"Best CPU Coolers of Q1 2008"

[toadeater]

OCZ Vendetta 2 wins it seems. I'm curious as to what Thermalright and Zalman's response to this new wave of HDT coolers that are beating them at half the price will be. Will they jump on the HDT bandwagon (which requires a patent license), or come up with something new? Who thought CPU coolers could be this exciting? :laugh:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/in...1&limit=1&limitstart=8

EDIT: I just noticed someone else posted this in another thread. This can be deleted if you want, mods.

 

[manowar821]

Wth, what about the Tuniq Tower? D:

I wanna know how these stack up against it (I own one). Isn't the Tuniq kind of a bench-mark, so to speak?

 

[aussiestilgar]

Yeah it seems there are several top performers missing from that round-up.

 

[toadeater]

Originally posted by: manowar821
Wth, what about the Tuniq Tower? D:

I wanna know how these stack up against it (I own one). Isn't the Tuniq kind of a bench-mark, so to speak?

Well, in their test it beat an unlapped Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme by 6c, so... it's probably about 6-10c better than the Tuniq, depending on who you ask?

All the popular heatsinks have very similar performance, it's the cost, size/weight, and noise that make the difference. If you already have a Tuniq installed, there's no point getting a new cooler yet, there's nothing out there significantly better.

 

[Tim]

6-10c better would seem significantly better IMO to justify getting something new..

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: toadeater
OCZ Vendetta 2 wins it seems. I'm curious as to what Thermalright and Zalman's response to this new wave of HDT coolers that are beating them at half the price will be. Will they jump on the HDT bandwagon (which requires a patent license), or come up with something new? Who thought CPU coolers could be this exciting? :laugh:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/in...1&limit=1&limitstart=8

EDIT: I just noticed someone else posted this in another thread. This can be deleted if you want, mods.

It looks pretty nice, I particularly like the install method... taking motherboard out is a bit of a PITA

 

[v8envy]

We will test coolers in both a horizontal and vertical position, since heat-pipes are effected by product orientation.

Hrm. This is new. I thought heatpipes worked using phase change/capillary action and were minimally affected by orientation. First red flag of the review...

 

[Rubycon]

A heatpipe's capacity is affected by orientation. So if you're running close to capacity horizontal and move it vertical you may see temps jump considerably. It was never noticeable before as TDP's were much lower. With quads and o/c TDP's can exceed 300W in extreme cases. :Q

 

[Sheninat0r]

Aren't most heatpipes now wicked so that no matter what orientation, the stuff inside works properly? Even the pipes on motherboards are wicked...

Also, they spelled "affected" wrong.

 

[lightstar]

how come no one ever talks about the TEC coolers like the monsoon lite & coolit eliminator. . . .i thought i saw an anandtech review a while back that placed the monsoon lite at the top of the CPU cooler list

 

[DerwenArtos12]

There are a few heatpipe designs and some of them are affected by orientation, and of the ones that are affected, the affects will vary from one type to another. Lets let it suffice to say that putting your heat source at the bottom most point will perform best(ie laying the motherboard down instead of having it vertical which has become the norm)

 

[Rubycon]

Wicking makes multi orientation use possible however the best orientation is heatside down. Non optimal orientation results in a loss of capacity. If the TDP is within the reduced capacity there will be little change in temperatures. If the reduced capacity is lower than TDP temperatures will climb rapidly.

 

[jmmtn4aj]

So any other sources to agree with these results? I would get the Vendetta to replace my TRUE120 if not just because it's an absolute bitch working with the motherboard with that big thing on it..

 

[DerwenArtos12]

The Vendetta 2 isn't much if any smaller than the true. and I doubt it's going to cool better, thats going to depend a lot on the fan. If you have a true there is really no point in making a lateral move to another heatsink.

 

[BadBrad]

Originally posted by: jmmtn4aj
So any other sources to agree with these results? I would get the Vendetta to replace my TRUE120 if not just because it's an absolute bitch working with the motherboard with that big thing on it..

Try this site

It's completely dedicated to testing both AMD and Intel HSFs. The test methodology they use is the most consistent and applicable to the end users.

 

[Rubycon]

http://www.frostytech.com/ArticleImages/200804/p3a.jpg

:Q;

 

[BadBrad]

Ya Ruby, I just saw that. It'll be interesting to see how that beast compares to the new king of the hill Xigmatek HDT-S1283!

 

[bfdd]

My Noctua NH-U12P just got here today, setting it up to do push pull =) So this should be fun.

Originally posted by: lightstar
how come no one ever talks about the TEC coolers like the monsoon lite & coolit eliminator. . . .i thought i saw an anandtech review a while back that placed the monsoon lite at the top of the CPU cooler list

I actually had a Monsoon Lite II and it was GREAT for awhile till one day my temps started getting really realyl high then I was like "hmm ok wtf?" then finally i took it off when I put my E3110 in this 780i mobo and I noticed it actually fried. The power from the 5.25" monitor that runs to the TEC in the cooler actually fried and it was burnt up I had never noticed till I took my PC apart. It's probably the reason my OCZ 850w burned up and stopped working. It was great while it lasted, but after my experience I can't recommend it to anyone.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: BadBrad
Ya Ruby, I just saw that. It'll be interesting to see how that beast compares to the new king of the hill Xigmatek HDT-S1283!

Xigmatek has an HDT-S1284 listed on their website...

 

[BadBrad]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles

Originally posted by: BadBrad
Ya Ruby, I just saw that. It'll be interesting to see how that beast compares to the new king of the hill Xigmatek HDT-S1283!

Xigmatek has an HDT-S1284 listed on their website...

Bunny....I think Ruby was referring to the new Sunbeam cooler that employs the direct contact heatpipes.

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
http://www.frostytech.com/ArticleImages/200804/p3a.jpg

:Q;

Kinda reminds me of a scythe cooler with those clip's...

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: Quiksilver

Originally posted by: Rubycon
http://www.frostytech.com/ArticleImages/200804/p3a.jpg

:Q;

Kinda reminds me of a scythe cooler with those clip's...

Well if the base is a good design I'm willing to compromise and use a bolt through kit to do it right. Push pin mounts are for sissies. :laugh:

The more contact area - direct heatpipe contact area - that is touching the IHS of the CPU the better the chance of maintaining stability under severe (full load) conditions. Done right, a heatpipe can approach watercooling since both use air-air cooling on the hot side. As long as the heatpipes aren't overwhelmed, it works well. They've really come close to closing the gaps with that one. I'd suspect Thermalright isn't resting on their laurels either and will probably have one with six pipes completely together with the gaps filled in with pure copper bliss. Let's just hope the bottom is truly flat this time!

 

[PolymerTim]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
A heatpipe's capacity is affected by orientation. So if you're running close to capacity horizontal and move it vertical you may see temps jump considerably. It was never noticeable before as TDP's were much lower. With quads and o/c TDP's can exceed 300W in extreme cases. :Q

I noticed their test setup uses a 9800GX2 as well. I wonder if that little 215-300W furnace could make a difference as well, even if it is externally vented.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: BadBrad

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles

Originally posted by: BadBrad
Ya Ruby, I just saw that. It'll be interesting to see how that beast compares to the new king of the hill Xigmatek HDT-S1283!

Xigmatek has an HDT-S1284 listed on their website...

Bunny....I think Ruby was referring to the new Sunbeam cooler that employs the direct contact heatpipes.

yes I know, I posted that as a "there's also this"...

 

[DerwenArtos12]

I don't like frostytech. I'm sorry, but, their credibility went out the window when they couldn't tell anyone what fans they used for ther TRU120 and TRUE tests.