Noctua NH-D14 CPU Heatsink Review

Back in the days, when AMD's Athlon 64 ruled the enthusiast market and single core processors were still the norm, South Korean-based computer cooling manufacturer Zalman manufactured some of the most popular CPU heatsink/fans around. Their signature flower design, in conjunction with a very generous use of copper, demonstrated groundbreaking performance across the board at every review website. When I bought my first -- and to be honest, only -- Zalman cooler from a popular online retailer to go with my Athlon 64 for the purpose of replacing my loud-but-not-so-proud (Literally; no puns intended haha) stock heatsink, I was amazed by how large it was compared to the one that came with my processor. Soon, engineers realized that, by combining elements such as mounting the 120mm fans sideways on tall heatsinks, implementing heatpipe arrays, as well as creative uses of different materials for durability, weight, and performance took CPU cooling performance to entirely new heights. Of which some notable examples include famed heatsinks such as the Scythe Infinity, Noctua NH-U12P, and Thermalright Ultra 120. Stop there for a moment. Just when you thought those heatsinks were large enough, I have something here on hand today that would simply dwarf all of its predecessors. Let's welcome the Noctua NH-D14: A wonderfully, amazingly, comically, and almost ridiculously, large heatsink/fan that is pretty much a combination of two heatsinks into one for the latest and greatest in CPU cooling.