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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CheapSushi - Thursday, May 25, 2017 - link
I wish there was also a passive test. So we can actually see how that heatsinks on their own performance to gauge the efficiency and quality of the designs themselves. The fans add another variable. Maybe even have a case fan for some airflow. I'd like to see how the heatsink itself does because there can be situations where maybe there is a superior heatsink design here but the company has a poor fan compared to another competitor. The competitors fan could just be superior, thus brute forcing the better temps. How would you really tell? There's no passive test.bug77 - Thursday, May 25, 2017 - link
Hm, why doesn't the article list the weight of these coolers? When they're so large they tend to add quite some torque to the motherboard, so weight should be an important criterion when choosing between these.doyll - Thursday, May 25, 2017 - link
Great testing! TRUE Spirit 140 Direct did exceptionally well for an economy cooler. Would be interesting to see how the TRUE Spirit 140 Power, Archon IB-E X2 and some of the other Thermalright coolers. The PH-TC14S definitely is not a great cooler.fanofanand - Thursday, May 25, 2017 - link
The fact you threw in the Wraith cooler makes me sooooo happy! I was hemming and hawing between 1600 and 1600x with the free cooler thrown in being a nice boost for the 1600. Seeing that the better coolers show a pronounced improvement in most cases tells me that free cooler shouldn't be the decider.Peichen - Thursday, May 25, 2017 - link
Thermalright is like Cooler Master, simple design that reduce cost but performs well. People that have been OCing for the last 20 years know Thermalright's design is usually test provenLeyawiin - Thursday, May 25, 2017 - link
I own two of the original (smooth surface) Thermalright True Spirit 140. Its a very good cooler in many respects save for the fan mounting system. They have the most weak, fiddly wire fan mounts I've ever seen. Plus the rubber anti-vibration pads they were using back then simply won't stay on. I decided with later builds to use Noctua in subsequent builds and even though they're about a quarter to a third more expensive its worth it just for their great mounting system. Plus they regularly send me emails to remind me that all my coolers from them are eligible for free mounting hardware for new sockets. No other company that I know of does that.azrael- - Monday, May 29, 2017 - link
I think that one important aspect of any cooler review should be the *weight* of the cooler.Considering that in most system configurations the motherboard is mounted vertically and coolers are hanging off the motherboard, you really don't want them to be too heavy. Even though the cooler may be securely attached to the motherboard the heavier it is the more stress it exerts on the motherboard. Preferably, I don't want mine to weigh much in excess of 500g.
azrael- - Monday, May 29, 2017 - link
I think that one important aspect of any cooler review should be the *weight* of the cooler.Considering that in most system configurations the motherboard is mounted vertically and coolers are hanging off the motherboard, you really don't want them to be too heavy. Even though the cooler may be securely attached to the motherboard the heavier it is the more stress it exerts on the motherboard. Preferably, I don't want mine to weigh much in excess of 500g.
darkbreeze - Friday, February 21, 2020 - link
Quote - Nevertheless, the thermal performance of the NH-U14S is significantly superior as well, especially when the cooler needs to handle a high thermal load.Yes, I realize this thread is three years old, however, having come across it I couldn't let that blatantly wrong observation from the review go uncontested when the reviews own results CLEARLY show the Thermalright True Spirit Direct 140 having a lower overall rise over ambient than any of the other three coolers.
How do you figure the Noctua has better performance if your own results show that the Thermalright does? Why did NOBODY notice that, and comment on it?
If Crashman or Garrett over at TH had done that, they'd have been ripped to pieces.
Oxford Guy - Tuesday, January 4, 2022 - link
I just read TH’s Best Coolers for 2022 article and the first one in the list is a Cooler Master that fails against the competition in every metric, according to the data in the site’s own reviews.