Introduction

From the Phanteks website:

Phanteks was founded by a group of engineers with a total of 20 years of international experience in thermal solutions. They paired up with a Dutch design team and established Phanteks in 2007. Phanteks ventured into the CPU-cooling industry with two goals in mind: high-end quality and innovative products in thermal solutions.

Compared to some of their more established competitors, Phanteks is a relative newcomer to the CPU-cooling market, but that hasn't stopped them from pushing their way into the top echelon of CPU cooler manufacturers. With products at various price segments, they are becoming a company PC enthusiasts look to for high-end air coolers. Add to that their exceptional warranty and unique color choices and you end up with a company that has a cooler that will fit your needs.

The Netherlands-based company's big claim to fame came with the PH-TC14PE. It immediately became a challenger of Noctua's famous NH-D14 after its release, and Phanteks didn't dawdle after that initial success. They continued to introduce more cooling products at various price points, which has allowed them to meet the needs of many PC enthusiasts looking for good cooling through a quality product that is backed by a great warranty. Then there are, of course, the downdraft-style PH-TC14CS and more traditional PH-TC12DX that round out their product stack. Phanteks might be relatively new when it comes to CPU coolers, but they have shown that they know how to create top-tier cooling products.

The Cooler I will review today is their top performer, the PH-TC14PE. I will review the black version with model number PH-TC14PE_BK. This cooler is simply massive, but whether its size will translate into class-leading performance or not still remains to be seen. With that said, it is time to test their top product to see just what it offers enthusiasts scrutinizing today's crowded cooler market.

Packaging & Contents

The box Phanteks has put their cooler into is rather small with a length of 21 cm in length, width of 17 cm, and height of 20 cm. It is colorful and catchy in its appearance, showing off all the various color options of the PH-TC14PE. The side lists the cooler's specifications and the back offers some information on the cooler's design and the technology used in its creation.


The opposite side lists the various features of the Phanteks PH-TC14PE, including P.A.T.S (Physical Antioxidant Thermal Shield), C.P.S.C (Cold Plasma Spraying Coating Technology), and others. The top has the company logo and shows off the various color options Phanteks offers a second time.

Contents

When I opened the box, it was obvious that everything within was well placed. Phanteks used soft foam to absorb impacts and protect the product during shipping.


First up, there is the heatsink and the installation guide. The image here is a bit misleading, as the angle makes the dual tower heatsink look a bit small. The instructions are, on the other hand, clean, clear, and easy to read. While the directions some coolers come with are vague, users should not have any issues mounting the PH-TC14PE by following its installation guide. The fans provided by Phanteks are PH-F140s; they support PWM. These fans offer a maximum airflow of 88.6 CFM with PWM turned off and max out at 78.1 CFM with PWM turned on. The fan's mounting hardware has been placed into three separate bags.


The mounting hardware is rather straight forward. The left image has the AMD mounting bars on top and Intel's on the left, with the various screws and standoffs required for mounting the cooler on almost any platform. The image on the right shows that Phanteks has included everything necessary to attach three fans to their already massive PH-TC14PE.

Common parts supplied for mounting include:

• 16x Rubber pads on fans
• 12x Fan clip adaptors
• 6x Rubber bars
• 6x Wire fan clips
• 4x Nuts
• 4x Plastic stand-offs for AMD
• 4x Plastic stand-offs for Intel
• 4x Screws for AMD
• 4x Screws for Intel
• 4x Screws for LGA2011
• 2x AMD mounting arms
• 2x Intel mounting arms
• 1x Crossbar
• 1x Backplate
• 1x Thermal grease
• 1x PWM Y-cable
• 1x PWM external adaptor