New Noctua Cooler, The NH-C14 Premium Cooler
I’ve been a fan of Noctua heat sinks and fans for some time. All my workstations and home servers use them but they are typically too large for my low-profile HTPC enclosures. I got the news today on the NH-C14 and I can’t wait to get my hands on it (I’m a heat sink\fan junkie…) It offers everything I look for in a HTPC cooler: 1- Optionally low profile; 2- Large quite fans (the NF-P14 rocks); 3- And extremely important to me, a non-push pin mounting bracket; 4- A down blowing cooler.
The NH-C14 brings top-flow cooling to a new level by offering an exquisite, uniquely flexible 140mm dual fan setup: The two supplied NF-P14 premium fans can be installed on top and underneath the fin-stack to configure the cooler for maximum performance in dual fan mode and either lower profile (105mm) or maximum component clearance in single fan modes. Bundled with the award-winning NT-H1 thermal compound and Noctua’s SecuFirm2™ multi-socket mounting system, the NH-C14 is a highly flexible, premium-class top-flow solution that further boosts the renowned quiet cooling performance of the much acclaimed NH-C12P series.
This looks like it has a
This looks like it has a great design for low-profile use – can’t wait to see your review.
Any word on pricing and
Any word on pricing and availability?
captain_video wrote:
Any
[quote=captain_video]
Any word on pricing and availability?
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The NH-C14 will be available in early December at a MSRP of EUR 74.90 / US$ 84.90.
Wow… that’s a bit steep,
Wow… that’s a bit steep, but as long as the performance is superb and the noise is quite low, I’d shell out for it.
Considering that the Noctua
Considering that the Noctua NF-P14 FLX is $29.99 by itself and you get two of them with the NH-C14 I see that price as pretty good myself. 🙂
Damn, that’s one big fan!
Damn, that’s one big fan! (Or two even!) I’m quite curious to see this installed in an HTPC, especially on an mATX mobo. I suppose the fan prices do help to justify the price, but I wonder if it’s overkill. Is a 140mm fan really necessary or would a $14 120mm Nexus suffice? Inquiring minds want to know. 😉
I’ve got the Noctua NH-C12P
I’ve got the Noctua NH-C12P and it’s a real monster compared to the NH-C14, and it only has one fan. It’s probably about the same height but the space underneath is all fins and heat pipes with minimal space separating the cooler from the base. I paid about $72 for the C12P, IIRC. Both coolers use 120mm fans, which are a standard size for most PC cases.
Most highly rated coolers these days are tower designs that are ill suited for use in an HTPC case. The C12P was the highest ranked cooler by silentpcreview.com that would fit in my case. The C14 should provide even better cooling with the dual fans, although the surface area of the cooling fins is actually much less than the C12P. The added airflow should keep things nice and cool.
The one thing I really like about Noctua is that they’ll send you adapters for newer CPUs at no charge, as long as you can show proof of purchase for the cooler and new CPU. I’ve gone through a couple of CPU upgrades and they’ve sent me two different kits so far, the latest being for an LGA1366/LGA1156 Intel iCore CPU. I’d highly recommend the Noctua coolers simply because you may never have to buy another one.
92mm
I wish Noctua would make a 92mm version of this HSF.
If they did they’d have to
If they did they’d have to increase the fan speed to achieve the same level of cooling performance. Having a larger surface area allows the use of a low speed fan. The design is based on both cooling efficiency and noise level. If you don’t mind a louder fan then a 92mm design should be doable.
captain_video wrote:
If they
[quote=captain_video]
If they did they’d have to increase the fan speed to achieve the same level of cooling performance. Having a larger surface area allows the use of a low speed fan. The design is based on both cooling efficiency and noise level. If you don’t mind a louder fan then a 92mm design should be doable.
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True enough the efficeincy of it’s larger sibling wouldn’t be matched in a smaller 92mm scaled HSF but in a typically low power/low demand situation like an HTPC a scaled down HSF would most likely still result in a near dead-quiet HSF.
LowTech wrote:
True enough
[quote=LowTech]
True enough the efficeincy of it’s larger sibling wouldn’t be matched in a smaller 92mm scaled HSF but in a typically low power/low demand situation like an HTPC a scaled down HSF would most likely still result in a near dead-quiet HSF.
[/quote]
Exactly. There’s no need for a twin 140mm wind tunnel in a HTPC with a 65-73W TDP CPU.
babgvant wrote:
Exactly.
[quote=babgvant]
Exactly. There’s no need for a twin 140mm wind tunnel in a HTPC with a 65-73W TDP CPU.
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I think that would mostly depend on what kind of case you have and what’s inside it. Many HTPC cases are cramped and don’t allow for decent airflow. If you’re using a 125W CPU with a Ceton tuner and a couple of hard drives it can get pretty warm in an enclosed space pretty quick. The fans on the Noctua are dead silent so having two of them would pretty much go unnoticed. The noise generated by your furnace fan circulating air throughout the house would probably drown them out. In any case, it’s nice to have the option of adding a second fan, even if you don’t need it with your current configuration. I’m a firm believer that you can’t have too much air circulating inside a PC case as long as you can keep it quiet.
captain_video wrote:
I think
[quote=captain_video]
I think that would mostly depend on what kind of case you have and what’s inside it. Many HTPC cases are cramped and don’t allow for decent airflow. If you’re using a 125W CPU with a Ceton tuner and a couple of hard drives it can get pretty warm in an enclosed space pretty quick.
[/quote]
I did say 65-73W before 🙂 I’d also argue that unless you’re gaming (in which case a LP case probably isn’t the best choice) there isn’t a compelling reason to stuff a 125+W CPU in a HTPC.
Good news for future Sandy
Good news for future Sandy Bridge customers. I just got the word that keeping with tradition Noctua will provide free kits for LGA1155.
That’s great. I’ll definitely
That’s great. I’ll definitely look hard at this company’s HSFs in the future because they do offer this type of support where it makes sense.
I have to agree. Noctua will
I have to agree. Noctua will definitely be included on my list of coolers to investigate for my next purchase. That said, they need to ensure they are sending out review units to reputable sites like Missing Remote (but, of course!) and SilentPCReview, particularly for their low profile and/or quiet models.