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Noctua NH-D14 Heatsink
Written by Scott Harness   
Wednesday, 05 May 2010 00:00

hsf_hsf3Noctua NH-D14 Heatsink

Whoever said "size doesn't matter" clearly hadn't laid eyes on this monster of a heatsink. With twin cooling towers, twin fans including a large 140 mm, Noctua's high performing cooler can be called anything but understated.

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Tower based air coolers have been around for a while now, and many companies have their own designs based around the premise of heat-pipes and multiple fins in a tower style. One of the very first companies to introduce such a design was . The NH-12U was very popular at the time as it allowed the more modest overclockers to join in the fun that was otherwise more niche orientated. These days of course, overclocking isn't a big deal, with more people than ever more likely to give it a go. And of course we now have motherboards that overclock themselves.

The one thing that hasn't changed is the need for high end cooling. You simply won't reach the kind of speeds possible with a high end after market cooler using the supplied cooler that comes with your CPU. Once again have a little something … actually, they have a monstrous something to ensure you get the maximum performance in air cooling your CPU; the NH-D14. This is a twin tower air cooler, with not one, but two fans including a 140mm fan! It supports multiple socket formats and has 's clever SecuFirm2 mounting system to keep it's 1240g firmly attached to your motherboard. Let's check it out shall we?

Specifications

 

Socket Compatibility Intel LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA775 & AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3 ()
Height (without fan) 160 mm
Width (without fan) 140 mm
Depth (without fan) 130 mm
Height (with fan) 160 mm
Width (with fan) 140 mm
Depth (with fan) 158 mm
Weight (without fan) 900 g
Weight (with fan) 1070/1240* g (*with 2 Fans)
Material Copper (base and heat-pipes), aluminium (cooling fins), soldered joints & nickel plating
Fan compatibility 140x140x25 & 120x120x25mm
Scope of Delivery
  • 1x NF-P14 premium fan
  • 1x NF-P12 premium fan
  • 2x Ultra-Low-Noise Adaptor (U.L.N.A.)
  • Y-Split Cable
  • 4x Vibration-Compensators (for using NF-P12 as case fan)
  • 4x Fan screws (for using NF-P12 as case fan)
  • NT-H1 high-grade thermal compound
  • SecuFirm2™ Mounting Kits
  • Noctua Metal Case-Badge
Warranty
6 Years
Fan specifications
Model &
Bearing
Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) 1200 / 1300 RPM
Rotational Speed with U.L.N.A. (+/- 10%) 900 / 900 RPM
Airflow 110,3 / 92,3 m³/h
Airflow with U.L.N.A. 83,7 / 63,4 m³/h
Acoustical Noise 19,6 / 19,8 dB(A)
Acoustical Noise with U.L.N.A. 13,2 / 12,6 dB(A)
Input Power 1,2 / 1,08 W
Voltage Range 12 V
MTBF > 150.000 h

 

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The box for the Noctua NH-D14 is larger than … well, pretty much every other cooler on the market, but as you will see it's a really nice package. The box goes for a minimalist appearance but it does have plenty of information and specifications printed for you to see. The DVD in the picture above by the way isn't included, I just wanted to have something common in the shot to show you the scale.

 

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Open the box and you find a collection of boxes inside. The top box holds all of the extra contents such as the mounting system and cables. Lifting this out and removing the next layer we find a smaller box inside. This box is split down one edge which is handy as the cooler is a little difficult to remove without tearing the cardboard without it. All of the packaging material is cardboard and all of it is recyclable.

 

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Included with the Noctua NH-D14 are 3 packets which contain the mounting systems for AMD and Intel setups, and the common parts, a 2 part manual and a screwdriver. Within the common parts bag we find 3 cable adapters; the first is a simple 2 to 1 fan power cable. The second and third are Noctua's U.L.N.A. Adapters to reduce the speeds of the included fans. Noctua also provide 4 rubber mounting bolts, which to be honest, I'm not sure what they are for. My educated guess (confirmed by Noctua )is that they are supplied so that you can mount one of the fans, say the 120mm on your case and reduce vibration. There are also 4 standard fan mounting screws and Noctua's NT-H1 Thermal Compound.

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The last item in the common items bag is a solid metal, etched and painted case badge.

 

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Looking at the cooler for the first time … it's big, there is just no getting around it. Monstrous is another word, but for all it's size, it's not intimidating. Perhaps it's the coloring of the fans or the shape and design of the cooler, I don't know, but it doesn't scream “I'm Large!!!” at you, though clearly it is.

 

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Noctua have proudly stamped their logo into the top of the cooler. Turning the cooler to the side we can see that in many ways, the Noctua NH-D14 is a lot like 2 tower coolers in one. There are plenty of fins providing lots of surface area and no I didn't count them. Suffice to say there are lots (42 apparently). The fins are not loose or overly pliable and you get quite a satisfactory solid feel when handling the cooler.

 

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The two fans are held in place by 2 simple clips on each fan, with the cooler itself designed to accommodate the clips. It's a system that works well and it means you can easily remove fans, perhaps for cleaning, while the cooler is mounted in a system. The fans are supported in the cooler by the clips, but to prevent vibration noise the cooler has rubber strips inset for each fan. The fans themselves also have a small rubber grommet on each corner.

 

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Turning the Noctua NH-D14 on it's head we can take a look at the base. Noctua use a Nickel Plated Copper base which is safely covered in the box by a clear plastic shroud. Removing the shroud we can see how well the base is finished. It's not a mirror finish, but it is reflective and perfectly flat to a set square. We can also get a better look at the six 6mm heat-pipes used.

 

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Looking at the base from above with the fans removed we can see down the middle and a get a glimpse at the two spring-loaded screws which hold the cooler on the mount.

 

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The two fans included with the Noctua NH-D14 are a NF-P14 140mm fan and a NF-P12 120mm fan.

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Both fans feature Noctua's Vortex-Control Notches which aid in keep things quiet and efficient. Both fans also use Noctua's SSO-Bearing for smooth running and long life.

 



 
 
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