Testing

Test Setup: Intel Core i5 750 @ 3.8GHz (1.4v), 4GB of Crucial Ballistix Tracer Ram @ 1600MHz, MSI P55-GD65, Silicon Power M10 32GB + Western Digital 640GB, Hiper Type M 730w PSU, Cooler Master Cosmos S Case (no side panel fan installed, all other fans at minimum).

Idle and Load temperatures were recorded over a three day period (for each cooler) at various intervals (5 records each) and then averaged. Readings were taken while room temperature was at 24C ambient. For Idle readings, the PC was booted into Windows 7 and left for 15 minutes to do nothing. Load readings where taken after an hour of Orthos CPU testing.

Watercooling results come from my own personal watercooling set up of a Kryos waterblock, triple rad with 3x 120mm fans and a passive cooling reservoir. The Noctua NH-D14 and Noctua NH-C12P SE14 results are from single default configurations; no U.L.N.A. Adapters were used for either cooler. In the case of the Noctua Coolers, the supplied thermal paste was used. The Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 used the pre-applied TIM it came with.

The graph below shows temperatures for multiple configurations of the NH-C14 but not the total configurations as I simply don't have time for all the possible combinations. In addition to below, you could also run the NH-C14 with the fans reversed to blow up through the cooler as opposed to down.

OK, let's start our comments with the stock Intel cooler. Simply put, at 1.4v, when the results got to 76C I stopped testing, and that was my third attempt at even booting into Windows at this CPU speed and voltage; previous attempts locked up during boot. The sweet smell of burning dust and silicon worried me too. Interestingly, even though it has only the one fan, the NH-C12P SE14 matches the newer NH-C14 with two fans. I think the main reason here is that the NH-C12P without a fan is physically larger than the NH-C14 without fans, providing more surface area for cooling. At stock idle speeds, the NH-C14 beats the NH-C12P easily, probably due to greater airflow from dual fans (although it was still very close). At stock speeds and voltages, at 100% load the NH-C14 easily beats the NH-C12P too. It isn't until you crank up the speeds, voltages and CPU Load to the max, that the airflow isn't quite enough alone to keep up with the greater surface area of the NH-C12P. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to put the NH-C14 in a negative light at all here; it performs brilliantly as you can see in the graph, and is with out a doubt a very high end cooler indeed! There are other factors to take into account as well.

The NH-C14 can be set up in multiple configurations. If you need a low profile cooler, you can still get great temperatures by only using a single fan below the cooler. At 1.4v, our i5 750 still remained at 52C highest. We had similar numbers with just a single fan on top, useful if you need to clear some larger than usual Ram. With the fan on top, temperatures topped out at 50C, I believe due to better cooling within the case provided by the additional airflow from the fan removed under the heatsink.

Noctua also supply two U.L.N.A. (Ultra Low Noise Adapter) adapters to use with the fans, which further reduces the already quiet NH-C14's output. To be honest, the noise level is pretty low to begin with (an average system will most certainly have other items in the case that are louder), but the U.L.N.A. Adapters bring it down to the nearly silent area.

Not tested/shown are numbers for using the U.L.N.A on single fan configurations, nor numbers from reversing the fans. Bottom line here, you can arrange the fans in many different combinations according to your needs and installation restrictions with little impact on cooling performance.

Final Words

Versatile. I think that's the main description you should use with the . It comes with two 140mm fans, but you can install both fans, 1 fan above only, 1 fan below only and the reverse. And you can do it all again with the U.L.N.A adapters to further reduce the already quiet noise output.

Temperatures are very good, putting in numbers that are way up the list of high performance coolers. With both fans installed, our overclocked i5 750 @ 3.8GHz was kept at a nice 49C under 100% load.

This is a big cooler, but the ability to remove the top fan does mean you can get a relatively low profile set up from the . Since this a 'C' style heatsink, it also means that the airflow is directed down on to the CPU area and all of the surrounding area too, so in effect the is aiding in cooling your Motherboard, Ram and Graphics Card at the same time as it's keeping your CPU cool.

Conversely though, because it's a 'C' style heatsink, you may get a slight drop in performance from the in a case with a solid side panel, although we had no problems from it's older sibling the NH-C12P in such a case. Good airflow in the case will be needed to ensure the can perform optimally regardless.

Installation, while certainly more involved than your standard coolers, is quite simple and very effective. You will need to set aside a good half hour or more if you've never installed a heatsink using their SecuFirm2 mounting system, but you won't struggle with it all. It's my personal view that the SecuFirm2 installation is one of the best third party mounting set-ups around, especially since installation is always consistent between repeated installations.

The is quite expensive as heatsinks go, but you get a hell of a lot for your money here. Do not doubt that this is a very high quality item. A single glance should tell you that, and if it doesn't, the minute you hold it in your hands will. I guess though, I can't really do a review without commenting on the fan colouring. You'll either like it or hate it, but the fans themselves perform very well indeed, and they are pretty quiet.

Versatile. Without a doubt, that's the name of the game here, and have another great cooler to add to their line-up in the .

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