Visual inspection
The Noctua NH-C14S is a top flow air CPU cooler that uses a single 140mm fan for its active cooling. The heatsink is shaped into a C, to both allow the usage of two fans in a push pull configuration and also to increase the clearance. The biggest change between the older NH-C14 cooler and the newer S variant is the number of cooling fins used and the usage of just a single 140mm fan.
The dimensions of the heatsink are: (H)115mm x (W)140mm x (D)163mm.
The heatsink has a single tower design, with a slight offset for better clearance around the CPU socket. The materials used for the heatsink are aluminum and nickel-plated copper. The weight of the heatsink without the 140mm fan is 817g, or 1015g with Fan installed.
The NH-C14S uses a total of six copper heatpipes, and each has an outer diameter of 6mm. The heatpipes are made out of nickel-plated copper and make direct contact with the baseplate of the cooler and the aluminum cooling fins. The contact between the heatpipes and the baseplate is done through soldering.
The endings of the heatpipes are evenly machined and can be seen on the front side of the heatsink. Having the endings machined to perfection is a nice touch, especially since the Noctua emblem is etched into the top plate of the heatsink.
The baseplate of the cooler is made from the same nickel-plated copper as the six heatpipes. The base has a smooth finish, with a circular sunburst pattern etched into its surface. This will not affect the evenness of the spread of the thermal compound.
The heatsink has approximately 65 aluminum made cooling fins. These are bent on the side of the heatsink to not only help directing the airflow but also to increase the sturdiness of the heatsink.
At the top of the cooler, there are small caps shaped into the aluminum cooling fins. This is done to allow easy access of a screwdriver down to the spring-loaded mounting screws.
The NH-C14S uses a single 140mm fan, the NF-A14 PWM, with the dimensions: 140 x 140 x 25 mm. The fan has a minimum speed of 300RPM and a maximum speed of 1500RPM. However, if the included low noise adapter is used, the maximum speed of the fan is lowered to 1200RPM.
The NF-A14 PWM uses the Noctua SSO2 bearing system which provides better stabilization of the fan and increased reliability of the bearing. Other features include rubber pads on both sides of each corner, and Flow Acceleration Channels.
The cable of the fan is covered by high quality sleeving and the connector used for power is a standard 4 Pin PWM.
The cable of the fan is covered by high quality sleeving and the connector used for power is a standard 4 Pin PWM.
