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Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler

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The gang at circuitREMIX strapped the big, bad Noctua NH-D14 CPU cooler to the test bench today and cranked up the heat. Just how big is the NH-D14? Here's what the reviewer had to say:

Massive. That's the word I would use to describe my first impression of the cooler that's the subject of this review. I've reviewed many CPU coolers in the past, and this was the first one which stood out enough for my wife to ask me while I was testing, "What is that thing?" This 'thing' is Noctua's NH-D14 CPU cooler.
Click to expand...
 
I came really close to buying one the day before last. But decided to get the NH-C14 instead. Mainly because it cooled nearly as well (2 degree Celsius difference). And its capable of clearing taller ram.
 
I was on the fence between this one and the Thermalright Silver Arrow and I went with the Silver Arrow since it was a little cheaper, performed just about equal, if not a little better, and supposedly has room between the towers for a 38mm fan. I hope it clears the Ripjaws (google-fu seems to say 'yes'). I'll find out on Friday!
 
Greetings, yes it's huge but i still can put it inside my original cm690 and close the side panel.
 
I've had my NH-D14 for awhile now and have nothing but good things to say about it. Noctua makes some good stuff.
 
Mine is great, it clears the ripjaws just fine. And the silver arrow is almost identical. Except it has 2 140mm fans.
 
I like mine. Barely clears my Vengeance, but works like a champ.
 
Ordered one on sale last week to use with the Ivy Bridge build I'll be doing in April. It looks comically large, but I don't look at the inside of my computer once it is built, so as long as it is quiet and works well I'm happy to have paid have the price of an H80.
 
I bought one in December. I've remounted it 3 times in my RV02 and it's still giving me mediocre temps. I have a 2700k @ 4.6/1.38vcore actual hitting 70+C at in an RV02 with reasonable ambients. My chip clocks up to 4.8+ pretty easily with 1.4, this thing just can't handle the heat. Paste coverage was fine the first time too. I tried more paste and also less thinking their instructions might be stupid. No difference.

Be careful buying these and do a search on the web, it seems like there's a small percentage of us with these d14's that are getting crappy temps with it. One guy's was going up to 80C stock. I'm unhappy with it for the price and probably will be avoiding their heatsinks in the future. I'd go with the silver arrow instead. This just seems like poor quality control. The soldering where the heatpipes meet the base seems like an issue for some of them. I understand a few having issues with cracked heatpipes etc, but mine technically works fine it's just about as effective as my corsair a50 and 3 times more expensive and bulky. Maybe I can sell it for scrap metal. :p
 
InternationalHat said:
I bought one in December. I've remounted it 3 times in my RV02 and it's still giving me mediocre temps. I have a 2700k @ 4.6/1.38vcore actual hitting 70+C at in an RV02 with reasonable ambients. My chip clocks up to 4.8+ pretty easily with 1.4, this thing just can't handle the heat. Paste coverage was fine the first time too. I tried more paste and also less thinking their instructions might be stupid. No difference.

Be careful buying these and do a search on the web, it seems like there's a small percentage of us with these d14's that are getting crappy temps with it. One guy's was going up to 80C stock. I'm unhappy with it for the price and probably will be avoiding their heatsinks in the future. I'd go with the silver arrow instead. This just seems like poor quality control. The soldering where the heatpipes meet the base seems like an issue for some of them. I understand a few having issues with cracked heatpipes etc, but mine technically works fine it's just about as effective as my corsair a50 and 3 times more expensive and bulky. Maybe I can sell it for scrap metal. :p
Click to expand...

Is the CPU interface flat? Wonder if they had some machining issues that bowed them out. I was going to get a Silver Arrow as I have been happy with my Thermalright TRUE, but they seem to be hard to find in Canada, and I couldn't pass up the NH-D14 sale.
 
grambo said:
Is the CPU interface flat? Wonder if they had some machining issues that bowed them out. I was going to get a Silver Arrow as I have been happy with my Thermalright TRUE, but they seem to be hard to find in Canada, and I couldn't pass up the NH-D14 sale.
Click to expand...

A bow isn't really too bad as long as it's not excessive, however it looks fine; the machining is great. It LOOKS very well made overall The problems they seem to have are cracked heatpipes and inconsistent soldering where the heatpipe and base meet. You'll probably be fine, it seems like a minority that have these issues, but it sucks getting a below average one when you were expecting one of the best air coolers on the market.
 
