THE NOCTUA NH-C12P SE14. – A CLOSER LOOK
General Appearance
The cooler follows a “C” type design, typical for a top down cooler. The heat pipes enter from one side of the cooler, all in line and enter the heat-sink base from the same side, thus giving the appearance of the letter “C” The design decision that Noctua took modifies the traditional “C” design. These are:
- Heat dissipation plates are not of the same size
- Heat pipes on the two extremes run bare for a part of their course.
- Extra tall heat plates that course over the base
The Cooling Plates
The cooler is armed with a total of 44 aluminum cooling plates. Not all of them are of the same size & shape. The plates are arranged in a 20-15-9 pattern, when counting from the right in the picture above to the left. The central 15 plates are of different size as compared to the 29 other.
The 29 plates have a dimension of 12.5cm x 4cm. Notice that they taper off at the ends. They are not exact rectangles, but rather trapezoid (trapezium). The total area of one plate is about 47.6cm2. For 29 plates the total area for heat dissipation is 2761 cm2.
The central column of 15 plates are trapezoid. Their dimensions are different from the 29 plates mentioned above. They are taller and narrower than the other 29 plates and while they extend down to the base plate of the heat sink, they fall short of the horizontal span of the other plates. The exact dimensions are a height of 7cm and width of 7.2cm at the top.The width at the base is 4.5mm. The total area of these plates is 46.35cm2. Thus their heat dissipation area equals 1391 cm2. As they extend all the way to the base, they can dissipate heat conducted from the base plate as well, adding to their cooling efficiency The total heat dissipation area is thus 4152cm2. . This compares to an area of 3860cm2 for the NH U-9B and 12000cm2 for the NH-D14. Each tower of the latter has an area of 6000 cm2.
The cooling plates feature the same notched design found on other Noctua coolers. This design feature helps reduce resistance to airflow.
The bottom of the cooling plates array has a clearance of about 51cm. This is more than enough to accommodate large north bridge heat-sinks. It is also possible to install the cooler with the heat pipe "C" bend pointing towards the top of the case. With the cooler oriented like this, a part of it will over hand the Northbridge and provide additional component cooling
The Heat Pipes
The cooler features 6 heat pipes that follow a “C” shaped course through the fan. The pipes are made of Copper and are Nickel plated. They have a diameter of 6mm each. They exit the base of the cooler from one side in one line and span out from there.
They spread out and enter the cooling plates again all in line. This maximizes the heat dissipation as the heat pipes are spaced apart rather than being super imposed. The outer heat pipes follow a lower course as compared to the central 4. As the central set of heat plates are shorter, these outer heat pipes are bare (i.e. not surrounded by heat plates for about 4mm) for a part of their course. This is to allow access to the spring loaded mounting screws. This will have some impact on their ability to dissipate heat.
The Heat-Sink Base
The base of the heat sink is flat but has a matte finish rather than a mirror finish. As has been discussed before (and at length) and shown by tests, the lack of a mirror finish does not put coolers at a disadvantage. In fact many manufacturers do not ship coolers with a mirror finished base. The extra cost incurred does not provide as much of a benefit. The minor imperfections can be filled up by thermal compound.
The overall build quality is top notch. The solder points are very difficult to detect if at all. There are no sharp edges that might cause abrasions. There is easy access to mounting screws. The heat pipes are arranged so as to provide optimal heat dissipation. Maximum points to Noctua for construction quality.
THE FAN
The cooler comes with a 140mm NF-P14 fan. This is similar to the one that is also bundled with the NH-D14 mammoth. The fan specifications are as follows:
The fan employs standard Noctua innovations. They have been discussed elsewhere, but are reproduced here as well:
- Vortex Control Notches
- Smooth Commutation Drive Technology
- Self Stabilizing Oil-pressure (SSO) Bearing
These are two small notches at the edge of the blade. These help reduce the noise produced by decreasing air turbulence and splitting the air current in multiple vortices. This distributes the noise generated over a wide range of frequencies making them less of a nuisance.
The picture shows a close up of the Vortex Control Notches on the fan blade.
Another source of potential noise is the fan motor itself. To reduce the noise generated by the motor Noctua employs a “Smooth Commutation Drive” technology which provides a greater continuous switching of the coils in the motor. This helps to reduce noise generated by the motor.
Helps lower the noise and enhance the life span of the fan This is one area that was improved upon as compared to the last production version of the NH-C12P. The 120mm fan is replaced by a larger 140mm fan. With the increase in size comes the added advantage of low noise and higher air flow.
The fans rest on 4 rubber pads. This helps reduce vibration and thus the noise generated during cooler operation. The fans mount on the heat-sink using clips. They are very easy to snap on and snap off, but are different from the system employed by the NH-D14. Noctua bundles a well engineered fan with this cooler. It is their top of the line 140mm. Premium components from a company that does not compromise on quality. The fan comes with a standard 3 pin connector. The cable is sleeved which makes cable management that
much easier.
Just like the fans that are bundled with the NH-U9B SE, the cable length is an ample 16 inches. If you are short on closely located power connectors on your motherboard, the added cable length will be a lifesaver!
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