4x NM-APS4
plastic spacers for
AM4
4x NM-ALS1
screws
2x NM-AMB8 mounting bars
4x NM-APS5
plastic spacers for
AM2(+)/AM3(+)
FM1/FM2(+)
Attaching the mouting bars2
NM-APS5 (white)
AM2(+)/AM3(+)
FM1/FM2(+)
NM-APS4 (grey)
AM4
Use the grey NM-APS4 spacers for AM4 and the white NM-APS5
spacers for AM2(+)/AM3(+)/FM1/FM2(+).
Use the set of holes marked with “4” for AM4 and the set of holes
marked with “3” for AM2(+)/AM3(+)/FM1/FM2(+).
AM2(+)/AM3(+)
FM1/FM2(+)
AM4
First put the plastic spacers onto the screw threads of the backplate,
then fix the mounting bars using the four long screws.
Make sure that the curved sides of the mounting bars are pointing
outwards.
Applying the thermal paste3

Noctua NH-D15 | Installation Manual | AMD
AMD
Even with high-grade products and strict quality control, the
possibility of defects cannot be eliminated entirely. Therefore,
we aim at providing the highest possible level of reliability and
convenience by offering a warranty period of 6 years and direct, fast
and straightforward RMA service.
Should you encounter any problems with your NH-D15, please
don’t hesitate to contact our support team ([email protected]).
Please also consult the FAQ section on our website:
www.noctua.at/faqs.
Warranty, Support and FAQs!
As it is not possible to reliably calculate or control the forces
that act upon a system during transport (e.g. in shipping), we gen-
erally recommend, for safety reasons, taking the cooler off. Noctua
cannot be held responsible for any damage that may arise due to
excessive stress during transport if you keep the heatsink installed.
Transporting your system!
Reattach the centre fan and, optionally, install the second fan (in
grey) using the supplied steel clips:
Fan Setup5
Use the heatsink with the centre fan only in order to guarantee best
compatibility with tall RAM modules. Add the second fan to the
front fin-stack for further improved cooling performance.
Connect the fan(s) to the motherboard’s CPU fan header(s). If nec-
essary, use the supplied NA-YC1 y-split cable to connect both fans
to one fan header.
Depending on your CPU and the temperature inside the case,
you may interconnect the supplied NA-RC7 Low-Noise Adaptors
(L.N.A.) in order to further reduce the fans’ operating noise.
Caution: Never use one adaptor for both fans by putting it before
the y-split cable.
Caution: When using the L.N.A.s, check the temperature of your
CPU using appropriate software (e.g. the respective applications
of your motherboard manufacturer), in order to evade automatic
throttling of the CPU due to the increased temperature. If the
cooling performance is insufficient, please increase case ventilation
or remove the L.N.A.s.
Motherboard Fans
Low-Noise Adaptor Y-Split Cable
Y-Split Cable Low-Noise Adaptors
3.
2.
1.
Caution: Please first take off the center fan as well as the protection
cover at the bottom side of the heatsink.
Caution: Gently tighten the screws until they stop, but don’t use
excessive force (max. torque 0.6 Nm).
Fastening the heatsink to the CPU4
Then put the heatsink onto the CPU and screw it to the screw
threads of the mounting bars. Perform 2-3 turns on each screw,
then repeat until both are fully tightened.