Finished Looks

The NH-C14S features one less fan than the NH-C14, but its deeper fins make both weigh about the same. It covers a good portion of the motherboard as well. Keep in mind that the fan comes pre-mounted to force air up through the fins. I installed the fan on top to force air down through the fins. The difference in performance is not noticeable. However, with the fan on top, you get the added benefit of cooling surrounding components. Meanwhile, the default configuration offers a lower profile that is more mini-ITX friendly.


Another Noctua cooler, another display of clashing colors, as the NH-C14S, like most Noctua products, does not match the motherboard's color scheme. Still, the new design does offer good memory and expansion-slot clearance because of the offset design. Users still have the option of adding another fan if they wish to improve performance.


Clearance around the socket is very good, and users should have no real issues in getting everything connected. It is wonderful to see that clearance for GPUs is perfect, and the NH-C14S will definitely be fine on many mini-ITX motherboards the original NH-C14 would have had issues on. Memory clearance under the fins is a whopping 70 mm, which is more than enough for most high-end memory, like G.Skill's Trident X or Corsair's Dominator Platinums. However, users will be limited to lower profile memory sticks with the cooler in low-profile mode.