- Review -

19.12.2015 eTeknix.com

I absolutely love this cooler, it ticks all the right boxes for a high-end cooler and so much more. It’s a little on the pricey side, getting into the territory where a budget AIO water cooler could offer lower temperatures for a similar price, but like for like performance, build quality and the assurance that it’s going to keep running for many years without fault, you won’t find that in an AIO at this price. The Noctua also wins out on the acoustic performance, and it doesn’t take long to hear (or not hear) why Noctua coolers and more specifically in this instance, their fans, have won so many awards and can command a price premium. If you’re looking to build a system where compatibility is important, you’ll be very happy with the SecuFirm2 Mounting System. This cooler is really easy to install, remove and maintain. There’s room for an additional fan should you need it, although I personally don’t think it’s required, even when overclocking. The top flow design means that any conflicts with your systems VRM, memory and bigger expansion cards are simply not going to happen. You can orientate the cooler whichever way suits your build and while it is quite tall, it’s still shorter than most tower coolers overall. The inclusion of extremely high-quality fittings, a tube of some of the best thermal paste money can buy, even a custom screwdriver to help you get the cooler installed as quickly and easily as possible. It’s all these little extras that show Noctua’s dedication to quality and they’re the perfect complement to the exceptional build quality and design of the cooler.

"The Noctua NH-C14S is simply one of the best coolers on the market today, with a fantastic visual design, great system compatibility, virtually silent operation and so more!" (Peter Donnell, eTeknix.com)