Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler Review

Packaging & Accessories

We can honestly say that we were not expecting the box the NH-D14 came in to look the way it did. Other than it being simply massive, it seems like Noctua has done away with their iconic looking brown box with the female model artwork.

Covering this white box are numerous engineering schematics / wire drawings of the cooler contained within which does give a faintly industrial look to the whole affair.


Opening up this box we can see that the full assembled cooler (i.e. fans are already mounted) resides in between two cardboard boxes. Each box contains some of the accessories Noctua has seen fit to include with this beast. All in all it is a slight variation from the old “layered” cardboard protection zone scheme Noctua used in the past, but only in so much as it has been supersized to accommodate this massive cooler. We are extremely confident this new design can take one heck of a beating before its precious cargo would be harmed.


As expected, the list of accessories which accompanies this cooler is not only of the highest quality it is also comprehensive which is expected considering its $90 price tag. As with the older Noctua coolers we have looked at, the D14 comes with one of the best and comprehensive sets of installation instructions out there.

It should also be mentioned that the NH-D14 uses the SecuFirm 2mounting setup which is compatible with nearly every CPU mounting setup out there. Basically, this includes a multipurpose backplate for Intel 775/1156/1366 and the necessary hardware to convert AMD’s standard backplate setup into a D14 capable one. There is also a small syringe of Noctua’s own NT-H1 thermal compound and their famous Low Noise and Ultra Low Noise adaptors. In the picture above you can see a Y shaped adaptor which allows you to attach both fans to a single motherboard header. Finally, there is a metal case badge (in case you want to brag about the cooler you use) and they even include a screw-driver. Seriously, if there was ever an accessory list which was more deserving to be included with a $90 cooler, this is it.