CPU Cooler Charts 2008, Part I - Loosing Your Cool?

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This is all BS. Tom's Hardware is getting pretty stupid with the reviews written--so why not hire competent people to write? I mean really... for one, it's unprofessional. Tell us what your testbed is, what thermal compound you're using, and info such as ambient temperature. It's not so hard... just give us a list. Many of your reviews already are being laughed at by the enthusiast community. These coolers aren't all about keeping your processor cool at max overclock--which you won't even tell us what it is. We know some of these designs are junk, but you're just saying too much bad about the good ones around.
 
In my opinion, they need to compare these to the intel stock fan, so we have a nice relative comparison.

also, where is this much hyped Zalman?

and correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the thermal specification for an intel processor 70 degrees?
 
Lets think logically. They take the heatsink out of the box, install it, test it. However the fan goes, goes. If the documentation said to have it blow down, then thats what you do. if they are all mounted as recommended by the manufacturer, and on the test bench they overheat like crazy, then its a fair comparison. Thats not to say swapping out the fans, turning them over, and performing a buddha doll belly rubbing ritual will not bring the temperatures down significantly.

if a cooler requires that i remove the motherboard, then im likely to consider a clip-on cooler instead. When its all said and done if there is a new overall chart with results of all stages of the test, and they were consistent, then great, i can finally see where i rank in the scheme of things, and why i just bought a liquid cooling system for my q6600 @3.6 GHz
 


Ooohhh... That Heatpipe Direct Touch looks tantelizing. Imagine if one of the higher end like Thermaltake/Thermalright/Zalman does that but puts 6 heatpipes in a HDT setup.

Ooohhh....do I hear higher OC's on lower temps?????
 
Yeah, the more recent Lian Li PC cases make me wish I still had the first tower case I ever had. Going by the internal design it was almost identical to almost all of the current Lian Li mid towers other than not having the side facing 3.5" drive bays. Externally though it was made back in the 90s when they were still making cases with the 1 piece outer shells. It was also one of the few cases that I've ever seen, even to date other than certain brands that came with a removable lent filtering screen that went over the front intake, it mounted behind a removable section of the front bezel. Still to this date one of the best cases I've ever had.

As far as what direction the manufacturer recommends, Zerotherm says you can mount the Nirvana facing any direction benefits your case airflow the most. Most optimal situation is blowing towards the rear exhaust fan for push-pull effect. Others it depends on how the mounting hardware faces, but for intel using the 4 pin mounting backplate, again you can pretty much have them facing any direction. The only way you could get really restricted would be with possible mounting on the AMD am2 sockets and the likes. But like I said, when it comes to mounting, both platforms should be taken into consideration, maybe 1-5 point for intel ease of installation and 1-5 for AMD ease.

And I could tell the quality of articles was going down here at Toms after Phenom 9600BE review.
 
Lets think logically...
Click to expand...
Yes, lets do that.

This review used noise as a category/factor for the overall performance of the heatsink. Now how do they accomplish this without providing something as basic as the ambient noise level?

And, how do they use temp as a factor when they don't supply, again, something as basic as ambient temp? The temp rise above ambient tells a lot more about a heatsink's performance than, "this cooler topped out at xx C."

Personally, I like to see tests done as close to a real-world situation that they can get. However, they were all tested under the same conditions. My only problem is they never specified what those conditions were.
 


Word. That is a good site to help elucidate the organization and quality of testing that is lacking with the THG article. I like to stick with FrostyTech for pure thermal performance information but it is always good to see real CPU results too. I snagged the Xigmatek after it first made it's appearance on Frosty's and I am happy to see it is holding up in the CPU reviews :sol:
 
Here is an idea.... that HDT technology with a TECooler. Draw away more heat from the hot side and there ya go. Imagine the possibilities.

How about using HDT for a radiator on a water cooled system? Use it to draw the heat to the fins. I can see many possibilities for this HDT. I wand to see more heatpipes, like say 6-8? See if that improves the heat dissipation performance.
 
Or, drown the CPU in oil.
Or rent a walk-in sub-zero freezer and use the PC in there. That would be awesome.


Siberian eskimos must be very lucky. They dont worry about cooling their quadcore PC's.
 

Ironically, they need CPU warmers! :lol: :lol:

With regard to the article, I can't say I was impressed with the cooling of many of the coolers (quite fancy the Zalman Reserator though :)). My 6000+ on stock cooling idles at about 28/30C and under 100% load in Seti@Home hasn't gone above 60C. Some of it is going to be my case though, I've carefully set up the fans in my CM-690, so I'm sure they're doing their job! :)
 



Your pic is giving me nightmares. Make it stop looking at me.

Dude, MINI-FRIDGE!!!!! It would totally fit. It is just like a kegerator. I wonder if you could hook up a kegerator inline with a water cooler...now that is efficiency. The kegerator-CPU cooling system...heat and sobriety...forget about it!
 
That has been thought of and tried. In fact it works very poorly since the contents of a fridge/freezer is not supposed to generate heat.

@ lukebird

CPU warmers? They could put them under their pillow at night to keep them warm while they DL torrents.

 

True, but i bet they don't work very well at -40C 😉
 


LOL that would be freaking hilarious... I can see it now; some dood goes to visit his nerdy friend from high school who is now in college.

Dood: "Oh, nice mini-fridge! Can I grab a beer?"
Nerd: "No, but can I interest you in the best Crysis frame rates this side of campus?"
 
this was a joke. im very surprised TH would even bother putting this up as an actual review. im really just baffled. i dont think bashing brand names or designs will help much, but honestly, why on earth did you guys even bother mounting push-pin designs.... not really sure who you think your audience is, but i know i never have and never will have a push-pin design on damn near any of my hardware components (all aftermarket sinks).

wheres the real deal? why review a HS that blows air ONTO the board?? HS orientation?? whatsup with being vertical? yes, heat rises, but i dont think you want it rising into your PSU. Let alone the fact that youve now screwed the airflow in ur case and have a large cloud of hot air building, its still heating that PSU more and more. And please, those stock fans at the top of cases are a joke, they will never pull all that air out.

I personally say, select and review PRACTICAL heatsinks and waterblocks. even tho the Zalman CNPS8700LED is a terrible design, if you cant install it, then you sincerely shouldnt be reviewing it. you install it once, you uninstall it once; get over it and grow a pair.

lets think about what a heatsink does... thats rite, it dissipates heat. the ultimate goal is to cool the CPU. Performance is at the top of the list, always. i dont mind if i have to cut the motherboard in half and solder the board back together if i end up getting phenomenal cooling.

the CNPS9700 LED should have been in there, big time. i was intrigued when i read that over 30 products were going to be reviewed, but im left completely unsatisfied. if youd like me to buy all the high performance heatsinks, fly over to ur lab, do all the testing, record all the data, and publish it your site, id really be happy to. But since that most likely will not be the case, if your going to do the job, please do it rite. theres A LOT of noobie rig builders that are greatly influenced by sites like these; lets not screw with their heads and feed them **** information.

Semper Fi
 
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