AMD Wraith CPU Cooler Review

[FormatC]

Never has a stock CPU cooler garnered as much attention as AMD's Wraith. Manufacturers usually don't even mention these bonus items, but AMD's new CPU cooler has changed all of this. Is the Wraith really a game changer?

AMD Wraith CPU Cooler Review : Read more

 

[eklipz330]

good work. however, if they expect to sell more processors because of this, they will surely be disappointed.

good job noting the importance of top down coolers over tower coolers.

 

[Amdlova]

Please put in thest the old amd cooler with came with phenoms ddr2 i think its same cooler. good cooler btw, try overclock some to get it burn,

 

[vaughn2k]

"Wraith Awaiting Launch Orders"

 

[Calculatron]

I think the methodology and the data shown in this review makes it a great cooling review - I hope it sets a trend!

I wonder how Crashman's old Thermalright MUX-120 might measure up?

 

[FormatC]

Please put in thest the old amd cooler with came with phenoms ddr2 i think its same cooler. good cooler btw, try overclock some to get it burn,

The cooler is more or less the same. This model was built by AVC since the 125 watts FX 62 without major changes 😉

 

[falchard]

Maybe people will buy the AMD CPU to cool their Intels. AMD should include an Intel adapter just in case.
This review does bring some considerations towards cooling the motherboard. First it demonstrates how MSI gets its better performance, by allowing higher voltages and using higher quality capacitors. This is one of the reasons I love MSI, and one reason some MSI GPUs have burned. Second the big CPU coolers and liquid coolers don't adequately provide cooling to cheaper motherboard components. Higher end motherboards might be a different story with their large heat sinks.

 

[FormatC]

The heatsinks are only above the VRM. All things like coils or caps are not cooled. Take a look at our i7 5960X review and the IR pics and you know, what I mean 😉

Scroll down to the video at the bottom:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i7-5960x-haswell-e-cpu,3918-10.html

Heat is like a wave and soldered pins of caps are like antennas 😀

 

[joshyboy82]

Seems like this directly butts up against the Cryorig C7, which by my research does everything better. Also, if you have an Intel chip and are feeling left out by this new cooler, the C7 can massage your...worries.

 

[FormatC]

The best replacement (temperatures, noise, price) is for me the Raijintek Pallas. But he has problems with higher RAM modules. The Wraith not

 

[SuperVeloce]

"From this perspective, the Wraith actually cools better, since it cools the surrounding area on the motherboard in addition to the processor. In a closed case, this problem gets even worse, since the RAM sticks cut off any airflow below a certain point."
This is actually not true if your case exhibit at least some airflow. Passive components will be better cooled in a good closed case rather than with open sides

 

[JQB45]

I like it, hopefully all Zen CPUs of 95W+ get this cooler.

 

[FormatC]

This is actually not true if your case exhibit at least some airflow.

The memory modules blocks each airflow with the Macho, independend from the airflow in your case. 😉

 

[Benjiwenji]

good work. however, if they expect to sell more processors because of this, they will surely be disappointed.

That alone probably won't boost sales, but it is always a welcome bonus. I won't find ways to criticize AMD on this.

 

[Joe Black]

<40db is just dandy. I've never had an issue with levels like that. And with good cooling its an excellent result.

 

[Quixit]

It's hard not to beat their previous design, it was widely criticized for being massively incompetent. That being said, it's nice to see a better pack in cooler at the same price.

 

[quilciri]

good work. however, if they expect to sell more processors because of this, they will surely be disappointed.

good job noting the importance of top down coolers over tower coolers.

A large part of AMD cpu's value lay in overclocking. You had to buy an aftermarket cooler before the wraith, which destoyed most of the value versus an intel CPU at stock speeds on intel's stock cooler.

The wraith seems to have some headroom to overclock. I'd love to see an article on how far Tom's can push the 8370 on the wraith cooler.

 

[Non-Euclidean]

Awesome review with some great IR pictures and analysis. I hope those will be the standard in future cooling reviews.

This also, of course, begs a comparative review of the most popular air & water solutions out there. (Cryorig R1/Corsair H100i/Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO/etc)

 

[xenol]

AMD should sell this cooler by itself. And make it compatible for Intel boards. This looks like a really good SFF cooler.

 

[hdmark]

Ive never seen the IR images of a motherboard (I know they are out there, just never looked) so this was really interesting to see. Kinda switching my views on tower coolers now

 

[cst1992]

Does anyone else feel they should have included the Hyper 212 Evo or the Cryorig H7? Since they cost only $25-35, they should be people's aftermarket coolers of choice. I don't think this Thermalright cooler is more popular than those.

 

[FormatC]

The goal of a boxed cooler is the compatibility to all RAM modules and mainboard settings, AMDs own mounting system included.
It is important to minimize the assembly time (SI and OEM business) and the mounting must be secure in each case (weight of cooler, mounting, shipment).

 

[Sam Bittermann]

AMD did a very good job on this. I had a 860K and the fan would constantly spin up and down, even at stock MHz with turbo on. I don't think they get enough credit for the things they do right. Intel could learn from this.

 

[razor512]

It looks just like the socket 939 stock AMD opteron coolers, but with a larger fan.

http://i.imgur.com/qpVaGVR.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tj5hply.jpg

 

[razor512]

Ive never seen the IR images of a motherboard (I know they are out there, just never looked) so this was really interesting to see. Kinda switching my views on tower coolers now

It is a decent image, but they need to get matte black spray paint to coat 1 side of the cooler, ad they do not work with reflective surfaces.