Final Thoughts
Phanteks is making a name for themselves in the enthusiast market with their very large and attractive CPU coolers. Currently with only two CPU coolers under their belt they are being mentioned in the same conversation with known companies like Zalman and Noctua and for good reason. The PH-TC14CS provides excellent cooling. If you are looking for an air solution to do some serious overclocking or just to keep your CPU nice and cool this cooler will get the job done. With an load temperature of only 43 degrees this CPU definitely is one of the better air cooling solutions we have seen lately. The fans are very quiet too, even when they are running at 1300RPM.
The cooler itself uses some very cool technology like C.P.S.C (Cold Plasma Spraying Coating Technology) and P.A.T.S (Physical Antioxidant Thermal Shield), both which actually help in the cooling process. The cooler comes in 5 different colors and comes with two of Phanteks own PH-T140 fans. The fan blades match the color of the cooler which is pretty cool and when the variety of colors you can match everything to your case or motherboard.
I did have a couple of issues with this cooler though. First the installation can be a bit tricky, especially if this is your first CPU cooler installation. My biggest problem with the installation was that of the actual heatsink. Securing the heatsink to the socket with the wrench is very annoying and just takes some time because you can only turn the wrench half way. If Phanteks made it so you could access the locking screws from the top of the heatsink this would make things much easier. Also this is a very large CPU cooler so you are going to want to make sure that it will fit not only in your case, but that your memory has clearance as well.
Right now the PH-TC14CS is selling for $79.99 at my favorite online retailer, which puts it at the high-end of air cooling solutions. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Phanteks PH-TC14CS CPU cooler a 9 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Available in 5 difference colors
– Great cooling power
– Fans match heatsink color
Cons:
– Installation could have been easier
– Could potentially block memory and other components
