Noctua D15 vs Phanteks PH-TC14PE?

[Kenji the Uke]

I am very split between them. According to reviews, they are very similiar to performance and silence. I love the color (I'd get the white) of the Phanteks, but Noctua's fans are quiter by a little and only offers an extra year of warranty. The Phanteks is 10 dollars less. 

 

SO, OPINIONS PLEASE? OWO No I dont want an AiO Cooler for this one :3

[WoodenMarker]

You touched over the key differences. Go with what matters to you the most. 

[Robman1]

6 hours ago, Kenji the Uke said:

I am very split between them. According to reviews, they are very similiar to performance and silence. I love the color (I'd get the white) of the Phanteks, but Noctua's fans are quiter by a little and only offers an extra year of warranty. The Phanteks is 10 dollars less. 

 

SO, OPINIONS PLEASE? OWO No I dont want an AiO Cooler for this one :3

Here are some comparable options that you may or may not have seen. My favorite is the Dark Rock TF for my slim Bit Fenix case. The reviews I saw for be quiet! Dark Rock TF edged out that Noctua D15 btw. The radiator design is different on bottom than any other. Hope this helps or is at last informative.

https://www.silentiumpc.com/en/fortis-3-he1425-malik-customs-edition/

http://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/482

http://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/572

[WoodenMarker]

On 5/6/2016 at 8:39 AM, Robman1 said:

Here are some comparable options that you may or may not have seen. My favorite is the Dark Rock TF for my slim Bit Fenix case. The reviews I saw for be quiet! Dark Rock TF edged out that Noctua D15 btw. The radiator design is different on bottom than any other. Hope this helps or is at last informative.

https://www.silentiumpc.com/en/fortis-3-he1425-malik-customs-edition/

http://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/482

http://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/572

The Dark Rock TF usually performs similarly in tests due to the tests usually using open test benches. This is something that happens with all topflow heatsinks. In a traditional tower, a NH-D15 easily performs better. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/be-quiet-dark-rock-tf-cpu-cooler,4340-2.html

[Cyracus]

the Phanteks cooler is essentially the same as Noctuas nh-d14, as you said the performance is very close, and I actually have the ph-tc14pe in my rig right now and at max it makes a light hum and I can hear the air being blown through it, not bad at all. To me the very slight sound difference is imperceptible

[frogonastring]

I can't comment on the Phanteks but my NH-D15 performs as well as the water cooling loop it replaced (not an AIO loop either) - it's brilliant. Buy one! Ignore the colour; it really doesn't matter.

[Robman1]

5 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

The Dark Rock TF usually performs similarly in tests due to the tests usually using open test benches. This is something that happens with all topflow heatsinks. In a traditional tower, a NH-D15 easily performs better. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/be-quiet-dark-rock-tf-cpu-cooler,4340-2.html

I just realized the NH-D15 and be quiet! series in question are 20mm difference in fan spread. It shouldn't even be close with that factor so I'm going to withdraw from this on that note and leave this link where this discussion is answered better a couple years ago. It includes the Phanteks stats in there too. Scroll down for the Noctua D15 vs Phanteks PH-TC14PE

 

[WoodenMarker]

On 5/6/2016 at 4:26 PM, Robman1 said:

I just realized the NH-D15 and be quiet! series in question are 20mm difference in fan spread.

 

Care to rephrase?--not sure what you mean. 

[Robman1]

5 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

The Dark Rock TF usually performs similarly in tests due to the tests usually using open test benches. This is something that happens with all topflow heatsinks. In a traditional tower, a NH-D15 easily performs better. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/be-quiet-dark-rock-tf-cpu-cooler,4340-2.html

I just realized the NH-D15 and be quiet! series in question are 20mm difference in fan spread. It shouldn't even be close with that factor so I'm going to withdraw from this on that note and leave this link where this discussion is answered better a couple years ago. It includes the Phanteks stats in there too. Scroll down for the Noctua D15 vs Phanteks PH-TC14PE

Dark Rock Pro Fan dimensions (mm) 135 x 135 x 22 / 120 x 120 x 25. Its actually 25 mm difference if you combine both fans dimensions.

[Robman1]

7 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Care to rephrase?--not sure what you mean. 

http://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/482

[WoodenMarker]

On 5/6/2016 at 4:39 PM, Robman1 said:

Dark Rock Pro Fan dimensions (mm) 135 x 135 x 22 / 120 x 120 x 25. Its actually 25 mm difference if you combine both fans dimensions.

Fan size doesn't have much to do with it. The NH-D15 is a twin tower heatsink whereas the Dark Rock TF is mainly one with a smaller on beneath it. Topflow heatsinks are also only better than similarly placed traditional tower heatsinks in cases that benefit from that direction of airflow like in a test bench. 

[Robman1]

8 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Care to rephrase?--not sure what you mean. 

You get the concept of smaller horsepower/fans should not normally be in such close competition with a larger model like the NH-D15? Kudos to be quiet! 

[WoodenMarker]

On 5/6/2016 at 4:43 PM, Robman1 said:

You get the concept of smaller horsepower/fans should not normally be in such close competition with a larger model like the NH-D15? Kudos to be quiet! 

