Noctua NH-D15 v2 in Q2/2024
Noctua’s tentative plans for the next period specify the possible release of a successor to the NH-D15 cooler. Along with that comes the assurance that the next generation of 140mm fans that this cooler will use is really close. In addition to this, there is also the notable announcement of an upgrade to the NH-L12(S), a lower-profile cooler with a horizontal fan (or fans, if the heatsink will be cooled by two fans again).
After some time, Noctua has updated its roadmap, on which a number of things are unchanged from the previous one. Taking it one at a time, based on what is closest, the chromax.black variants for the NH-D9L and NH-L9x65 coolers are still planned in the fourth quarter of this year.
And it looks like a 40 mm 24 V fan will be available any day now. This will be of particular interest to owners or designers of 3D printers with 24-volt power supplies.
However, the NH-D12L chromax.black cooler has already moved from Q4/2023 to Q1/2024, as has the low-profile (15mm) fan in the 60mm format. What’s still to come in early 2024 is a new generation of 140mm LCP fans, which Noctua has already shown at this year’s Computex.
That’s also one of the things that makes this a slightly different situation than last year, when they also seemed to have these fans right up until the last minute before release. In the end it didn’t happen due to production complications, but now perhaps Noctua could be more confident in this regard. This is indicated by the fact that the cooler with the operating designation NH-D15 v2 has been entered into Q2/2024. In the earlier roadmap, it was only assigned to the “2024” column, which means Noctua is clearer at this point on when this cooler might hit stores.
And related to the above, 140mm LCP fans which it will use must be in production at that point. These will apparently come out first, and only then will they appear as part of the cooler that will be the most efficient Noctua will have to offer. So it’s the reverse of how it’s often done (that some fans appear on a cooler, for example, and only later can be bought separately), but Noctua has it figured out this way.
The “sometime in 2024” status is given to the black variants of the 140mm LCP fans, and then there’s the cooler that’s set to expand the top-flow cooler model range in the NH-L12 lineup. The design details are yet unknown, and it is difficult to guess whether it will be equipped with one fan (as with the NH-L12S) or two (as with the NH-L12). However, we assume that in the case of the two fans, they will both be in the 120mm format for the sake of the highest efficiency (and not a combination of a 120mm and a 92 mm one as with the NH-L12).
Still missing from the public calendar are white fans, which were long rumored but eventually shelved by Noctua. Not cancelled, postponed. The reason their release isn’t even tentatively mentioned will probably still be the same – they’re a lower priority compared to other things, and Noctua doesn’t want to promise anything at the moment until it knows for itself whether next year is realistic for them.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
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- Noctua NH-D15 v2 in Q2/2024
Can’t wait for D16 and new 140mm fans – just instant classics and probably ones to dominate the world of cooling for next ten years. Ofc beige and bronze, Louis Vuitton of pc guys. I will be running them, changing speed and not seeing them from my non-widowed case when laughing from people wating for Chromax versions next billion years… : )
BTW You guys could test NF-A14.
Do you think the cooler will be called NH-D16? I guess it can happen, but it would go against the previous logic of the branding, where the numeric code represents the largest dimension of the fan used.
About the NF-A14: If it will not be added to the tests in the next analysis, it will be in the one after that. We would probably prefer one new 140 mm fan (I’d rather not reveal what it is yet, so as not to spoil the marketing intentions of its manufacturer…), which will be released in the first half of November. That is, if we can get to its samples in a reasonable time. But after that, the Noctua NF-A14 test will surely come. 🙂
It’ll probably be named something like D15A (for being 15 cm wide) if I had to guess.
Honestly I knew there is some logic behind Noctua’s naming, but I don’t know how it works, so here just assumed D16 being successor of D15 like it was for D14. But logic aside, to my taste this cooler should be named NH-D16 to the point like there’s no other option!
Great to hear about NF-A14 coming – I mostly just wanted to make sure it being tested in case of future comparison with their upcoming 140mm fan you’ll for sure test. And generally current Noctua’s 140mm flagship feels to me the biggest great absentee of your charts. NF-S12A would be interesting too as – if I remember well – it’s a third generation of their first fan and one keeping completely unusual today blade shape I’m somehow doubtful about when on the other hand I don’t feel knowing even close to enough to do so. This make this fan interesting – how much worth today is improved version of Noctuas first, almost 20 years old attempt? Does it has some edge or they just keep it in portfolio due to being sentimental…? 😀
Noctua NF-S12A fan tests will come out soon. The order and how the individual models are gradually added, we are trying to design so that everything arrives at the “right” time. By this I mean first of all that we have enough data from other designs at the time of their addition and at the same time that the results of all fans are well understood. And a good attention to these things is especially important if the fan has a distinctly different design from the other models. Evaluating things accurately and fairly enough is sometimes more difficult… and requires the collection of a large amount of data.