CONCLUSION

    Whereas the cooling performance of the original NH-C14 depended a lot on its two bundled 140mm fans the performance of the NH-C14S depends a lot on its design so although we wanted it to be true we didn’t really expect the NH-C14S to surpass its predecessor. Well judging by our tests it does by a small margin so kudos to Noctua for managing that with a single fan. True it’s faster and produces higher airflow levels than the ones used with the NH-C14 but one versus two isn’t quite fair so to be on the receiving end of better cooling efficiency is impressive. Unfortunately in order to use taller fins Noctua had to increase the height of the cooler by a full 10mm so people who plan on placing the fan at the top of the heatsink should really check other solutions as well since 142mm is somewhat tall (although you are getting a nice performance boost with the fan at the top). I know most of you out there are aware of what to expect from Noctua in terms of quality but I feel I do need to point out that the NH-C14S may look nice and pretty but it’s actually build like a tank.

    Currently the NH-C14S Low-Profile CPU Cooler by Noctua retails for just USD79.65 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 74.90Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) so it actually costs roughly the same compared to the NH-C14 when reviewed it in early 2012. Now although the NH-C14S does outperform the NH-C14 slightly we do feel that since the first came with two 140mm fans and this comes with one that price should be slightly lower. Other than that however we don’t have anything bad to say about the NH-C14S and that’s why we’re giving it our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Superb Build Quality
- Excellent Cooling Performance
- Low-Profile (115mm/142mm)
- Zero Clearance Issues
- Noise Levels
- Bundle
- 6 Years Warranty

CONS

- Price (For Some)