noctua nh-d14 vs corsair h100i

The cool pretty equally.

The answer is slightly complicated because you also need to factor the NOISE as well. Are we comparing both with fans at max regardless of noise?

Also, I always recommend a good air cooler unless there's a good reason to go liquid such as a very hot CPU like an overclocked FX-8350.

*Modern Intel CPU's like a i5-4690K are easily cooled by a Noctua NH-U12S with the fan being inaudible (with fan control setup properly) in idle usage and barely noticeable under full load. On my test the fan was 300RPM (silent) and only ramped to 700RPM (very quiet) while converting a video in Handbrake (98% CPU usage).

A Noctua NH-D14 can cool slightly better still but it's overkill for most modern Intel CPU's as it's likely to be far below max temperature and be similar fan noise to the U12S. It's a bit more money and can have issues with DDR3 placement as well.

Air!!!!!!!!!!!

Whattya wanna spend ?

$60 - Phanteks PH-TC14-PE .... best performance under $75, unequaled aesthetics, low noise, many colors
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=ph-tc14-pe&N=-1&isNodeId=1

$100 - Cryorig R1 edges the Noctua by 1C (see above image) but needs 5 dbA more noise to do it, you decide
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008000%204027&IsNodeId=1&Description=Cryorig&name=CPU%20Fans%20%26%20Heatsinks&Order=BESTMATCH&isdeptsrh=1

Water cooling doesn't have to be complicated. I dare say the Swiftechs are easier to install than many air coolers.

My own tests measurements show the Phanteks being 0.5C louder than NH-14 while cooling substantially better. This finding is confirmed in reviews tho most don't use actual sound measuring equipment. They also can be all over the place .... for example, Techpowerup has the Phanteks 1dbA quieter than the Noctua NHC14 .... and Tweaktown has both the C14 and DH-14 at 3 dbA quieter than the Phanteks. So how can Tweaktown have the C14 and DH-14 equal and techpowerup have the Phantelks 1C better (say equal) and Tweaktown have it 3C worse ? And when all other reviews show them very close, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that Tweaktown 's unit or its install was out of the ordinary. In short, 1) always look at multiple reviews before drawing a conclusion and 2) what your ears hear and what a meter reads may not agree.

The human ear is tone sensitive and certain frequencies can resonate more than others which also varies between individuals .... so measured dbA might not be the be all and end all in how you any individual may perceive sounds. We could measure two units at the same dbA and I might sense the first quieter and to another, the first might be louder. Having done multiple installs with both the Noc and the Phanteks, in multiple different cases, I have to say, they are too close for me to tell them apart.

Based upon my own experience and published review data, here's how I stack em up.

Cryorig R1 > Noctua DH15 > Phanteks > DH-14 thermally (not a huge difference anywhere)

Noctua DH-14 < Phanteks < Noctua DH15 << Cryorig R1 acoustically (not a huge difference anywhere, except Cryorig is a rather large 5 dbA louder than the DH15)

Phanteks < Noctua DH-14 < DH-15 ~ Cryorig pricewise .... (large difference .... DH-14 is 33% more expensive than Phanteks; the R1 and DH-15 are only 12.5% more than the DH-14 but 50% more than the Phanteks)

Phanteks > Cryorig > Noctua DH-14 ~ DH-15 aesthetically (Lets face it Noc is fugly, many users find ability to color match cooler to case / components significant

Phanteks > Cryorig > Noctua DH-14 ~ DH-15 ease of installation ( not a large difference here, fan clips on the Noc have frustrated me - tho if ya don't have long shaft screwdriver, might scrape ya knuckles on the Phanteks.


Here's a start .... to be frank, it's a real hard to say any of them is a bad choice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5lAbnPml4o
http://www.kitguru.net/components/henry-butt/phanteks-ph-tc14pe-vs-noctua-nh-d14-cpu-cooler-review/
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/phanteks_ph_tc14pe_in most of the reviewscpu_cooler_review,14.html
http://www.overclock.net/t/1177760/so-what-is-the-latest-word-is-the-noctua-dh-14-still-the-king/20#post_15834472
http://www.maximumpc.com/phanteks_ph-tc14pe_review
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/phanteks_ph_tc14pe/4.htm

I also own the Deepcool ASSASSIN very good cooler , right there with the other 3 , a snap to install and in terms of noise right in the middle.