Noctua NH-D14 VS Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E

[NCPereira]

Looking for a CPU cooler for a i7-4770K.

Which of these 2 do you think is the best? Do you know another good one?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Freakboi_pa]

I own the D14 and love it. Replaced my Corsair H80I and temps are very low during gaming. I have not owned the Thermalright, so I can't say about that unit.

 

[Calculatron]

I believe the old-style of the Silver Arrow, which had four 8mm heatpipes, traded blows with the Noctua NH-D14, although it was acknowledged that the Noctua was a touch better.

With the upgraded SB-E variant, there have been enough sites (Vortez, Xbitlabs, etcetera) that have shown it to have a consistent and marked edge over the Noctua NH-D14.

 

[4Ryan6]

I own the Noctua NH-D14 but this is what I would buy, and it has been on my wishlist for some time now!

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=46_557_778&products_id=35601

Thermalright has always made a top quality product!

 

[NCPereira]

I own the Noctua NH-D14 but this is what I would buy, and it has been on my wishlist for some time now!

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=46_557_778&products_id=35601

Thermalright has always made a top quality product!

Thanks! One thing, there doesn't seem to be much room left for RAM :S

 

[4Ryan6]

If Memory clearance is a problem you can always move the front fan from a push position to the rear of the heat sink as an additional pull setup, by swapping the mounting clips, it will not hurt the cooling performance at all, as I had to do exactly the same thing with the Noctua NH-D14 in one of my setups as the front fan would not clear the memory modules.

Actually it ended up cooling better as the front fan motor body was no longer blocking the airflow entering the front of the heat sink, the center fan is already setup as a pull through so you just duplicate it's setup and you have a pull/pull setup.

Which is even more beneficial if you also have a rear case exhaust fan directly in line with the setup as you'll see some really good cooling results with all three fans working together.

 

[Calculatron]

Sadly. I think the max RAM height is 32mm for the Silver Arrow? Low-profile RAM is a must.

The Noctua, on the other hand, allows for up to 44mm in height, I do believe.

If you have really tall RAM modules, like Corsair Vengeance, you may want to look at the tall, slim, heatsink solutions from each respective manufacturer, such as the Thermalright Archon SB-E, or the Noctua NH-U14S.

 

[NCPereira]

If Memory clearance is a problem you can always move the front fan from a push position to the rear of the heat sink as an additional pull setup, by swapping the mounting clips, it will not hurt the cooling performance at all, as I had to do exactly the same thing with the Noctua NH-D14 in one of my setups as the front fan would not clear the memory modules.

Actually it ended up cooling better as the front fan motor body was no longer blocking the airflow entering the front of the heat sink, the center fan is already setup as a pull through so you just duplicate it's setup and you have a pull/pull setup.

Which is even more beneficial if you also have a rear case exhaust fan directly in line with the setup as you'll see some really good cooling results with all three fans working together.

Thank you very much! So basically, if I end up buying a Noctua NH-D14, I can buy any Memory kit I want? No worries about the height?

Sadly. I think the max RAM height is 32mm for the Silver Arrow? Low-profile RAM is a must.

The Noctua, on the other hand, allows for up to 44mm in height, I do believe.

If you have really tall RAM modules, like Corsair Vengeance, you may want to look at the tall, slim, heatsink solutions from each respective manufacturer, such as the Thermalright Archon SB-E, or the Noctua NH-U14S.

Alright, thanks for your input!

 

[4Ryan6]

Good Luck!

 

[NCPereira]

Good Luck!

Actually, I just checked Noctua's website and it says that the NH-D14 does NOT support either Kingston HyperX Predator or Beast RAM.

So that means I will have to get a low profile RAM kit.

 

[ohyouknow]

Dual tower heatsinks pretty much will never allow tall heatspreaders. Though the NHD14 isn't compared here, because it usually wins everything, Toms had a really good article you should check out.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-heat-sink-haswell,3554.html

 

[davcon]

I could post links all day but the SA,Phanteks,and D14 are all top-end coolers.
What it boils down to is personal preference regarding looks,noise,and price.
Most importantly ram compatibility you are best advised to buy a low profile kit.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/picture/?src=/images/coolers/thermalright-silver-arrow-sb-e/zchart_diagroc_big.png

 

[NCPereira]

I could post links all day but the SA,Phanteks,and D14 are all top-end coolers.
What it boils down to is personal preference regarding looks,noise,and price.
Most importantly ram compatibility you are best advised to buy a low profile kit.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/picture/?src=/images/coolers/thermalright-silver-arrow-sb-e/zchart_diagroc_big.png

Looks don't matter to me, and price is all about the same. Which one makes the least noise?

 

[davcon]

I could post links all day but the SA,Phanteks,and D14 are all top-end coolers.
What it boils down to is personal preference regarding looks,noise,and price.
Most importantly ram compatibility you are best advised to buy a low profile kit.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/picture/?src=/images/coolers/thermalright-silver-arrow-sb-e/zchart_diagroc_big.png

Looks don't matter to me, and price is all about the same. Which one makes the least noise?

Thermalright SA is the better unit imo!

 

[NCPereira]

Thank you all so much! My choice has been made: Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E Extreme

 

[Calculatron]

Cheers!