A closer look

The Noctua NH-C14 is a top-flow aluminum fin tower cooler. A top-flow cooler is that in which air is blown onto the plane of the motherboard. Most coolers bundled by CPU manufacturers are essentially of this type, however, this is an aluminum fin tower-type heatsink, while most bundled coolers are heatsinks carved out from a single block of metal. Noctua goes on to classify its design as a "C-type" top-flow heatsink. The second image reveals it. The design involves an open-end from the side, in which the second fan is nested. In designs such as that of the Thermaltake Big Typhoon, the aluminum fin array forms a closed shape with the base below, and heat pipes on either sides.

There is very little surface area on top of the base with some ridges, the purpose of the second (bottom) fan is not to convey warm air from the fin array onto something, but rather compound the top fan's air-flow with push-pull action.


Noctua packs two NF-P14 140 mm fans that come pre-fitted to the heatsink in the dual-fan mode using metal clips and rubber standoffs to absorb vibrations. The NF-P14 uses a round frame that makes it compatible with 120 mm fan mounts. Its impeller bears the chocolate brown color that is characteristic of Noctua's fan blades.

The sharp-looking cuts into each blade are what Noctua calls "Vortex control notches," they work to improve the airflow-to-noise ratio; or so claims the company. The fan uses tough plastic, and the blades are a lot more solid than they look. My only gripe here is the lack of 4-pin PWM-based speed-control and monitoring. Most fans that come bundled with CPU coolers these days have 4-pin connectors. It would be wise if Noctua made a PWM-ready variant of the NF-P14.

You can control fan speed using the "voltage" method, certain motherboards let you select between control methods in the BIOS setup program. Even if that doesn't work out, Noctua bundled two resistor cables per fan. The one with the black male connector runs the fan at 900 RPM, the one with the blue connector runs it at 750 RPM. Without either of those resistors, the fan runs at its rated top-speed of 1200 RPM.


Keeping up with the "C-type" design, the heat pipes on the NH-C14 move up from the base to the aluminum fin array from only one side. It gets a little crowded at the base where no less than six heat pipes converge, but as they propagate, they do spread out symmetrically. The aluminum fin array isn't a cuboidal block. It almost cleaves at the center, creating two lobes. Four heat pipes pass through the central portion, two through the peripheral. The unusual shape of the aluminum fins, particularly at the edges, contribute to better airflow and heat-dissipation.


Noctua doesn't believe in heat pipe direct-touch base design, yet. Instead, it uses a nickel-plated copper base that has a polished surface.