Phanteks PH-TC14PE, can you slow down the fan speed ?

[The Matrix]

Ive installed a Phanteks PH-TC14PE today and currently the fans are running at 1100rpm and they can certainly be heard, with the cooler you get a motherboard fan splitter allowing you to run the 2 fans off one header, you also get what looks like a fan speed reducer cable.

Ive put what looks like the fan speed reducer cable into the motherboard cpu header then connected the fan splitter cable to that one, they still spin at 1100rpm which is the same without the fan reducer cable.

Strangely these are not PWM fans that come with the cooler which surprised me given the cost, the fans are normal 3 pin connections.

If someone has one of these coolers what rpm is yours spinning at and can the speed be reduced ?

 

[The Matrix]

The kit i got didn't have a white sleeved 4 pin PWM adapter, mine just had a 3 pin Y splitter and a 3 pin black sleeved reducer, nothing with 4 pin.

PWM is enabled in the bios as i used to run thermalright TY-140 PWM 140mm fans on a 612S cooler.

You should have one of these in our kit

Do you work for Phanteks with you saying "in our kit" ?

Its just this is the 2nd one of these coolers ive had and the finish on the corners of the top plate is ropey again, its got streaky type lines and it really shows up with the cooler being right up against the window with light shining on it. I got it from a different supplier this time just incase it was a bad batch they had received.

 

[The Matrix]

As you can see the finish is pretty ropey in places, the first one is the right fin on the top right and top left corners, second one is the left fin on the top left and top right corners.

All the corners are pretty much the same, its not easy to photograph with the light reflecting off it. It just spoils what is a great cooler, i can't believe that they can't do better than that given the cost.

 

[The Matrix]

On with the nit-picking; you have the 3rd pair of fan vibration strips in the wrong place. They are belong on back of the cooler for the possible use of a 3rd fan.

Yeh i knew about that when i put them on, i wasn't sure how tight a fit the fan would be in the middle so i thought i'd use them. If i was going to put a 3rd fan on i presume that the extra fan would come with its own fixing kit including anti vibration strips, they are easy to take off.

The cooler master 612S that i have has a pressed aluminium top, that doesn't have any imperfections.

 

[The Matrix]

Do the top plates unclip off the Phanteks, i may ask Phanteks if they can send me 2 better top plates as these are probably slightly worse than the norm.

Mine like you say could be old stock as it didn't come with the PWM adapter so the production quality may have improved since then if they have noticed this.

 

[The Matrix]

The thing i like most about this particular cooler is the way that the white fan casing works with the blue cooler, it matches the motherboard really well.

I would have liked to have used the Thermalite TY 140 fans as they are PWM but an olive green casing doesn't actually work too well with blue lol

I took the cooler off this afternoon to try some different paste, i had the Arctic Silver 5 on the first time i fitted it but i wasn't too happy how it went on after fiddling around with the cooler bracket, the screw holes don't line up properly on the bracket with the screw threads on the motherboard plate so the cooler was sliding about all over the place, the holes are a good few mm out.

If they sorted out that alignment problem as ive read on the net that other people have had the same problem and sorted out that roipey finish on the corners then this cooler would be a no brainer for anyone especially with the range of colours it comes in. Its strange they didn't put PWM connections on the fans as well given that its in the same price range as other coolers like Noctua and the Thermalright Silver Arrow etc that have PWM fans.

 

[The Matrix]

Thermalright has TY-145 & TY-147 (5 & 7 are fan blade design) with black housing and white fan.

The cooler mounts up fine if you know what you are doing. Sorry to sound harsh but it's the truth.

The misalignment of the mounting bracket is because you put the backing plate on with just the 2 front mount plate and without the crossbar. I installed all mounting pieces first without tightening the screws. Then tightened the crossbar screws and backed them off 1/4 turn. Then tighten the four backing plate screws. Now remove the crossbar and putit on the cooler. After doing the above you will not have any problems mounting the cooler

And you are the only one I've seen complaining about the finish on the corners.

Why don't you just return the cooler and get something else? But you would probably just complain about on it too.

Firstly i installed it exactly as per the instructions that were included, this youtube video which is on the Phanteks site contradicts their own instructions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtcLZ8oYKGc

The Phanteks instructions

Step 7: Fixed SolidSku mounting plate on PH-TC14PE

"Please put mounting plate onto cooler's alum base cover and use mounting plate screw to fix the mounting plate.

"Caution:" Tighten the mounting plate screw until it stops.

Steps 8, 9 and 10 are about attaching the fans.

Step: 11 Place the heastsink on top of the CPU and secure the mounting plate.

Please take off the protection cover at the bottom side of the heatsink first!

Then put the heatsink on top of the CPU and screw it to the screw threads of the mounting plate.

Caution: Do not use force to overturn the screw, please stop when the screw is at a natural stop.

Right, nowhere does the included instructions say what you said above.

The mounting plate should just drop straight onto the screw threads as per the instructions included, it doesn't as plenty of other people have found as i googled it when having probs with the mounting plate and came across other people having the same issues.

If you want to try and be a sm@rt @ss then at least get your facts correct before trying to be one, its as though you won't have a bad word said about Phanteks because of the great customer service you keep telling us about.

I fitted it as per their own included instructions, its strange like i said that none of their instructions include what you are saying and also a youtube video on how to install this cooler says you will have problems if you do it as per the instructions.

 

[The Matrix]

Interesting how you believe youtube is gospel but accuse me of giving incorrect knowledge.

I never said youtube is the gospel, that youtube video is on Phanteks own official forum.

Its in the section called, believe it or not: How to install the PH-TC14PE

http://www.phanteksusa.com/forum/showthread.php?122-How-to-install-the-PH-TC14PE&

Yet their own included instructions in the box tell you to fit it a totally different way, we aint all engineers. So basically Phanteks aint even sure how to install their own product, the instructions tell you one thing yet a video on their official forum tells you something totally different.