Noctua needs no introduction when it comes to air coolers with several of the best-reviewed models to its name that pack some of the biggest punches when it comes to air cooling. Amongst its range of the biggest and most powerful coolers in it lineup, the NH-D15 has long been regarded as one the best premium large coolers on the market. The NH-D15 G2 is a long-awaited successor, but while it might look similar, this cooler sports a variety of significant tweaks that Noctua claims make it perform better while producing less noise and with smaller dimensions.

With a massive 168 mm-tall dual heatsink stack and dual 140 mm fans that top out at just 1,500 rpm, the NH-D15 G2 is designed for one thing, which is to bring the best that air cooling has to offer for as little noise as possible. That makes sense seeing as at $150, it’s competing directly with large 360 mm AIO liquid coolers.

There’s also a strong case for opting for cheaper air coolers too, many of which have similar size heatsinks and dual fans while costing less than half the price. If you want to dial down the noise even further then Noctua includes speed reduction cables if you’re prepared to take a small hit in cooling, with zero need to fiddle with your motherboard’s own control.