Verdict and Conclusion
Phanteks has a pretty cool heatsink here in the PH-TC14PE. It could use a part name/number that rolls off the tongue more easily, but we can ignore that.
The thing looks absolutely wonderful, the top is violently blue and the rest of the heatsink fins are quite blue as well, while the copper bits are all nickel plated and very shiny.
The base has a slight and almost certainly intentional dome to it. It has the best TIM contact pattern of any cooler I have mounted to this CPU.
The mounting system has a fair number of steps but does a good job, no issues there.
Performance wise it is solid, it can’t quite beat the Frio Extreme with this heatload, though I suspect that with a higher heatload it might.
Price wise it is decent, coming in at about $80. Not a low price nor a high price.
The fans are nice, even at full blast they don’t make much noise and they move a good bit of air. The lack of PWM control on the fans is disappointing however.
The PWM adaptor is a cool bit of hardware, I’d like to see Phanteks sell it separately as well. It does not excuse the lack of PWM control on the fans however. You lose 200rpm on the high speed end when you connect it, and PWM fans can be controlled by voltage just like non-PWM fans.
The fan mounting clips are a bit tricky to install on the fan, but once installed they do not fall off, ever! This is fantastic, every other setup I’ve run into either pops off the heatsink if you try to position the fans creatively or falls off the heatsink/fan when you remove the fan. Very annoying. The Phantek clips do not fall off the fan. Very cool.
The passive cooling power I found quite impressive, I didn’t expect to be able to run any heatsink without fans with that high of an OC.
To summarize a bit, there are pros:
- Can be operated fanless in some situations.
- Looks great.
- Fans are very nice, for non-PWM fans.
- Fan mounting clips don’t fall off the fans, ever.
- Comes in lots of colors.
There are some cons, too:
- Non-PWM fans. PWM adaptor helps, but costs some top end speed.
- Not likely to fit small cases, may have issues fitting in mid range cases.
All told this cooler is an attractive choice if you have room for it and don’t mind the PWM situation. I give it 8.9/10. Were the fans PWM it would be well into the 9s.
SCORE
8.9/10
