Noctua NH-D14, Premium CPU Cooler with Dual NF-P14 PWM and NF-P12 PWM Fans (Brown)

Pros: Installation is super simple - this cooler was much easier to install than my Hyper 212 Evo was. Performance is excellent. Keeps my i7-2600k around 30C at idle and 65-70C under load at 4.8 GHz! AMAZING! It's inaudible in my case. Completely 100% silent even without using any of the low-noise adapters for the fans.

Cons: The only potential con is that if you have very tall RAM you may have trouble installing the cooler and/or fans or worst case may have to buy new (low-profile) RAM.

Overall Review: I've been using this for about 6 months now and I can't imagine ever using another CPU cooler. I was worried about installing a cooler this big being a pain, but it took literally about 2 minutes - it was a pleasant surprise!

Pros: Awesome cooling Great company, customer service

Cons: Size Lack of clearance to PCIe slot

Overall Review: This CPU cooler by Noctua really gets the job done. I was building a new 5th generation Intel system and didn’t want to go with liquid cooling and this one had high marks. Noctua as a company is in Austria and everything about them screams quality. Even though my motherboard was only a couple of months old, they already had updated their website to show compatibility. I highly recommend going to the Noctua website and looking up your exact motherboard and RAM on their compatibility page. I did this and verified that my Gigabyte Champion motherboard and Corsair Vengeance LPX RAM were compatible, but then found that the cooler was just a little too close for comfort to the 1st PCIe slot. Noctua suggests insulating the fan clips as a solution but that is a little scary of a solution for me, so just be aware of it (I ended up just using the second slot). This is the sole reason for the subtraction of an egg on this review. Also ensure you have enough case height. I have a rather large Thermaltake Armor 8000 and still just barely cleared the case door. Also of note is the bracket required for the 2011-v3 socket is not included by default, though the company will airmail you one for free if you request it on their website with proof of purchase. All the size constraints aside, this cooler is amazing. The fans are extremely quiet and keep the CPU at near room temperature most of the time. When the fans spin up you barely even notice. The quality of the parts is top notch, and has sold me on Noctua in general (I just replaced all the fans in my system with Noctua versions. The two tone brown may be strange for some, but I find it a nice change of pace from blue/black/red everything with LEDs all over the place. Overall a great cooler and a solid four stars. It’d easily be six stars if not for the issue with the PCIe slot. Granted, the cooler was designed before the motherboard, and the website says there could be an issue, but it’s more of an issue than is led on.

Pros: This thing is awesome. Not many products I can say that about 100%. 1) I replaced the Corsair H50 Water Cooling system with this. (the H50 Pump was making noise, was annoying). -- Wasn't affecting performance though.. 2) This is outperforming (at current clock speeds anyway) the H50.. which I didn't think would happen. 3) Just for an example: i5-750, OC'ed just slightly over 3Ghz (mild OC for now),.. it runs, AT Load, in the 30's and 40's, celsius. I wasn't expecting such efficient cooling with Prime95 torture. Easily as efficient as the H50, if not more. 4) This thing is QUIET. You get top cooling performance ON AIR, and quiet? Whats the catch? (price maybe) -- but it is true, it is whisper silent.. 5) Installation -- Easy, trust me. Some of these monster HS's are incredibly difficult, this thing is designed so well. Has all the parts you need and more, and GOOD instructions if you need them.

Cons: *- If I had to list anything it would be the price, but , honestly, it is (at the moment) , very new to the market.. and is a top tier cooler, so the 80$ price tag is where it should be for now. It is worth the cash if you need the best air cooling that can be had, and you also want silence.

Overall Review: It comes with everything so neatly packed, pack for Intel chipsets, Pack for AMD chipsets,.. and pack of 'common parts'. Comes with its own Thermal compound that is a very good compound regardless of the heatsink/fan(s). Comes with a screw driver.. you don't even need to break out a tool to do this. The only thing I recommend for anyone before purchasing is to take the measurements from the specifications .. and DO measure in your board and case to make sure you have room. Particular problem area is RAM. If you have RAM with tall heatsink/spreaders you might have to pass , or make some modifications. Just do the measurements and you can figure it out pretty quickly. I see no one else has reviewed this on newegg, so I have to rate it a MUST BUY if you are on the fence and know it will fit. Nothing is going to beat this other than a considerable *custom* water cooling setup (IE Big rad, big pump, lots of plumbing and so on).

Pros: • Has more pipes than my grandpa • Blows more air than my grandpa (and that ain't easy) • Keeps things cool like my grandpa • Easy to seat like my grandpa • Sound deadening material for the fans .... yep... my grandpa has those. However, they are called diapers for him.

Cons: • Pipes not exposed to touch CPU. There have been reviews that this actually helps (maybe a negligible amount). I would have been curious to see if it would have brought down the temps another 1 or 2 c. But honestly, just buy another fan for it so you have 3 all pushing in the same direction... or upgrade all to higher CFM... then you'll see some temp drop. • Not full copper... However, I could only imagine the price if it was... (and weight... it's already heavy)

Overall Review: They should make a limited edition of this with exposed pipes and full copper block/fins. I'd buy one. It would probably break air-cooling records. Either way, it's the best Air-Cooling CPU cooler I've had to date. It even out-preformed some of my base water cooling solutions.

Pros: Really great performance with Oc'd 2600k. Able to overclock to 4.7Ghz comfortably. I replaced an existing Watercooled setup with this and am really happy to leave the WC hassle behind and get great performance like this.

Cons: Its scary BIG - can block memory slots and has some issues with MB heat sinks in certain configurations.

