Page 3 - Test Results
Our test configurations are as follows:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K (Stock settings)
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87
RAM: Patriot Viper 3 Series Black Mamba DDR3 16GB (2x8GB)
Graphics: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Chassis: SilverStone Kublai KL05B-W
Power: SilverStone Strider Gold S ST85F-GS 850W
Storage: SanDisk Ultra II 240GB; Western Digital Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional x64
Compared hardware:
- Noctua NH-C14S (Top)
- Noctua NH-C14S (Bottom)
- Cooler Master Nepton 240M
- Noctua NH-L9x65 (Single/LNA)
- Noctua NH-L9x65 (Single)
- Noctua NH-C14 (Dual)
- Noctua NH-C14 (Single/Bottom)
- Noctua NH-D15S
- Noctua NH-D15S (LNA)
- SilverStone Tundra TD03-E
- SilverStone Tundra TD02-E
- Intel Stock
All tests were run in our custom built computer to best reflect real life performance. The computer remained in the same location in the same room throughout all tests. The room temperature in our testing lab was around 21c. Stock thermal paste respective to all coolers were used to rate its performance; all pastes were given a proper amount of time for them to fully settle. The fans on all heatsinks were directly connected to the motherboard's 4-pin connector. Computer was turned on and idling for at least one hour for the idling tests. High CPU load results were obtained using the Prime95 in-place large FFTs test with four worker threads for a minimum of ten minutes or until the temperature was deemed stable.
As the Noctua NH-C14S was released closely with the NH-D15S, it only made sense we would test these two together for product line comparison. In addition, we compared this cooler with the original Noctua NH-C14 to see where improvements have been made. An array of water coolers from SilverStone and Cooler Master reviewed by Brian Cheung and Preston Yuen were also included for relative comparisons between air and water cooling options. Finally the low profile NH-L9x65 cooler was added, with the Intel stock cooler present for a baseline figure.
From the charts above, you can see the Noctua NH-C14S had a few results to look at. For one, it was already improved over the Noctua NH-C14. The original cooler was warmer with a single/bottom fan configuration on idle compared to the cooler under review. With a top configuration, this matched the dual fan configuration on the Noctua NH-C14, and stayed in line with the Noctua NH-D15S at 27c. All of the water coolers kept the processor cooler at idle, which was not surprising. Comparing to the Intel stock cooler, at best the Noctua NH-C14S was only three degrees better. The idle test did not show the true potential of the cooler, as the processor did not generate much heat from its almost zero workload. Thus we fired up Prime95 and threw it into full throttle to really see what this cooler was made of.
In the load test, the Noctua NH-C14S delivered even more interesting results. Once again, the improvements over the original Noctua NH-C14 were present and good to see. Both single fan configurations were cooler than the original Noctua NH-C14 by four and two degrees for bottom and top fan placement, respectively. On the other hand, the results were quite close to the Noctua NH-L9x65, which was somewhat surprising. For one, the NH-L9x65 is quite a bit smaller in both physical dimensions and in fan size. Yet, in a single fan configuration, it was bested by the Noctua NH-C14S by only two degrees. The water coolers, on the other hand, completely stomped over the Noctua NH-C14S, which was expected. For reference's sake, the Noctua NH-C14S still delivered good results considering it provided a delta of almost twenty degrees compared to the Intel stock cooler.
Finally in our acoustic tests, the Noctua NH-C14S comes with the NF-A14 PWM, which is heavily optimized for noise reduction. On a scale of 0-10 where 0 is silent and 10 is the loudest, I would rate the cooler to be at a 4.0/10 running at full speeds. However, when your computer is not under heavy loads, I would rate this cooler closer to a 2.5/10. There was very little noise created by this fan during daily operations, which was great to see. No turbulence nor vibration was associated with this cooler either, which means the designs of the fan array, in addition to the rubber dampeners, were effective. Noctua has always been a great company when it comes to removing unwarranted noise, and the NH-C14S is another fine example of such.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
