Noctua NH-C14 CPU Cooler Review - PAGE 1

Over the last few years top rated CPU coolers such as the Thermalright Ultra 120 and Noctua NH-D14 have all had one thing in common; they utilize a very efficient tower design that exhausts heat out the rear of the chassis. For the most part the tower style cooler has become the de facto choice for consumers looking for a thermal solution with optimal cooling efficiency, and this has reduced demand for top-flow coolers currently available in the market. Most companies, however, do still have at least one top-flow cooler in their arsenal and in this review we are going to be looking at one such cooler from Noctua.

The NH-C14 is the top-flow counterpart of the popular NH-D14 model. It features with a very robust design that utilizes six heatpipes, a very large finned surface area and comes with dual 140mm fans. The NH-C14 also uses what is best described as a modular fan design that gives the consumer easy control of the heatsinks configuration, allowing it to be set up in either a low profile or high clearance mode.

With an MSRP of $89.99 the Noctua NH-C14 is in the upper pricing bracket of air cooled heatsinks, which means it has to compete with the best tower style coolers currently available. Noctua does have a very strong reputation and is known for making highly efficient coolers, so the NH-C14 could be one top-flow cooler that can compete with the tower big boys.