Overall Review: Just fyi. CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB(massive heatsinks) will fit with Noctua NH-D14 and ASUS P8P67 Deluxe LGA 1155. Blocks the first mem slot and you need to shift the heatsink fans to the opposite side. Still works and looks nice

Pros: As good as it gets for air cooling. The difference between Noctua's D14, the Phanteks, and the Thermalright Silver Arrow, are a few degrees and varies depending on who you ask; getting any of these will suit you fine, provided it fits. 70C at max load on a i7-3770k OC'ed to 4.8GHz wPrime and AIDA64 stable is no mean feat with pure air cooling, and you really have to (not) hear the sound to believe how quiet this unit is. Build quality is fantastic, and the included tools are easy to understand and use. In terms of stock performance (not going out and replacing fans, etc that ships with the product), these massive air coolers are on par with closed loop water sets anywhere near this price range. If you truly care about performance (temperatures, sound levels, quality), and don't plan on spending tons of time and money assembling and maintaining a custom water cooling kit, this is as good as it gets now. Translation: ready-to-go water cooling systems DO NOT outperform these!

Cons: It's big, but science demands it to be so. As always, check dimensions before purchasing, or look online to see if others with your motherboard and case have had any issues with it. Make sure your RAM also fits under the fan, though the absurd heatsinks shipping with RAM nowadays are all marketing and little to no performance impact (it's not even a matter of bang for the buck...they just don't really do much). If you absolutely MUST have flashy, shiny, spiky RAM, check their heights to ensure compatibility with this massive cooler!

Overall Review: Try not to fall into the faux pas of putting on too much thermal grease. The point of the grease is not to create a layer between the heatsink and the CPU, but rather to simply fill in any microscopic air bubbles/pockets that may otherwise exist between the two metal surfaces. As such, you want nice, even, and complete (in terms of surface spread) coverage of the CPU while keeping the grease layer as thin as possible! If you find the temperatures you're getting are unreasonably high (again, look online for comparisons on systems similar to your own), then you may have to re-seat the cooler. This involves taking it off, cleaning both surfaces with some sort of alcohol cleaner to remove the grease as thoroughly as you can, and reapplying the grease and cooler. If you plan dimensions correctly and apply thermal grease appropriately, you will be blown away by the end result!

Pros: This cooler is phenomenal! I am using with an AMD Phenom II x4 965 BE. With the stock cooler, I was running at 45c idle and 55-58c at load, OC'd at 3.8 GHz. Now, I'm OC'd to 4.0 GHz, with idle temps at 35-38c and load temps less than 50c! Additionally, this unit is extremely quiet. If it wasn't for the fans on my my video cards, my PC would be virtually silent.

Cons: This is not really a con, just a warning. The heat sink is large, very large. Make sure you get measurements prior to purchasing to ensure that you will have a nice fit.

Overall Review: Because of the way this unit installs, you may have issues with the second 120mm fan fitting over your memory heat sinks. I would recommend utilizing the motherboard/RAM compatibility list on Noctua's website to make sure that this unit is compatible with your set up.

Pros: Features they don't brag about but they could: *Nickel-plated copper for corrosion resistance *An incredibly well-machined contact block - no, it is not mirror shiny, but that's not the point; get out your most sensitive gear and it becomes clear through testing that this is a really remarkably uniform surface. I don't know how many people are still into lapping for better performance, but it is literally 100% unnecessary here. *Ideal heat pipe dimensions and construction, fully soldered connections with obvious quality control as a top priority - expect the best. *Consistent best-performer. Three worthy contenders: Archon, Silver Arrow, NH-D14. *The fans alone would be half the product's cost if bought separately, yet they're basically tossed in at "cost" to sweeten the deal. Noctua's fans are amazingly reliable. *Noctua support really friendly to deal with, and they ship fast, too. I got the third fan kit (and bought another 120mm Noctua fan for it), was really easy

Cons: The only real criticism you can make is just that it's big, but that's not a legitimate criticism because any heat sink with thermal performance characteristics like this is going to be big. It uses a dual radiator tower design, compared to (e.g.) the great bang for the buck Hyper 212+ single tower design; and, when fitted with the full 3 fan possible complement, it weighs around 3 pounds. Its mounting hardware and modern motherboards are made to take this level of pressure, it's nothing to worry about except when you're moving or whatever. Might be worth dismounting it and taking it separately, just so you don't jar all that weight in transport. It is also quite massive. Pay attention to the RAM compatibility list. Anything with a tall heat sink is a no-go with this cooler. It can be difficult to route wiring and plug in the 8-pin top ATA spec power connector post-installation. My advice: mount the retention system first outside the case, route cables, then mount the NH-D14 itself.

Overall Review: Everything about this cooler is thoughtful and effective, demonstrating the price:performance:radiator dimensions:noise level advantage that modern heat pipe coolers enjoy. To get performance better than this, preconfigured liquid loops have to push way, way more air over their radiator space (less efficient, though their brute force performance can keep temps lower under extreme conditions). But it is absolutely remarkable that this is one of a very limited class of heat pipe coolers that can make liquid cooling look mediocre. I've got mine cooling a 2600K at 4.7GHz and temperatures are completely within the comfort zone despite aggressive voltage and hot Hyperthreading. Even a year and a half in, this remains one of the most thoughtfully designed and carefully implemented heat sinks on the market. One more thing? Even at top performance, the Noctua fans keep it totally quiet. I never hear this thing even when they ramp up. Love it. I'll definitely be paying attention to Noctua.