Viewing page 1 of 9 pages.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 NextNoctua Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler
February 2, 2010 by Mike Chin
|
Product
|
Noctua NH-D14
CPU Cooler |
|
Manufacturer
|
Noctua |
|
Street Price
|
~$90 USD |
The NH-D14 is only Noctua's fourth heatsink design since the company's
emergence in 2005. The others are a 12cm fan tower, a 9cm fan tower, and a 12cm
fan top-down model. There are several variants of each and there have been subtle
refinements over the years, but those three basic designs have made up the line.
The low model count makes Noctua one of the most conservative heatsink specialists
in the computer business, and in this case, the word conservative is meant positively.
The company has also been diligent in updating the mounting systems of their
variant models to be compatible for changes by Intel and AMD, with update kits
made available for purchase, not only incorporated into new production. This
kind of customer support is unusual and we wholeheartely applaud Noctua's approach.
[P.S. - In the forum discussion after the article was posted, one reader pointed out that "as long as you own a Noctua heatsink and an appropriate CPU, and can provide proof, they'll send it to you for free." See the note on Noctua's NM-I3 SecuFirm2â„¢ Mounting-Kit page. Furthermore, Noctua maintains lists "showing every single motherboard that its heatsinks are compatible with and any issues that might be encountered (and in some cases, even asking you to contact them to get what's needed for compatibility). The amount of information here is absolutely astounding." Link to the NH-D14 compatibility list.]
The company's products have always shown a high degree of systems design thinking
and very good attention to details. No surprise that they've received positive
reviews from many web tech reviewers, including SPCR. In our recent retest of
top heatsinks on our new i7 test platform, the Noctua
NH-U12P tower heatsink's position among the top performers was re-established.
The NH-D14 was introduced late last year, just a couple of months ago. It is
considerably larger than their previous tower models, and looks designed to
handle the hottest CPUs around today — the Intel Core i7-1366 (130W TDP)
and the AMD Phenom II 965 (125W~140W TDP).
|
A standard Intel CPU heatsink/fan is dwarfed by the Noctua ND-D14 box.
|
The large twin-tower design features two fans, a 14cm in between the two banks
of fins, and a 12cm fan blowing in the same direction on the outside of one
of the banks. The overall presentation of the product itself as well as the
neat packages of Intel, AMD and common hardware cannot fail to impress.
|
The provided mounting hardware is neatly separated. Two well-illustrated
instruction sheets are provided: One for Intel, one for AMD.
|
|
|
Feature & Brief
|
Our Comment |
6 heatpipe dual radiator
design
Providing more surface area, better heat-distribution and superior airflow
efficiency than conventional tower style heatsinks, the NH-D14’s six
heatpipe dual radiator design was developed to provide ultimate quiet cooling
performance in dual fan mode. |
Because they are U-shaped,
these 6 heatpipes provide 12 thermal paths. We've seen twin-tower designs
before but haven't been that impressed. |
Dual NF-P14/NF-P12 fan
setup
Premium quality dual fan setup consisting of Noctua’s award-winning
NF-P12 (120mm) and NF-P14 (140mm) fans, both of which feature Vortex-Control
Notches, SCD technology and SSO-Bearings in order to achieve a perfect balance
of performance and quietness. |
Two fans blowing in the
same direction should provide less drop in pressure as RPM is reduced, which
means better cooling at low (read: quiet) speed. But turbulence interactions
between the fans can increase noise. We cannot confirm the utility of the
VCN, SCD technology or SSO bearings. |
Asymmetrical design
for high compatibility
An asymmetrical design that gives more clearance towards the RAM slots ensures
good compatibility despite of the cooler’s size. The NF-P12 fan can
be moved upwards or left off in order to further improve compatibility. |
These points suggest
good attention to practical details. |
Excellent component
cooling
Hanging out at the bottom of the fin-stacks, the NF-P14 fan doesn’t
only contribute to the NH-D14’s superb CPU cooling capabilities but
also provides massive airflow over surrounding motherboard components and
heatsinks, thus ensuring excellent component cooling performance. |
Definitely worthwhile
for the VRM and chips around the CPU; they run hotter with a hotter CPU.
|
SecuFirm2™ multi-socket
mounting
Noctua’s enthusiast grade SecuFirm2™ multi-socket mounting provides
broad socket compatibility (LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA775, AM2, AM2+ and AM3)
and meets the highest demands in safety, contact pressure and ease-of-use. |
A secure, tight and easy
to use mounting system is essential for any heatsink. |
NT-H1 thermal compound
Noctua's much-acclaimed NT-H1 is a well proven pro-grade TIM solution that
provides minimum thermal resistance, excellent ease-of-use and outstanding
reliability. |
For continuity, we won't
be using their thermal compound. We'll take their word for it. |
|
|
| Socket compatibility
|
Intel LGA1366, LGA1156,
LGA775 & AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3 (backplate required) |
| HxWxD (w/o fan) |
160 x 140 x 130 mm |
HxWxD (w/ fan)
|
160 x 140 x 158 mm |
| Weight |
900g HS only, 1070g w/1 fan, 1240g w/
2 fans |
| Material |
Copper (base and heat-pipes), aluminium
(cooling fins), soldered joints & nickel plating |
| Fan compatibility |
140x140x25 & 120x120x25mm |
| Scope of Delivery |
1x NF-P14 premium fan
1x NF-P12 premium fan
2x Ultra-Low-Noise Adaptor (U.L.N.A.)
Y-Split Cable
4x Vibration-Compensators (for using NF-P12 as case fan)
4x Fan screws (for using NF-P12 as case fan)
NT-H1 high-grade thermal compound
SecuFirm2™ Mounting Kits
Noctua Metal Case-Badge |
| Warranty |
6 Years |
|
Fan Specifications
|
| Model |
Noctua NF-P14 & Noctua NF-P12 |
| Bearing |
SSO-Bearing |
| Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) |
1200 / 1300 RPM |
| Rotational Speed with U.L.N.A.
(+/- 10%) |
900 / 900 RPM |
| Airflow |
110,3 / 92,3 m³/h |
| Airflow with U.L.N.A. |
83,7 / 63,4 m³/h |
| Acoustical Noise |
19,6 / 19,8 dB(A) |
| Acoustical Noise with U.L.N.A. |
13,2 / 12,6 dB(A) |
| Input Power |
1,2 / 1,08 W |
| Voltage Range |
12V |
| MTBF |
> 150.000 h |
| Help support this site, buy from one of our affiliate retailers! |
|