InternationalHat said:
I bought one in December. I've remounted it 3 times in my RV02 and it's still giving me mediocre temps. I have a 2700k @ 4.6/1.38vcore actual hitting 70+C at in an RV02 with reasonable ambients. My chip clocks up to 4.8+ pretty easily with 1.4, this thing just can't handle the heat. Paste coverage was fine the first time too. I tried more paste and also less thinking their instructions might be stupid. No difference.

Be careful buying these and do a search on the web, it seems like there's a small percentage of us with these d14's that are getting crappy temps with it. One guy's was going up to 80C stock. I'm unhappy with it for the price and probably will be avoiding their heatsinks in the future. I'd go with the silver arrow instead. This just seems like poor quality control. The soldering where the heatpipes meet the base seems like an issue for some of them. I understand a few having issues with cracked heatpipes etc, but mine technically works fine it's just about as effective as my corsair a50 and 3 times more expensive and bulky. Maybe I can sell it for scrap metal. :p
Click to expand...

RMA it, they have a 6 year warranty on the D14 and you don't have to settle for a defective unit. You need to have proof of purchase.

Direct RMA form: http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=rma_form&lng=en
 
InternationalHat said:
I bought one in December. I've remounted it 3 times in my RV02 and it's still giving me mediocre temps. I have a 2700k @ 4.6/1.38vcore actual hitting 70+C at in an RV02 with reasonable ambients. My chip clocks up to 4.8+ pretty easily with 1.4, this thing just can't handle the heat. Paste coverage was fine the first time too. I tried more paste and also less thinking their instructions might be stupid. No difference.

Be careful buying these and do a search on the web, it seems like there's a small percentage of us with these d14's that are getting crappy temps with it. One guy's was going up to 80C stock. I'm unhappy with it for the price and probably will be avoiding their heatsinks in the future. I'd go with the silver arrow instead. This just seems like poor quality control. The soldering where the heatpipes meet the base seems like an issue for some of them. I understand a few having issues with cracked heatpipes etc, but mine technically works fine it's just about as effective as my corsair a50 and 3 times more expensive and bulky. Maybe I can sell it for scrap metal. :p
Click to expand...

This is normal for the noctua. Why do you think 70C+ is bad? An i5-2500k at 1.3v and 4.5hz should hit around 70C so 1.4v at 4.8ghz should be in the 75C range after 1h of prime blend on your core temps. Keep in mind that the testbeds in articles such as the one linked to here are NOT using a closed case. Closed cases often add a good 10C to benchmark results.

Also, the Tcase on the i7 is 72C iirc and it is at least 10C above core temps, since tcase isn't monitored. Meaning, so long as your cores stay below 85C you are well within operating temps.
 
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@ TheSpacePope .... the Cooler should perform better than a H50 .... my H50 in a room at ~80f, keeps a 2600k with 1.42v at 75c ..... the D14 should keep it a bit cooler than that ;)
 
W.Feather said:
@ TheSpacePope .... the Cooler should perform better than a H50 .... my H50 in a room at ~80f, keeps a 2600k with 1.42v at 75c ..... the D14 should keep it a bit cooler than that ;)
Click to expand...

Indeed it should. I don't have an noctua nh-d14 installed in my system, but my xigmatek gaia hits about 74C on the worst core after an hour of prime in my system at 1.3v 4.5ghz i5-2500k. All benchmarks i've seen show the noctua should be approx 6C colder than my gaia which would mean in my setup it'd hit about 68C. Just extrapolating here but at 1.4v and 4.8ghz i'd bet the noctua should hit 72 or 73 maybe 75C (for me). My setup has my computer case under my desk and next to a wall so no matter what I do my temps are going to be hotter than most people's.
 
i use the G.SKILL sniper series with mine. no clearance issues. love this fan.
 
I meant that low profile Vengeance modules fit where the normal ones don't.

Great cooler though, very impressed :)
 
Was talking HSF's with a buddy earlier today and started thinking about how much I love the NH D14. Unfortunately the noticeable sagging it experiences has been driving me nuts since day one.

Thought about it for a moment, quick trip to the hardware store later and this is what I ended up with:

P1010900.jpg


Will be bead blasting / black oxiding these parts at work (sometime). Also, dusting. I also put some small anti-slip foam pads on the ends of those bolts so there's really nothing short of a major blow to the case that could knock those supports down. They're firmly in place.

Here's an example of my black oxide results from a different project (arcade stick):

P1010606.jpg
 
Instead of doing what the previous poster did, wouldn't be easier to just lay it on it's side? Would it have any detrimental affects to overflow laying it down? Also, do you think it's possible to get an i5-2500k up to 4.4Ghz with this on? Has anyone attempted this with an i5-D14 combo?
 
