"Best CPU Coolers of Q1 2008"

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: 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.

yup I've felt the same way (it isn't that hard to keep constants such as using identical fans across all common heatsink sizes - ie using a common 120mm fan for all coolers of that size and so on)...its a pretty big red flag to have the TRU120 clearly outperforming the TRUE...

 

[deepinya]

Heres another review

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/ocz_vendetta_2/

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Apparently, there's a difference of test-beds between the Benchmark Reviews testing and the one from OverClockers Club.

This "Direct Touch" innovation -- simple as it is -- makes a helluva difference. Did I see a 6C degree improvement in one of those tests?

So yes -- it will be interesting to see what ThermalRight comes up with. Otherwise, they will have lost their lead of three consecutive years in this game.

 

[Zapper48]

I removed my Coolit Systems Eliminator after using it for almost one year.I RMA'd it once already and now it's stuck on high speed no matter what.So I replaced it with the OCZ Vendetta 2 w/ Thermalright bolt-thru kit
Not only does the Vendetta cool as well or better than the Eliminator but it's quieter too.Better than the Big Typhoon and the Thermaleight XP-120 as far as coolers Iv'e used.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Here's a February '08 comparison review from Tom's Hardware.

It doesn't include the OCZ Vendetta 2, and I'm not sure if it includes any of the other "Direct Touch" coolers.
Tom's Hardware CPU Cooler Charts 2008 Part 1

I've been away from this for awhile, so I'd need to see whether there is a "Part 2."

If you read the hype at ThermalRight's website on the Ultra 120 Extreme and other coolers, they tout the nickel-plating with the justification that it prevents corrosion and "protects" the pipes. But we never remove the nickel from the pipes themselves -- we only sand off the nickel on the base.

The nickel degrades performance slightly (because the metal has a higher thermal resistance than copper). So the question then arises in the mind of ThermalRight devotees such as myself, if the "Direct Touch" heatpipe models are "weaker" in construction, or whether any such weakness really matters much.

Since I'd made some experiments with a silver-dollar that I destroyed to see if a silver shim would improve cooling, anyone would draw the conclusion from such an experiment that any added thermal interface, including the commonly-used flat heatsink base, reduces effectiveness. So why didn't the manufacturers develop "direct-touch" earlier?

And what might the effect be for filling in the "cracks" at the base of the "direct-touch" models with nano-diamond thermal paste?

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: BonzaiDuck

Since I'd made some experiments with a silver-dollar that I destroyed to see if a silver shim would improve cooling

What year is the silver dollar? If it's pre 1965 you're good because 1965 and later they were no longer made of silver and their thermal qualities were no better or slightly worse than copper.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Well, Ruby-cakes!! There are commemorative editions which are 99% silver. The one I got was not more than a year or two old, sealed plastic bag and given to my by a coin-collector. I had it checked at a coin-shop, and verified the 99% silver content. The darn thing was worth about $35 until I lapped it smooth, and assuming the loss in silver particles was an insignificant percentage of weight, I reduced it's value by $20 last time I checked the commodity market.

I guess "I'm good" for the experiment for having solid silver, but "bad" for the $20 loss.

The problem, as I suggested, arises from the additional interfaces. I'm guessing that somehow welding or "plating" the copper and silver surfaces would again result in a single thermal interface instead of two. But with two pairs of surfaces and diamond thermal paste, the processor temperatures degraded (increased) with the silver slug.

 

[Rubycon]

Oooh I forgot about those darned coin collectors and their proof sets and commemorative stuff! $20 loss during an experiment is nothing in the name of science. I wish I could keep losses that low.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Oooh I forgot about those darned coin collectors and their proof sets and commemorative stuff! $20 loss during an experiment is nothing in the name of science. I wish I could keep losses that low.

I do extensive modding on 10+-year-old steel computer cases:

1994 Proliant Server "Chrome-Window"

It's saved me maybe a grand or more over the last few years, as I salivate over cases like the Tai-Chi, Stacker 830, etc. The "experiments" use a lot of low-cost materials, like foam art-board. I just wish I had that silver dollar back right now in its original pristine form. I could flip it at the coin shop, and use the proceeds to buy a Stacker 830 Evo.

On the Vendetta 2, I'm going to be looking at some more reviews. If the results are consistent, I may just spring for one. The OP's link to the comparison review suggests that -- as Rubycon said -- heatpipes may never beat watercooling, but for the simplicity, they're coming closer.

 

[NicColt]

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?

I just installed one yesterday and I'm sold, this in my opinion has got to be the best cooler ever for a Q6600. I replace the POS Scythe Ninja RevB with the TT and my temps went down about 9-10c easily under similar conditions. That Scythe Ninja is garbage.

