Noctua NH-C14S is a top-flow CPU cooler, featuring deep fin stacks and uses Noctua’s NF-A14 fan. This is single fan CPU cooler that provides similar cooling performance to its dual fan predecessor.
Installing the fan on top of the heatsink, gives the cooler a max height of 140mm, while installing the fan underneath (low profile mode), gives a total height of 115mm. The offset layout of C14S allows it to clear the top PCIe slot on most motherboards. The Noctua C14S uses SecuFirm2 multi-socket mounting kit, and includes NT-H1 thermal compound and six years manufacturer’s warranty.
SPECIFICATIONS
| MODEL | NH-C14S |
| DIMENSIONS | L: 140 x W: 163 x H: 140mm (115mm in Low Profile Mode) |
| MATERIALS | Copper (base and 7x heat-pipes), aluminium (cooling fins) |
| COMPATIBILITY | Intel: 115X/1200/1700 AMD: AM4 |
| FANS | 1x NF-A14 (1500RPM) |
| RAM CLEARANCE | 70mm (45mm in Low Profile Mode) |
| THERMAL COMPOUND (INCLUDED) | Y (NT-H1) |
TEST SYSTEM
All CPU cooler testing was completed on BC1T Open Testbench using the following hardware in 20°C room ambient temperature. CPU cooler fans were set to fixed 35dB(a) noise level at distance of 50cm.
| CASE | BC1 Mini v2 (Open Testbench) |
| MOTHERBOARD | Rog Strix B650E-I Gaming WiFi (paid link) |
| CPU | R5 7600X / R7 7700X (paid links) |
| CPU COOLER | Noctua NH-C14S (paid link) |
| PSU | Extreme 850R (paid link) |
| RAM | 32GB Gskill DDR5, 6000MHz, CL30 (paid link) |
THERMAL BENCHMARKS
We use Cinebench R23 multicore (stability test), for CPU thermal testing. This provides worse case scenario for given CPUs thermal output.
CONCLUSIONS
We use the Noctua C14S is on regular basics in our ITX PC builds, due to its low profile design and thermal performance. The C14S is easily installed on AM4 & LGA1700 motherboards.
The only issue we encountered was the offset design made the NH-C14S incompatible with some Mini-ITX cases. The cooler would overhang the left side of the motherboard and interfere with case panels etc. In cases that use PCIe riser cables, the cooler can be mounted with the heatpipes facing the PCIe slot with use of Noctua’s NM-AM4 mounting kit. This can help with cooling in some cases where airflow would normally impact the cooler finstack instead of flowing across. We would like to see the required brackets included by default with the NH-C14S in further.