INTRODUCTION

   Every industry in the world rates manufacturers according to specific criteria and the same is of course true for the CPU cooling segment of the computer industry. In the last decade or so several manufacturers have released high-performance and even innovative CPU coolers (both air and liquid ones) but a single name has consistently led all CPU air cooler charts not just in terms of cooling efficiency but also build quality. We are of course talking about Noctua and although they've yet to expand their product lines to something other than fans and air based CPU coolers what has really let some gamers and enthusiasts down is the very "common" design/looks of their products. With the Chromax line of colorful accessories which was launched last year Noctua has tried to change that and today we'll be transforming a regular NH-D15 CPU cooler to see if they've succeeded in doing so.

   Designed in Austria, Noctua’s premium cooling components are internationally renowned for their superb quietness, exceptional performance and thoroughgoing quality. Having received more than 6000 awards and recommendations from leading hardware websites and magazines, Noctua’s fans and heatsinks are serving hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers around the globe.

   The Chromax line of accessories by Noctua currently includes several all-black fan models (NF-A15 HS-PWM, NF-A14 PWM, NF-F12 PWM and NF-S12A PWM) bundled with colored anti-vibration rubber pads (red, blue, yellow, green, white and black), aluminum heatsink covers for their 3 most popular CPU cooler models (NH-U12S, NH-D15 and NH-D15S) available in black and white colors (some also feature swappable inlays in black, white, red, blue, green and yellow colors), 4-pin fan y-cables and 4-pin fan 30cm extension cables (just like with the rubber pads and swappable inlays all cables are available in black, white, red, green, yellow and blue colors). Unfortunately these accessories have no effect in the cooling efficiency of the CPU cooler you choose to use them on (the all-black fans for good or bad share the same specifications with their normal versions) so appearance and size (just slightly) are the only two things which will change. So let's see how you can use the Chromax accessories to change the appearance of the massive NH-D15 CPU Air Cooler by Noctua.