Final Thoughts
After reviewing Phanteks PH-TC14S cooler I was quite excited to take a look at this cooler, but as things went along I was very disappointed. It all really started when I went to install the cooler and it literally took me over 30 minutes and multiple tries to get it securely installed. I think that if you are going to have installation like this you should include your own screwdriver, the first two I tried did not fit correctly and luckily I had another. Also it does not make a lot of sense that the mounting plate and mounting screws were not pre-installed on the cooler itself. This is how it was on the PH-TC14S and made installation a breeze. One false move with the PH-TC12LS and a screw would fall or the mounting plate would fall off. It got quite monotonous after a while. Keep in mind I have installed hundreds of CPU coolers over the years.
After finally getting the cooler installed I thought after all of that it should have some decent performance, I guess I was wrong too. Out of all of the coolers that I have reviewed lately it came in second to last in both the idle and load tests. Not much you can really say about that, I feel that the very small heatsink and smaller 120 mm fan had a lot to do with the poor performance.
As Phanteks states this cooler is 100% RAM and VRM compatible, which is was and I was able to install it with my motherboard in my case with a very large graphics card installed. The fan is very quiet too.
If you are looking at getting a smaller CPU cooler I cannot honest recommend this one, the PH-TC14S would be a better choice if you want to go the Phanteks route. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Phanteks PH-TC14S a 6 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– 100% RAM and VRM clearance
– Universal cooler
– Quiet operation
Cons:
– Installation was very annoying
– Mounting plate should have been pre-installed
– Would have liked to have seen a clip mounting system on the fan
– Should have included their own screwdriver to fit in opening
– Very poor performance
it’s a HTPC cpu cooler, it’s meant to be paired with a Pentium, an i3, or an APU
Yes we know, but other “HTPC” coolers we have tested have performed much better and were easier to install. We test all CPU coolers on the same setup so we can compare results