Noctua NH-D14 stock fans vs Deepcool 140mm PWM?

[Rockbox]

My NH-D14 came with NF-P12 and NF-P14 non PWM fans, but I barely used them. Instead I used two Deepcool UF-140 PWM fans. I think PWM is what won me over, but maybe I underestimated Noctua's tuning. Also, I think they're case fans, rather than tuned to high static pressure for heatsinks and radiators.

The noise isn't bad, and I've had them for years, but I'm wondering whether I left performance on the table. Also, noise is only a problem when ramping up, so if the Noctua fans are tuned to be quiet at full tilt, they may be better.

On the other hand. I saw a video of a guy comparing the D14 to the D15, which has two 140mm PWM fans. It was 10C lower, and I'm guessing the hunk of aluminium isn't the reason. So maybe 140mm PWM fans pass more air over in general.

I've considered replacing the D14, but with low profile ram, and AM5 socket taking AM4 coolers, it might not be worth it. The stock fans might inject new life into it, but I prefer the lazy man's approach of leaving things be. Especially given the hassle of removing the clips from the fans.

 

[Grimley]

It's a top cooler. There are very few air coolers that can beat it & its capable of beating a fair few AIO coolers too. I wouldn't change it unless it wont fit any future CPU sockets. I'd certainly try different fans though. I have a NH-U9B SE2 in my daily drive PC (my former HTPC) I've got 2 artic F9 PWM PST fans attached to it. Cheap, do the job & I can control the fan speed in the bios.

 

[Rockbox]

I went ahead and swapped back to stock fans. The difference is night and day. Cooler AND quieter. My thoughts about switching to an AIO are gone. Noctua knew their stuff, who'd have known?

 

[doyll]

NH-D14 and NH-D15 cool almost the same with same fans. In fact some testing of D14 with D15 fans showed it being slightly better by about 1c, but 1c is within margin of error in cooler testing so not really a proven better cooler. Difference is partly caused by front fan size and flow pattern into tower, but more because D15 NF-a15 1500rpm fan/s are higher speed.

I would keep D14 and maybe get fans like D15 has. Personally I would get Thermalright TL-D14 (same impeller as NF-A15) or newer TL-D14X (impeller shaped like NF-A12x25 impeller but 140mm size). I'm using a pair of TL-C14X as front intake in Evolv mATX case and really like them. About to change ARO-M14O cooler to Frost Commander 140 which uses TL-D14X center and TL-C12 Pro front fan. FS140 reviews are looking like it's better than NH-D15. Hope so.

 

[Rockbox]

The P14 fan seems to be a little rattly. I wrote about it here. EDIT you're on the other thread, so no need to post about it. Not sure if a bad mount, but I wanted to swap with my F12P. I heard the F12P(WM) is the improved version of the P12, which is the other fan my D14 came with. However, a LTT thread said they cool the same, and the P12 is actually quieter. Still, if the F12P takes care of the rattling or coil whine or whatever's coming from the F14, who am I to judge?

 

[Rockbox]

Took the 140mm fan out. It rattles on its own. Tried the pwm fan on the splitter. While it works, it isn't quiet, so it can't accurately control voltage and pwm fans, which is what I wanted to know. What I'll probably do is hook my 3 pin case fan to the y splitter, and have the f12p on a board of its own. It's quiet IMO, and I heard 140mm fans spill over heatsinks designed for 120mm.