Introduction
In 2015 you need to be in the know about CPU coolers, there’s so many of them, you could get lost when choosing a good, compatible and cost effective product.
Then add in the unsympathetic nature of the internet, and the trolling and flaming you will receive if you have not chosen the biggest and the best in line with all opinions!
There are a few things you can do to ensure you are accepted by the PC hardware elite, or as we would prefer it, to get yourself a good CPU cooler in line with your needs. One of them being picking up a successor model to an already good cooler.
Once a product is tweaked or replaced by an upgraded model, it will usually have some of the issues fixes picked up from customer services complaints, RMAs and market forces, we would hope. With this in mind, we are going to review the Noctua NH-C14S, successor to the award-winning NH-C14, the NH-C14S is publicized as an elite class top-flow CPU cooler.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Socket compatibility | Intel LGA2011-0 & LGA2011-3 (Square ILM), LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA1151, LGA1150 & AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1, FM2, FM2+ (backplate required) |
| Dimensions (without fan) | 115 mm x 140 mm x 163 mm (H/W/D) |
| Dimensions (with fan) | 115 / 142 mm x 140 mm x 63 mm (H/W/D) |
| Weight (without fan) | 820 g |
| Weight (with fan) | 1015 g |
| Material | Copper (base and heat-pipes), aluminium (cooling fins), soldered joints & nickel plating |
| Fan compatibility | 140x140x25mm (with square frame) |
| Fan Model | 1x Noctua NF-A14 PWM |
| Fan Bearing | SSO2 |
| Max. Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) | 1500 RPM |
| Max. Rotational Speed with L.N.A. (+/- 10%) | 1200 RPM |
| Min. Rotational Speed (PWM, +/-20%) | 300 RPM |
| Max. Airflow | 140,2 m³/h |
| Max. Acoustical Noise | 24,6 dB(A) |
Product Shots
Noctua are positioning the NH-C14S CPU Cooler at the HTPC market as they have done with a lot of their coolers. At the same time, the NH-C14S CPU Cooler is being pushed to the mATX and ATX markets as well. We are going to test our sample on an EATX motherboard with the X99 Chipset.
Usual stuff from Noctua, nicely packaged and with a good amount of fittings and fixtures covering most Intel and AMD CPU models for the last few years. It even has LGA1151 socket compatibility which is good timing.
Noctua NH-C14S CPU Cooler Review
Package - 9
Performance - 9.2
Price - 9.2
Consumer Experience - 9.5
9.2
The Noctua NH-C14S is another excellent cooler with a history. The improvements and up to date socket compatibility make it a class leading cooler in certain circumstances, mainly small chassis set ups or at least cooling areas with certain spacial dimensions with high performance.