Phanteks PH-TC14PE Dual Tower CPU Cooler Review

InstallationThe first task we chose to undertake was fan installation. This required you push 4 fan clip adapters through their respective holes before threading the ‘hook’ design of the fan wire clip through their small gap. This was a difficult procedure first time around which did get easier but a simpler method would definitely be appreciated.

While the fan installation method is fine for the most part, certain fans can’t use the plastic fan clip adapters. A few minutes of creative thinking later and we decided to use the old trusty zip-ties which proved to work very well.

Readying the Intel backplate is just a case of pushing the required screws through their specific holes then inserting their departing ends through the holes in your motherboard.

A plastic spacer sits on the motherboard covering the outside circumference of the screw.

The two strip adapters sit on the plastic space avoiding contact with the motherboard. The socket screws extend through holes in the strip adapters where you can then firmly screw everything together ready for the cooler to make an appearance.

The mounting plate with spring loaded screws attaches to a hole in the centre of the top of the cooler’s base. Provided you own a long screwdriver, you shouldn’t run into any problems here with your first installation. The screw attaching the mounting plate to the cooler though is made of fairly weak metal making the screw head easy to round which is not good if you actually want to be able to remove the cooler.

Simply screw the two spring loaded screws onto their strip adapter targets and the cooler is securely mounted.

Be sure you have plenty of clearance with tall VRM heatsinks on the upper border of your motherboard as this piece of kit is wide!

Anti-vibration rubber strips fit into specially designed channels on either side of the tower’s face. These should help keep noise levels to a minimum.

RAM clearance is surprisingly good thanks to the flexible fan mounting method. If you own tall RAM such as Corsair Vengeance modules, you can simply lift the fan and clip it to the heatsink at a higher location.

Let’s just take a moment to view how exquisite the frosty white TC14PE looks when mounted upon our MSI P67 motherboard.

Make sure that you have a large and wide case as this beast isn’t sparing any room. It engulfs the majority of the upper half of our motherboard. Any cables that need connecting, do so before mounting this cooler or prepare to wriggle your hands into tiny gaps.

With the 120mm Scythe AP-15 fans mounted, the looks aren’t as attractive due to the fan’s quite frankly ugly design and multi-coloured cable. Using 120mm fans also means you lose the use of the anti-vibration rubber strips as the 120mm form factor won’t extend far enough towards the heatsink edges.

A full system shot provides a fitting end to one of the most painless installation procedures one could wish for.

As far as installations go, it was very surprising how easily and quickly we actually completed it. The fan clip connection method is slightly tricky, but nothing too significant. We were annoyed to see the use of weak headed screw holding down the mounting plate. The screw head deformed almost to the point of no salvation meaning we needed assistance from a pair of pliers to tighten and loosen it. We would advise you to take care when attaching this screw because in all fairness, the manual does warn about over tightening. Another surprise was the quality of the instruction manual. As with so many products these days, we expected the English manual to be written in Chinglish or some other confusing language, thankfully, it wasn’t and was very clear.