A Closer Look

As in all of their cooler designs, Noctua uses six copper heat pipes on the NH-C12P SE14. While this is a typical style CPU cooler, the S-curve design of the heat pipes along with durable and protective nickle plating finish give this cooler a high performance look. The cooler is about 1 cm shorter than a soda can with the fan installed.


Like mentioned above, the six heat pipes on the cooler have an S-curve shape that is used to make sure there are no clearance issues with components around the CPU socket. To aid in cooling, 15 of the cooler's aluminum fins extend from the base to the upper portion of the cooler. This provides more surface area to make up for the two slots on either side that allow you to make use of the included screw driver to mount the cooler to the CPU. The upper edge of each of the 44 aluminum fins is cut in a sawtooth design which reduces turbulent air noise and makes for better flow through the cooler itself. Noctua's logo is also embossed into the last fin to let people know what cooler you are running.


The included 140 mm fan provides 110 CFM at 1200 RPM. One unique thing about Noctua's fan designs are the Vortex Control Notches which help to reduce the noise the fan generates a healthy amount. The fan also utilizes a Self Stabilizing Oil pressure bearing (SSO) which ensures longevity and also attributes to the fan's quietness. Even though the fan measures 140 mm in size it makes use of a standard 120 mm mount spacing. The included fan comes with nicely sleeved wiring which is very long, 15 inches (38.1 cm) to be exact. In most systems that amount of length is not needed.


Noctua makes sure all the bases on their coolers are perfectly flat. While not polished to a shine, the base is very smooth and reflective and optimal for best contact with the CPU's IHS (integrated heat spreader).