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Review: Phanteks PH-TC14PE

by Parm Mann on 10 August 2012, 13:00 4.0

Tags: Phanteks

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qabkqn

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Final Thoughts and Rating

There's something satisfying about seeing a new kid on the block ruffle the feathers of some of the more established names. But Phanteks' early success shouldn't come as a surprise. The company was formed from a team of engineers boasting 20 years of international experience in providing thermal solutions, and when they paired up with a Dutch design team to create Phanteks, the end result was inevitable; colourful high-end coolers that look great and perform admirably.

The company's halo product, the huge PH-TC14PE, has soaked up praise from both end users and system integrators alike, and rightfully so. An eye-catching choice of colours make it stand out from the crowd, but it's through first-class performance that the Phanteks solution has won over the enthusiast audience.

A Ā£65 price tag is an obvious hurdle, and memory clearance is likely to be a real issue for some, but cooling performance on an Ivy Bridge processor is about as good as it gets on air and Phanteks is showing signs of learning as it goes. The manufacturer's decision to start bundling a PWM adapter as default is hugely important - the cooler's far too loud without it - and, perhaps more importantly, a five-year warranty and a new online support forum suggest that this is a company determined to look after its customers.

Bottom line: if it's extreme cooling performance you're after, the Phanteks PH-TC14PE should be near the top of your shopping list. Question is, which colour will you get?

The Good

Outstanding performance
Comprehensive bundle
Great choice of colours
Can entertain three fans
Keeps noise in check
Good build quality

The Bad

Memory clearance is an issue
Presentation could be better
Pricey for a CPU cooler

HEXUS Rating

4/5
Phanteks PH-TC14PE

HEXUS Awards

HEXUS Performance
Phanteks PH-TC14PE

HEXUS Where2Buy

The Phanteks PH-TC14PE CPU cooler is available to purchase in a choice of colours from Scan Computers*.

HEXUS Right2Reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.



*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum.



HEXUS Forums :: 9 Comments

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Impressive. Although I would've probably choose a Noctua D14 over this
They taken a spray can to Noctua kit?
i think it looks nice. they don't even look alike. unless you are talking about twin towers then every cooler is the same. lol. wow the silverstone is pretty good. nice job. :)
this is a sexy beast. how much better would it be with 3 fans?
Hexus, I take issue with this review because you have only the only “similar” air cooler that you have mentioned is the be quiet! dark rock pro 2.

No mention anywhere of either the noctua nh-d14 nor the thermalright silver arrow, despite them both being of a similar/lower price and both being a two tower cooler with 2 fans (hell minus the fans the phantek heatsink looks like a total ripoff of the noctua heatsink, just with colour, which makes it very aesthetically appealing).

My point is that you are distorting the performance of this cooler by not fully displaying the competition it has to face (for example we know that the nh-l12 is a low profile cooler and therefore will be nowhere near as good as a dual tower heatsink).

To succinctly end my post, what I want to say in essence is:

Let this heatsink pick on someone its own size.