 

[pocketx]

Does anyone have any experience with the kingwin rvt-9225? I googled around for reviews and it's performance was pretty average. One site showed that it barely made a difference from the stock intel cooler while another showed that it was on par with the arctic cooling freezer 7 pro. How does it rank 5th all of a sudden on benchmark reviews?

 

[Fallen Kell]

Originally posted by: 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.

While the size may be the same, the fact that the heat pipe is in direct contact with the actual heat source dramatically increases efficiency of the heat transfer into the pipe. This is why there is the 6-7C temperature difference, which IS significant.

 

[BadBrad]

Originally posted by: pocketx
Does anyone have any experience with the kingwin rvt-9225? I googled around for reviews and it's performance was pretty average. One site showed that it barely made a difference from the stock intel cooler while another showed that it was on par with the arctic cooling freezer 7 pro. How does it rank 5th all of a sudden on benchmark reviews?

Since the RVT-9225 shares it's design with the XigmateK HDT-S963 it should perform about 2-3 deg c within the larger XigmateK HDT-S1283 and that is fantastic. Although for an extra buck you can get the Kingwin RVT-12025 at the Egg that IS identical to the XigmateK HDT-S1283.

 

[toadeater]

Sunbeam's (Tuniq) new heatsink, the Core-Contact Freezer:

http://www.frostytech.com/arti...?articleid=2271&page=1

AFAIK this still doesn't beat the OCZ Vendetta 2. It's shorter and lighter though.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: toadeater
Sunbeam's (Tuniq) new heatsink, the Core-Contact Freezer:

http://www.frostytech.com/arti...?articleid=2271&page=1

AFAIK this still doesn't beat the OCZ Vendetta 2. It's shorter and lighter though.

Looks very impressive, but i want to see it reviewed at somewhere like AT, not frostytech.

 

[euroxracer]

cant go wrong with artic cooling.. hellla cheap and it works

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: 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.

No!

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: toadeater
Sunbeam's (Tuniq) new heatsink, the Core-Contact Freezer:

http://www.frostytech.com/arti...?articleid=2271&page=1

AFAIK this still doesn't beat the OCZ Vendetta 2. It's shorter and lighter though.

Looks very impressive, but i want to see it reviewed at somewhere like AT, not frostytech.

Frosty Tech has never been a credible site!!

 

[Syzygies]

The Noctua 120mm cooling fan, model NF-P12 used in Benchmark Reviews Best CPU Cooler Performance - Q1 2008 is a 1300 RPM, 54 CFM fan. The Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F fans that I use push-pull with the TRUE are 1600 RPM, 64 CFM each, and these are considered a modest choice by some, still reasonable quiet. There should be a separate category for the push-pull configuration.

I am indeed curious how the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 does in push-pull configuration with more powerful fans. It comes within a whisker in this comparison of the OCZ Vendetta 2, and they both use "Heat-pipe Direct Touch technology"; it's amazing that the Vendetta 2 walks away with all the hype. The Vendetta can't benefit from two stronger fans; the HDT-S1283 looks like it can.

Meanwhile, the bottom of the TRUE looked truly gruesome, nothing like mine. A lapped/lapped, push-pull air study would be more meaningful to anyone willing to do whatever it takes, water or air, with the jury still out on how well air can do. This test is a different point on the curve. I find the curves in Martin's Liquid Lab reviews far more helpful; they tell a story.

From Benchmark Reviews 33-Way Thermal Interface Material Comparison

Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink or with a low speed fan on the heatsink.) On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired.

So by my estimation of this statement it would take almost a year of normal use to properly cure the AC5 compound, or almost nine days of continuous power cycles to meet their recommendation. Benchmark Reviews feels that this is a characteristically unreasonable requirement for any TIM product, and we do not support it. We want products that perform without the burden of sacrifice on our time, especially with some many competing products offering performance without this extra requirement.

Huh? This whopper discredits the site for me. Try reading this again? I use AS5, and I read the AS5 instructions as "run eight days of stress testing, but turn it off a few times." One of us is missing something; if its me, please let me know!

:roll:

 

[toadeater]

Originally posted by: n7
Looks very impressive, but i want to see it reviewed at somewhere like AT, not frostytech.

I'm sure it will be soon. But Frostytech generally isn't too far off.

Meanwhile, I've noticed it looks suspiciously like the Ice Hammer IH-4400 A, which SilenX also licensed.

http://www.icehammer.com.tw/?r=39
http://silenx.com/ixtremaprohe...nks.asp?sku=ixc-120ha2