Megahalem vs TRUE vs IFX-14

[BonzaiDuck]

Here are some simple deductions tentatively foremost in my thinking.

(1) If the BenchMark Reviews comparison is accurate, with as much as 1+C improvement in load temperatures for an OC'd I7-920 (3.6 Gghz/1.35Vcore) and the 920 has a stock thermal power of 130W, then the improvement gap between Megahalem and TRUE would be greater for a 105W processors similarly over-clocked.

(2) The Megahalem has a nickel-plated base -- like the TRUE, so removing the nickel by lapping would probably provide the same margin of improvement as (a) flattening and (b) removing the nickel from the TRUE.

(3) The Megahalem is about a mm shorter than the TRUE, has a depth(width) of about a cm wider than the TRUE, and a width that is about 2mm short of the TRUE. So the coolers would be interchangeable (even with my tight-fitting CPU duct -- which would require just some minor trimming to fit the Megahalem.)

Benchmark Reviews

HardOcp (H) Enthusiast

(H) Enthusiast second page

AigoMorla swears by the IFX_14, and some benchies on the IFX-14 (which I cannot find at the moment) seemed to show that it was a real performer. But I'm not sure how it stacks up against the Megahalem.

So, I can guess that the Megahalem has a lower thermal resistance than the TRUE -- by the Benchmarks article. The other comparison review seems to show it neck-and-neck with the TRUE.

What else is "out there" in terms of benchtest comparisons?

 

[zagood]

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=917

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Thanks. So it looks as though the Thermal Resistance ranking, is LIKELY to be:

IFX-14
Prolimatech Megahalem
TRUE

in descending order. And the downside for the IFX-14 is the number of cu.in. of case volume consumed.

I notice that even with a DELTA 3200rpm fan, the Megahalem is 0.5 C degrees better than the TRUE. I think there have been benchtests in bygone days showing that some coolers maintained a slightly better thermal resistance with low CFM throughput, and lost their edge somewhat with higher CFMs.