The 140mm Slim Tower CPU Cooler Roundup: Thin & Light Done Just Right
by E. Fylladitakis on May 24, 2017 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- be quiet!
- Noctua
- Phanteks
- Cooler
- Thermalright
Final Words
Although 140 mm tower coolers are slightly restrictive in their compatibility – essentially requiring the user to own a case that is wide enough to fit them – their close pricing and superior characteristics relative to 120 mm tower coolers makes them the sensible choice for every enthusiast that owns a compatible case. The four coolers in this review are but a small sample of the “slim” 140 mm coolers available today, comprising of the higher quality and most popular models.
Out of these four coolers, Noctua’s NH-U14S stands out by pretty much every metric. It is a little larger than the other three coolers and, even though the difference is small, extra caution is required when checking whether it can fit inside a case. At $65 it's also more expensive than the other three models by around 30% ($15), which makes it substantially more expensive. Nevertheless, the thermal performance of the NH-U14S is significantly superior as well, especially when the cooler needs to handle a high thermal load. This higher thermal performance coupled with Noctua's excellent reputation for their after-sales support gives the NH-U14S an edge over its competition, regardless of its higher retail price.
The Phanteks PH-TC14S was the oddity of this review. Instead of doing a single tower cooler, the designer’s solution for a “slim” design was a greatly cropped version of the monstrous PH-TC14PE. The narrow and thin towers hardly cover the effective airflow area of the 140 mm fan that is sandwiched between them, and the positions of the heatpipes do not appear to be optimal. Still, the PH-TC14S performs very well overall, better than what we originally anticipated when we physically examined the cooler. The lack of mass places it at a disadvantage when it needs to deal with very high thermal loads, but it will be more than sufficient for the average gamer and amateur overclocker. It also is the only cooler that is currently available with black fins, drawing the attention of those who prioritize aesthetics over small performance differences.
Thermalright’s True Spirit 140 Direct was the surprise performance of this roundup review. Nothing foretold that the otherwise simple-looking cooler could give the competition such a push. The direct contact design of the True Spirit 140 Direct grants the cooler excellent energy absorption efficiency, giving the cooler a significant performance advantage that is especially apparent when the thermal load is low. This design makes the True Spirit 140 Direct particularly efficient when dealing with low thermal loads, i.e. modern efficient CPUs that will not be significantly overclocked. It is not as efficient when it has to deal with a very high thermal load, as it cannot dissipate the amassing thermal energy as quickly as Noctua’s behemoth can, but even then the performance figures remain very good. Its sound pressure levels are relatively low as well, making it a sensible choice for users who want a relatively simple, efficient, low noise product.
Finally, the Be Quiet! Shadow Rock Slim is not the best overall performer of this roundup review, but we feel that it is right where the company wanted it to be. Its thermal performance is competitive, rivaling that of every other cooler in this roundup, and even coming close to its much larger and considerably more expensive counterpart, the Dark Rock Pro 3. At the same time, the sound pressure level readings of the Shadow Rock Slim are the lowest of this review, even if only by a little, making it the quietest of the coolers. Overall, the Shadow Rock Slim is a balanced, high quality cooler that should appeal to the widest user’s base in comparison to the other coolers of this review. If the company were to bring the price of the cooler down even just a bit, then the competition would have a lot to worry about.
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JoeyJoJo123 - Wednesday, May 24, 2017 - link
For online comments, there's shills, then there is everyone else. Shills which are just trying to spread around this meme that X company's products are the best thing sliced bread.Just buy whatever you want, regardless what anyone else thinks. Don't pay brands any particular attention, just buy the best product you can for the best price you can and pocket your savings.
mgilbert - Wednesday, May 24, 2017 - link
Nice, mature response, with the name calling and all. Grow up, then read the actual review. The reviewer said the same thing I did. Now, go read a few more reviews of coolers, and you'll find that virtually all of them agree with this review. Noctua is expensive, but worth it. Generally I agree with you - it doesn't pay to go by brand name - but there are exceptions, and Noctua is one of them.close - Wednesday, May 24, 2017 - link
Noctua also costs a lot more than the competition. So when you're adding 35% to the price tag of any of the other products tested then you usually expect better performance (not mandatory though). So drawing the conclusion that Noctua is king of the hill in general isn't that useful.So... there are expensive products, then there are cheaper products :). For some people 35% markup might not be worth the extra performance.
WinterCharm - Thursday, May 25, 2017 - link
So? If you want the best you often have to pay more for it.The "best" is the best.
If you want the "best within a price bracket" THEN you can finagle and weigh things against each other.
JoeyJoJo123 - Wednesday, May 24, 2017 - link
Does Noctua pay you in stock, dividends, or a salary to promote their products online? If not, why do you go out of your way to promote free advertising to another company who you owe nothing to? You made your trade; your money for their product, there's no stipulation that you have to continue to sing praises for their company for other people to be more negotiable to give that same company more money for more products.Likewise, if you're upset about being called out on literal shilling, then it's really you that needs to grow up.
Additionally, the performance roundup review written by E. Fylladitakis doesn't have anything in common with your post, which you attribute as stating that "(t)he reviewer said the same thing I did". Fylladitakis makes no catch-all branding statement. They evaluate the four products, they make the measurements, they compare the measurements, then make a conclusion about the products based on the measurements.
YOU, however, are making a blanket statement about all performance CPU cooling products developed by Noctua being "superior in virtually every respects, especially quality and support."
Those statements can't be anymore unalike in any way. The former was a controlled experiment to evaluate product performance followed by an analysis of the products, the latter (your comment) is an opinion; void of any metric of data or analysis.
If you look at the thermal performance in this roundup, it shows that the Thermalright cooler (at $47, the cheapest of the four measured in this roundup) to have the best thermal performance at low temperature loads (where most performance PCs, the target audience of these $50 tower cooling solutions, stay outside of gaming or benchmark loads), theorized by Fylladitakis to be due to the direct contact design of the heatpipes, and a close-second (literally 16.6 vs 16.8 degrees Celsius delta over ambient, figures well within a margin of error of measurement) at 150W loads (where most overclocked mainstream CPUs will sit at full load), and still competes closely at completely unrealistic synthetic 340W loads.
So given a $47 price for the Thermalright vs $65 price for the Noctua, given similar performance figures, it's pretty apparent which has the better value for mainstream performance PCs.
Ryan Smith - Wednesday, May 24, 2017 - link
I love a vigorous discussion, but you guys need to cool it, please. There is no place for profanity here on AnandTech.mgilbert - Wednesday, May 24, 2017 - link
Yet, my post gets deleted, but not his, despite its divisive, hateful, argumentative, obtuse, disrespectful, inappropriate nature. Sounds like four letter words aren't the only thing not allowed on Anandtech. Fairness has no place, either.Ryan Smith - Wednesday, May 24, 2017 - link
I have made my ruling. I give you guys exceptional leeway as I believe you need to be free to discuss technical matters, but I draw the line at profanity and pointless ranting. You guys are done, please move on.If you wish to discuss it in private please email me.
fanofanand - Thursday, May 25, 2017 - link
We love you Ryan! Even when we complain, whine and moan about x, y, or z not being tested the specific way WE would do it, we love you!Ruh-roh, now I"m shilling for Anandtech! Don't worry, my username checks out.
JackNSally - Wednesday, May 24, 2017 - link
I have to agree, Noctua is the best. I do recommend the Hyper 212 for budget builds though.