As I've repeated already, the reason why they're close is because the tests your're probably looking at are on open test benches. On an open test bench, topflow coolers perform better than in a traditional tower. This applies to topflow heatsinks from all brands and not just BeQuiet. 

[Robman1]

1 minute ago, WoodenMarker said:

Care to rephrase?--not sure what you mean. 

 

1 minute ago, WoodenMarker said:

Fan size doesn't have much to do with it. The NH-D15 is a twin tower heatsink whereas the Dark Rock TF is mainly one with a smaller on beneath it. Topflow heatsinks are also only better than similarly placed traditional tower heatsinks in cases that benefit from that direction of airflow like in a test bench. 

Oh yeah, smaller 2nd heat sink too. Thanx for reminding me. Any engineer worth their salt will tell you 25mm surface area difference does have "much to do with it". CFM, dba-fan size, these things correlate. I just want to recognize they did a good job with less materials.

[WoodenMarker]

On 5/6/2016 at 4:49 PM, Robman1 said:

Oh yeah, smaller 2nd heat sink too. Thanx for reminding me. Any engineer worth their salt will tell you 25mm surface area difference does have "much to do with it". CFM, dba-fan size, these things correlate. I just want to recognize they did a good job with less materials.

Performance has a lot more to do with heatsink design than fan size. 

Here's a comparison between variants 140mm/120mm of the same ETS-T40F. 

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/10/05/enermax_etst40fit_white_cluster_cpu_air_cooler_review/3#.Vy6BZYQrL6Y

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/10/27/enermax_etst40fitrf_air_cooler_review/3#.Vy6BT4QrL6Y

[Cyracus]

1 hour ago, WoodenMarker said:

As I've repeated already, the reason why they're close is because the tests your're probably looking at are on open test benches. On an open test bench, topflow coolers perform better than in a traditional tower. This applies to topflow heatsinks from all brands and not just BeQuiet. 

if you get a topflow cooler of the right height and cut a intake hole in your side panel and attach a filter...

[WoodenMarker]

7 minutes ago, Cyracus said:

if you get a topflow cooler of the right height and cut a intake hole in your side panel and attach a filter...

That's actually pretty commonly done for pre-builts. 

[Robman1]

4 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

That's actually pretty commonly done for pre-builts. 

 

4 hours ago, Cyracus said:

if you get a topflow cooler of the right height and cut a intake hole in your side panel and attach a filter...

Clarify if you mean off the shelf pre-builts or custom prebuilt for you by someone/company, and like what for example? I'm so glad this website doesn't cater to run-of-the-mill, assembly line crap. And that people here are free to appreciate/express opinions of different concepts. So many other forums have people that worship a particular product and get pissy if you don't agree with them. Larger heatsinks and bigger fans are retard simple to get better stats with but to comparably do so with different design, less material, less noise, etc..., that deserves respect in my humble opinion. Cyracus- straight shotting your CPU heat out the side with some custom tight-fitting metrics is something I have been contemplating actually. Cool to know someone else thinking it too lol!

[WoodenMarker]

2 minutes ago, Robman1 said:

 

Clarify if you mean off the shelf pre-builts or custom prebuilt for you by someone/company, and like what for example? I'm so glad this website doesn't cater to run-of-the-mill, assembly line crap. And that people here are free to appreciate/express opinions of different concepts. So many other forums have people that worship a particular product and get pissy if you don't agree with them. Larger heatsinks and bigger fans are retard simple to get better stats with but to comparably do so with different design, less material, less noise, etc..., that deserves respect in my humble opinion. Cyracus- straight shotting your CPU heat out the side with some custom tight-fitting metrics is something I have been contemplating actually. Cool to know someone else thinking it too lol!

Although custom ducts have been made by companies like Puget Systems, it's more commonly found in generic prebuild office pc's. 

[Robman1]

2 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Although custom ducts have been made by companies like Puget Systems, it's more commonly found in generic prebuild office pc's. 

I see, yuck. I was thinking clear acrylic, magnetic filter, leds and whatnot  Maybe there is reason is hasnt gotten popular, idk

[Cyracus]

I cut a hole in my phanteks pro window just below the gpu for intake, have the filter I got taped down, gotta glue it down at some point, just need the time, talent, and energy. It fits in with my build theme so I think it looks fine

[Robman1]

1 minute ago, Cyracus said:

I cut a hole in my phanteks pro window just below the gpu for intake, have the filter I got taped down, gotta glue it down at some point, just need the time, talent, and energy. It fits in with my build theme so I think it looks fine

Post a pic, I'm interested to see what you did.

[Cyracus]

like I said taped down, the hole is just under 140mm, so slightly smaller than ideal, but that's the closest I could get with a hole saw without going over, and doing it by hand is asking for trouble

[Robman1]

11 minutes ago, Cyracus said:

like I said taped down, the hole is just under 140mm, so slightly smaller than ideal, but that's the closest I could get with a hole saw without going over, and doing it by hand is asking for trouble

Got it, thanx for the visual.

[Cyracus]

yeah, if I would just grow a pair that hole'd be the right size lol