Noctua NH C14 Heatsink Review

1. Introduction2. The Noctua NH C14 Cooler (Bundle)3. The Noctua NH C14 Cooler4. The Noctua NH C14 Cooler (Installation)5. Performance Testing6. Acoustics Performance7. Closing Thoughts8. View All Pages

Today we are going to test the NH C14 with both Intel Core i7 980x Processor and the AMD 1100T Black Edition. Both of the highest end models from the respective companies.

While we could use an open test bench, we like to try and mirror more ‘realistic' conditions, so we are mounting the systems inside several Thermaltake Level 10 Chassis. Room ambient temperatures are maintained at a steady 20c throughout testing. We use diodes to measure core temperatures.

AMD System:
Processor: Phenom II X6 1100T
Motherboard: Asus Crosshair IV Formula
Thermal Paste: Noctua NT H1
Power Supply: Corsair AX850W
Chassis: Thermaltake Level 10
Memory: GSkill RipJaws DDR3 2133mhz 4GB 7-10-7
Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX460

Intel System:
Processor: Intel Core i7 980x
Motherboard: Asus Rampage III Extreme
Thermal Paste: Noctua NT H1
Power Supply: Corsair AX1200W
Chassis: Thermaltake Level 10
Memory: GSkill RipJaws DDR3 2000mhz 6GB 7-8-7
Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX460

Comparison coolers:
Noctua NH D14
Thermaltake Frio
Thermaltake Contac29
Xigmatek DK-S1283
OCZ Vendetta 2
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus

First we will have a look at the temperatures at reference speeds and voltages.

The C14 falls in behind the Thermaltake Frio, by around half a degree celcius.

Next we want to overclock the 1100T to 4.1ghz with 1.52 volts.

The D14 leads the pack as expected, followed by the Thermaltake Frio. The C14 takes third position with only a 1.5+c increase.

Now onto the Intel Core i7 970 testing, first with reference speeds and voltages.

A similar result curve as the AMD testing, with the C14 falling slightly behind the Frio under load.

Now we want to overclock the Intel Core i7 970 to 4.2ghz and increase the voltage to 1.42.

The C14 holds onto the performance of the Frio, only falling a little behind under full load, a very strong result indeed.

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