Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler Review

Performance Analysis

Considering the huge size of the Noctua NH-D14, and the fact it comes equipped with two large fans, we were expecting some seriously impressive temperatures. The NH-D14 duly delivered when fitted to our overclocked, overvolted Core i7-965 Extreme Edition. At full speed, we saw an idle delta T of 16°C and a load delta T of 45°C. With the ULVA resistor cable attached to slow the fans, these temperatures rose to a 17°C idle delta T and a 48°C load delta T.

These temperatures put the NH-D14 comfortably towards the top of our performance graphs, and are comparable to both the Titan Fenrir with its fans on high speed, and the Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme 1366 RT. The Titan Fenrir is 1°C more effective than the NH-D14 when both have their fans spinning at maximum (though it is louder) and is just as effective when both coolers have their fans slowed down.

We saw similarly strong results when we moved to LGA1156, where the NH-D14 managed to keep the CPU to a delta T of 33°C under load with its fans on full speed, and to a load delta T of 35°C with the ULVA cable deployed. However, this still wasn’t enough to dislodge the Zalman CNPS 10X Quiet from its second place in the chart. The Zalman was at least as quiet as the NH-D14 even with its fan at maximum speed, while the Fenrir at maximum speed is very noisy.

While the cooling of the NH-D14 on the Intel sockets was good, moving to AMD’s Socket AM2+ saw the NH-D14 really struggle. Even with both fans spinning at full speed, we saw a load delta T of 40°C – this was 3°C higher than the Fenrir with its fan on low speed. When we slowed the fans of the NH-D14, the load delta T rose by another 4°C to 44°C, making it only 2°C more effective than the AMD reference cooler.


We double-checked the mounting of the cooler to see if we’d installed it incorrectly, but to no avail. However, we did notice that the air between the rear of the cooler and the rear of the case was very warm. Our Socket AM2+ test rig uses a Cooler Master Cosmos 1000, which relies on its roof exhausts and doesn’t use a rear exhaust. However, because of the CPU socket mount, it was impossible to mount the NH-D14 vertically. We tested the Fenrir with exactly the same fan configuration and cooler orientation.

While thermal performance was mixed across the platforms, one thing that remained constant was the cooler’s noise level. At full speed the NH-D14 wasn’t noisy, but the low-pitched rush of air was definitely audible even over the background noise of our air conditioned Labs. Fitting the step-down cables, the noise level dropped to a low whisper that was only audible after we’d turned the air-con off and told everyone to shut up for a minute - a superb result that comes as no surprise considering Noctua's continued commitment to quiet computing.

Conclusion

To the NH-D14's credit cooling on the Intel sockets was very good, and with the step-down cable deployed, the NH-D14 was quiet as well as effective. Sadly though AMD cooling was hindered by the lack of an effective rear exhaust system – the 140mm fan just didn’t have enough push to get the hot air out of the back of the case. While the cooling ability of the NH-D14 was suitably high though, the size of the cooler has some unwanted consequences. Critically you can’t use memory with any kind of elevated heatspreader for one, a glaring oversight considering this is a cooler for the kind of person who’ll have exactly that type of memory.

However, the biggest issue with the NH-D14 is undoubtedly the price. This cooler costs £72 making it one of the most expensive on the market, and despite it's thermal performance it utterly fails to justify this price in comparison to the competition. The excellent Titan Fenrir is almost as effective as the NH-D14 when set to its quiet low fan speed, and at full speed the Fenrir is consistently the better (albeit louder) performer. As the Fenrir is half the price of the NH-D14 and doesn't create any of the hardware compatibility issues of the Noctua it’s clearly the better option and leaves the NH-D14 an innovative, but ultimately flawed cooler.

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• 4/10

• Performance
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• 8/10

• Ease of Use
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• 6/10

• Value
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• 5/10

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• 6/10

Score Guide