Noctua Enhances NH-D15 G2 Cooler with Offset Mounting Bars for Arrow Lake CPUs, Boosting Performance by Up to 3 Degrees Celsius

Noctua has introduced a new mounting modification for its flagship NH-D15 G2 CPU cooler, specifically designed for Intel's Core Ultra 200S series CPUs. The new NM-IB8 mounting bars aim to optimize cooling performance by adjusting the cooler's position relative to the CPU's hottest areas. According to Noctua, this adjustment can lead to a temperature reduction of up to 3 degrees Celsius with the HBC version of the NH-D15 G2 and 1 degree Celsius with the standard version. The NM-IB8 mounting bars reposition the NH-D15 G2's contact plate 3.7mm north and 2mm east of the center of the LGA1851 socket. This shift aligns the cooler directly with Arrow Lake's compute tile, which houses the P-cores and E-cores and is known to be the warmest side of the package during multi-core workloads. In contrast, the original mounting solution places the cooler's contact point in the middle of the CPU package, closer to the SoC and I/O tiles. This new mounting kit is compatible with all three versions of the NH-D15 G2: the standard, HBC, and LBC. However, it cannot be used with other Noctua coolers. The NM-IB8 represents Noctua's first offset mounting kit for Intel processors. Previous Intel CPUs, like those on LGA 1700 sockets, featured a monolithic die design where the hotspot was typically near the center, making an offset mount unnecessary. Noctua has previously offered offset mounts for AMD’s AM4 and AM5 processors. These mounts were designed to align the cooler with the hottest part of the CPU, which often differs in location from Intel's Arrow Lake architecture. For instance, on AMD Ryzen chips, the hottest cores are situated differently within the package. The NH-D15 G2 is the next iteration of Noctua's highly regarded NH-D15 cooler, which was initially released in 2014. Key improvements in the G2 variant include two specialized versions: the HBC (High Base Convexity) and the LBC (Low Base Convexity). The HBC variant features a modified contact plate designed to address the significant bending issues common with LGA 1700 chips, ensuring optimal heat dissipation. The LBC variant, on the other hand, is tailored for relatively flat CPUs, such as those on LGA 2011 or AM4 sockets. These specialized versions cater to enthusiasts and overclockers who seek the highest performance from their coolers. Alongside these specialized variants, Noctua continues to offer a vanilla version of the NH-D15 G2. This standard model is designed to provide balanced performance across a wide range of CPUs, making it suitable for users who do not require the extreme customization of the HBC or LBC versions. Noctua's commitment to optimizing cooling performance for the latest processors underscores its position in the high-end cooling market. Users looking to maximize the efficiency of their NH-D15 G2 cooler with Arrow Lake CPUs can now benefit from this innovative mounting solution. To stay updated on the latest news, analysis, and reviews from the world of technology, follow Tom's Hardware on Google News and make sure to click the Follow button.