Low Profile Air Coolers

[lichocpu]

Hey All, I'm in a bit of a crossroads here, i'm looking for a good (meaning really powerful cooler) CPU cooler to fit in a Thermaltake LanBox. I measured and the cooler has about 110mm of clearance under the PSU, but a pic from a Thermaltake support team showed me a 95mm tall cooler fitting pretty closely to the PSU, so maybe the max height is 100mm. Also, it has 2 60mm fans blowing air outwards just over the I/O Shield, just by the side of the general CPU area. On m

I've looked at many options, and what i'd really like is to see them reviewed side by side to get a clearer view of their performance, but i'll settle with ppl telling me their personal experience with them, to try and gage which one fits my needs better.

The List of Coolers:
Cooler Master GeminII S
Cogage MST-140
Thermalright AXP-140 (req. also buying either a 120mm or a 140mm fan)
Thermalright SI-128SE (req. buying a 120mm fan, and i think it's too tall)
Thermaltake MaxOrb (CL-P0369) (seen it installed, fits but has very little room left)
Thermaltake BlueOrb II (CL-P0257) (actually advertised in the case's box pics)
Thermaltake MaxOrb EX (CL-P0460) (specs say it's a bit taller and is more expensive than the other version)
Thermaltake ISGC-400 (CL-P0540)
Thermaltake ISGC-100 (CL-P0537)
Xigmatek Apache (EP-CD901)
Xigmatek Cobra (D984)
Zalman VF2000LED
Zalman CNPS7000C LED (Both Cu and AlCu versions)
Zalman CNPS7500 LED (Both Cu and AlCu versions)
Zalman CNPS7700 LED (Both Cu and AlCu versions)
Zalman CNPS8000
Zalman CNPS8700 (Both LED and NT versions)

I'm interested in knowing the difference between the stock cooler and any of these coolers, particularly if tested with an Asus P5KPL-CM motherboard (for clearance with mobo components issues) and inside a case (bare mobo tests are also interesting, but the resulting differences in temperature rise can be smaller with better cooling around the heatsink due to better airflow around it than inside a case)

Any and all info on this subject will be greatly appreciated!

 

[lichocpu]

The List of Coolers:
Cooler Master GeminII S
Cogage MST-140
Thermalright AXP-140 (req. also buying either a 120mm or a 140mm fan)
Thermalright SI-128SE (req. buying a 120mm fan, and i think it's too tall)
Thermaltake MaxOrb (CL-P0369) (seen it installed, fits but has very little room left)
Thermaltake BlueOrb II (CL-P0257) (actually advertised in the case's box pics)
Thermaltake MaxOrb EX (CL-P0460) (specs say it's a bit taller and is more expensive than the other version)
Thermaltake ISGC-400 (CL-P0540)
Thermaltake ISGC-100 (CL-P0537)
Xigmatek Apache (EP-CD901)
Xigmatek Cobra (D984)
Zalman VF2000LED
Zalman CNPS7000C LED (Both Cu and AlCu versions)
Zalman CNPS7500 LED (Both Cu and AlCu versions)
Zalman CNPS7700 LED (Both Cu and AlCu versions)
Zalman CNPS8000
Zalman CNPS8700 (Both LED and NT versions)

I'm interested in knowing the difference between the stock cooler and any of these coolers, particularly if tested with an Asus P5KPL-CM motherboard (for clearance with mobo components issues) and inside a case (bare mobo tests are also interesting, but the resulting differences in temperature rise can be smaller with better cooling around the heatsink due to better airflow around it than inside a case)

Any and all info on this subject will be greatly appreciated!

I've checked around the forum, and found a link to a site called frostytech, that has a lot of cooler reviews, but i didn't find info on some of the coolers listed here, and the info on the site lists the increment over ambient temperature that a particular cooler presents when subjected to 150W or 85W of power load. I haven't read yet the experimental procedure, but they rate the CNPS8700 higher than what Tom's did in it's cooler shootout, so i'm not very sure yet of their rating standards.

The site is: http://www.frostytech.com/

Any thoughts on those reviews?

 

[lichocpu]

Umm anyone? info? Experience? anyone else think it would be a good idea to have a review of these kind of coolers? (both the listed and anymore that i just don't know about?

 

[Conumdrum]

Sure it would be a good idea to review all the coolers on a regular basis. Isn't gonna happen. Many of those coolers just by looking at them you know they are sub-par performers.

You would need one reviewing place to use standardized testing and be sent gratis ALL of the coolers. It take 3+ mounts on a PC to test each cooler. Room temps need to be stabilized withing 1 C and the same fans need to be used on each test. That itself is a problem when some fans work better on different coolers. It's a LOT of work to test anything properly, and if done in a halfass way, it's panned as a joke by the community.

Your best bet is use whats out there and pick the best one. Frostytech is the place I'd use, but it's your stuff, you buy whats best. Possibly you might ask at other forums too.

Just buy the Thermalright TRUE and call it a day. Or the V8, or the Meglahem. If it don't fit, get a bigger case.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=170224
Here is at least some fan reviews. You could read the last 50 posts in this air forum and probably find the cooler you need pretty easy. Xtreme Forums is one of the top forums for overclocking, but be careful, too much noobish and little effort on your part is usually ignored. Best place tho for really right stuff.

 

[lichocpu]

Sure it would be a good idea to review all the coolers on a regular basis. Isn't gonna happen. Many of those coolers just by looking at them you know they are sub-par performers.

You would need one reviewing place to use standardized testing and be sent gratis ALL of the coolers. It take 3+ mounts on a PC to test each cooler. Room temps need to be stabilized withing 1 C and the same fans need to be used on each test. That itself is a problem when some fans work better on different coolers. It's a LOT of work to test anything properly, and if done in a halfass way, it's panned as a joke by the community.

Your best bet is use whats out there and pick the best one. Frostytech is the place I'd use, but it's your stuff, you buy whats best. Possibly you might ask at other forums too.

Just buy the Thermalright TRUE and call it a day. Or the V8, or the Meglahem. If it don't fit, get a bigger case.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=170224
Here is at least some fan reviews. You could read the last 50 posts in this air forum and probably find the cooler you need pretty easy. Xtreme Forums is one of the top forums for overclocking, but be careful, too much noobish and little effort on your part is usually ignored. Best place tho for really right stuff.

Undoubtly the test is time-consuming, but then again, it's a growing niche that has no place with support. I mean, the reviews in frostytech are great, but they rank everything in 1 place and sometimes it's not simple to discern where does the boxed cooler stand and where do the aftermarket coolers stand in comparison.

Also, having a large case then there is no difficulty finding the best kind of air cooler, bc there are a lot of reviews, even here in Tom's Hardware that deal with full tower designs and oversize stuff. My concern is primarily with a cooler that can fit inside a gaming box case (sff) like what was used in some of the SBM that where published last week. While getting a larger case can get the best air cooling out there, it doesn't solve the problem, which is getting the best cooler for the case i already bought.

Don't get me wrong, i found the info in frosty tech awesome, and i'm checking out the info in the forum you just gave me, but i'm looking for something near my case, some dude who built a lanbox for lanparties at his buddies, and who found out that aftermarket cooler X which is probably a poor cooler compared to the Thermalright TRUE 120, but which is excellent compared to other low-profile ones or the boxed one.

Thanks for the reply!