The Phanteks PH-TC14S is very thin, exaggerating how tall it looks. Three fans may be overkill for this cooler, the single fan included is removed for installation.
The thinness of the cooler makes it look tall and a little fragile, though definitely not the latter.
The mounting plates are attached, making the mounting easier than the more complicated style of cooler mounts.
The base plate is not the smoothest we have seen, but it is uniform and seems to have no defects. A little lap with some compound will smooth this off to a shine if you have any doubts. Rubbing some thermal paste into the base plate before mounting will fill any defects also.
Phanteks PH-TC14S CPU Cooler Review
Package - 7.5
Performance - 8.2
Price - 7.8
Consumer Experience - 8.2
7.9
For a single fan cooler it is a little more forgivable to get a little warmer than some of the bigger dual fan coolers, especially under overclocking load conditions for example. The performance of the Phanteks PH-TC14S is definitely there though, a custom fan profile and maybe a second fan if you have the headers and don't mind the extra airflow, you will have a capable cooler that looks the part too.
