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Noctua NH-C14 Review
In our labs today is an interesting product from the alpine nation of Austria. Noctua's NH-C14 processor heatsink possesses an interesting design which lets you mount the fan either above or below the fin array, promising compatibility with large memory modules or narrow casings. Read on to find out how Noctua's top-flow heatsink design stacks up.
Noctua is quite well-known for their enthusiast-grade cooling solutions. In this article we'll be reviewing the Austria-based company's NH-C14 processor heatsink. The NH-C14 is a top-flow design similar to Noctua's earlier NH-C12P (which is still on sale).
The NH-C14's key difference from the NH-C12P is its flexibility when it comes to fan mounting. For users of narrow/short casings, the fan can be mounted below the fin array, reducing the height of the heatsink to just 105mm. The fan can also be mounted above the fin array in the traditional configuration if you require additional clearance, for instance due to large memory heatspreaders (think Kingston's HyperX modules). And if neither of these constraints apply to you, both included fans can be used together to provide the maximum cooling performance.
All recent processor sockets are supported by the NH-C14. Noctua offers a whopping six-year warranty, but it's not clear if this extends to the bundled fans, without which the warranty would be rather superfluous since those are only parts liable to fail.
We'll take a closer look at the NH-C14 on the next page.
| Heatsink Specifications | |
| Socket compatibility | Intel LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA775 & AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1 (backplate required) |
| Height (without fan) | 105 mm |
| Width (without fan) | 140 mm |
| Depth (without fan) | 166 mm |
| Height (with fan) | 130 mm |
| Width (with fan) | 140 mm |
| Depth (with fan) | 166 mm |
| Weight (without fan) | 700 g |
| Weight (with fan) | 850/1000* g |
| Material | Copper (base and heat-pipes), aluminium (cooling fins), soldered joints & nickel plating |
| Fan compatibility | 140x140x25mm / 120x120x25mm |
| Scope of Delivery |
2x NF-P14 premium fan Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.) Ultra-Low-Noise Adaptor (U.L.N.A.) NT-H1 high-grade thermal compound SecuFirm2™ Mounting Kits Noctua Metal Case-Badge |
| Warranty | 6 Years |
| Fan specifications | |
| Model | Noctua NF-P14 |
| Bearing | SSO-Bearing |
| Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) | 1200 RPM |
| Rotational Speed with L.N.A. (+/- 10%) | 900 RPM |
| Rotational Speed with U.L.N.A. (+/- 10%) | 750 RPM |
| Airflow | 110,3 m³/h |
| Airflow with L.N.A. | 83,7 m³/h |
| Airflow with U.L.N.A. | 71,2 m³/h |
| Acoustical Noise | 19,6 dB(A) |
| Acoustical Noise with L.N.A. | 13,2 dB(A) |
| Acoustical Noise with U.L.N.A. | 10,1 dB(A) |
| Input Power | 1,2 W |
| Voltage Range | 12 V |
| MTBF | > 150.000 h |