Ive not had any issues with sagging on my setup. Are you sure you have the mobo installed correctly withall of the standoffs?
 
Installation is 100% correct, I've re-seated it a few times. The sagging wasn't really that bad, maybe a millimeter total, but if you looked at it just right you'd see it.

HSF.gif


A fairly subtle difference. Plus it just makes me feel better knowing it's supported. I think it's impossible for a HSF of this size and weight to NOT experience some flex when being supported only from the rear mounting plate.
 
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Grimspoon said:
Installation is 100% correct, I've re-seated it a few times. The sagging wasn't really that bad, maybe a millimeter total, but if you looked at it just right you'd see it.

HSF.gif


A fairly subtle difference. Plus it just makes me feel better knowing it's supported. I think it's impossible for a HSF of this size and weight to NOT experience some flex when being supported only from the rear mounting plate.
Click to expand...

Awesome pic showing the difference, thanks!

I have an NH-D14 in a box waiting for Ivy Bridge so I haven't looked at it closely yet, but where do you think the sag happens mechanically? E.g. does the sag reduce contact with the IHS on the CPU, or is it happening where the heatsink towers connect to the baseplate? Or maybe the motherboard itself.

I might try to rig up these brackets just to prevent it from happening. May as well throw one on the GPU as well.
 
I'm fairly convinced the flex is happening on the motherboard itself. I don't think there's any flex occurring on the HSF, it's very sturdy / well made.
 
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Grimspoon said:
I'm fairly convinced the flex is happening on the motherboard itself. I don't think there's any flex occurring on the HSF, it's very sturdy / well made.
Click to expand...

Thanks... did your temps change at all? Curious if the flex has an impact on IHS contact with the heatsink.

Also, what is the name of the hardware you purchased? I figure I'll just go to Home Depot and walk around looking for it.
 
I checked my temps closely for the next couple days and they remained virtually unchanged. The cpu isn't losing contact in any way (thankfully). Just a bit of give on the mobo.

What you need is a coupling nut and two bolts (any kind really) who's total length combined add up to the height between your HSF and the nearest surface under the fins. I also bought these anti-slip pads to put on the ends of the bolts, I'd say this is an important point to consider and not to skip it.

You probably don't have to use two of em like I did. In total I spent 6 bucks and change doing this.
 
Wow, that is actually a pretty significant flex. I'd be worried about damage to the motherboard from stressing it like that over time. I may have to do something similar to this as I will be using an NH-D14 in my new system. Alternatively, I wonder if it would be possible to brace the back bracket against the backside of the motherboard tray. I'll have to look into it when I do my build.
 
I think the bracket behind the motherboard pretty much ensures there won't be any long term damage to the motherboard. I think it is physically impossible for a HSF of this size and weight to NOT flex to some degree without being supported my way. This is just the nature of the beast.
 
Nah, that's a minor flex. For significant flex, see the TRUE copper edition, or for major motherboard warping, the stock Intel heatsink :p
 
I was wondering if it would be a good choice to "upgrade" my Prolimatech Megahalem to the DH-14?? At 3.6GHz, I get load temps between 57-62 degrees using LinX with an ambient temperature of 27C (very hot here in Charlotte). Idle in my case is around 40-45C. Would this be a worthy purchase or should I keep what I have?
 
Hey

Is the Noctua NH-D14 CPU cooler performing well in Silverstone cases with 90-degree rotated motherboards like RV02 or FT02 or TJ11? I'm wondering whether the cooler's exhaust might be fighting the vertical air-flow of the case. Can you mount the cooler in whatever position you need, maybe to exhaust to the top of the case? Are there recommended coolers for Silverstone cases with vertical air-flow?

Thanks.
 
ender_speaker said:
Hey

Is the Noctua NH-D14 CPU cooler performing well in Silverstone cases with 90-degree rotated motherboards like RV02 or FT02 or TJ11? I'm wondering whether the cooler's exhaust might be fighting the vertical air-flow of the case. Can you mount the cooler in whatever position you need, maybe to exhaust to the top of the case? Are there recommended coolers for Silverstone cases with vertical air-flow?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

In the Silverstone, everything is rotated 90 degrees, including the NH-D14, so it will be blowing air upwards in it's default configuration (inline with the case design). You can rotate the NH-D14 90 degrees as well (so in a normal case, you can choose to exhaust rear-ward or up-ward).
 
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