Noctua NH-C14 140mm CPU Cooler Review Comment Thread

[SKYMTL]

The vast majority of the high performance CPU coolers on the market are currently designed in a tower-style format but Noctua is on a mission to change that with their new NH-C14. The C14 uses a massive heatsink which comes equipped with a pair of low noise 140mm fans; a combination which is sure to appeal to a wide market. However, can it strike the delicate balance between silence cooling performance?

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[Alpine]

Thanks, im gonna read this tomorrow at work when i will have nothing to do !!

[martin_metal_88]

Ho yeah alpine you know how it work ;) I'm actually at work doing nothing so I just read it :D
Very nice review AKG. I was waiting for our home review of this product to buy one but Alpine catch me with a deal on a U12P. It's never to late to buy it and build a HTPC :P

I really like the cooler ( ok fan are poopie but... ) It have a great clearance over hardware, perform good and in a smaller HTPC could still be nice with only the lowest fan used. Once again thx to noctua for doing their homework :)

[_dangtx_]

bravo ak.

i usually jump to the amd installation page, and this one doesn't disappoint one bit.

holy crop! at the results. nice!


edit : i guess its not strong enough for passive @ stock speeds :)

[WesByNorthWest]

While it is not exactly hard to find, the C14 does come with a pretty steep asking price of about 755 US.

I think you mean $75 there (from page one). Otherwise, looks great. My brother just got one for his computer and keeps his computer ridiculously cool no matter what he throws at it.

[BootlegUsher]

I am confused, the C14 is about 3rd or 4th on the charts in the stock fan results, but when I click on the 120mm fan results, the C14 is at the top of all the charts with its stock fans.

[AkG]

Thnaks guys, I really, really love this cooler. I know I probably am never going to part with it as its just too darn good at keping the mobo and the CPU cool. It really is one of new favorite coolers.

As to your question BootLegUsher. The reason for that is it comes std with two fans. So with the exception of the sotck fan tests all the (other) tests only use one fan for all coolers. This way you not only see how the stock config of a given cooler compares to other CPU cooling solutions which dont come with a fan but also what using different fans than the stock config will net you. Sometimes its worse, sometimes its better. All depends on the quality (and quantity) of the stock fans.

Basically, for apples to apples...ignore the dual fan results in the other charts. As it is more an oranges to apples comparison. Instead look at the numbers for the NHC14 that does not have ()'s under neath it.

Hope that helps.
A

[Delavan]

Really nice review AKG!!!

Do you think that this cooler would actually be perform well on the ASUS Sabertooth mobo, blowing air into the "thermal Jacket" opening?

Also, if you disregard the clearance issues, is this cooler performs as well as the NH-D14?

For a high OC on an i7, which one would you choose (C14 or D14)???

[halfwaythere]

I don't get this:

It really is a shame that there aren't any good high performances 140mm fans out there.

For someone testing heatsinks and fans for a living its weird how you can say something like that when the Noctua P14 is probably the worst 140mm fan especially considering the cost.

Heres a selection of a few very well performing 120mm+ fans:

Scythe "KAZE MARU2" 140mm Case Fan

Kama FLEX 135: Scythe - The Cooling Experts

Product | Thermalright Ultimate CPU Cooling Solutions! USA

And a decent review:

140 mm Fan Roundup. Page 13 - X-bit labs

[Rison]

Does anyone else think they are taking a step in a backwards direction with this style of cooler?

I can see the benefit for cooling the ram and the chipset more.. but would it not effect the flow of air inside the case?.. theres a reason manufacturers have moved to the tower style cooler - to direct the warm air outside of the case asap. I could see this being more efficient if you have a side case fan installed (which I personally hate, cause it always sucks taking the door off) Which is where the tower style is better, with the flow of air from the bottom front of the case streamlined out the top or back.