Roundup: Six Sub-$40 Performance CPU Coolers Compared

[dark_lord69]

This is what I'm gonna buy.
http://www.scythe-eu.com/en/products/cpu-cooler/mugen-2-cpu-cooler.html
It's as quiet as the quietest one compared in this article.
It costs $35 (not expensive).
And cools better than the Cooler Master Hyper 212.

The only drawback is the size. It's big enough that the fan hangs over the ram. So if you use high profile cooling for your ram this baby won't fit. But thanks to OCZ that's not an issue for me.

 

[cushgod]

Wow nice Dark_lord NICE!

 

[nforce4max]

I am unimpressed with the coolers here as usual. Most look rather cheaply made and I prefer a all copper cooler but they are seam to be getting rather few in number these days.

 

[Deadstick50]

Nice article till you failed to run these on an AMD processor, you tell us all about how they mount to the AMD socket and then dont test on AMD??
WHY?

BTW I'm running my AMD CPU overclocked by 25% on stock air.....so maybe the stock coolers arent as bad as everyone assumes??

 

[ram1009]

I'd like to have seen an AM3 CPU tested so as to see if the "updraft" or "crossflow" configurations produce any significant cooling differentials.

 

[TheRockMonsi]

Well, I have the PERFORMA on a Phenom II 965, and it's pretty good. It keeps my CPU under 62 degrees with 1.5875v@19%LLC@2.8VDDA while running Prime95 - it's the only way I can get a 4GHz OC. :/

With that being said, I don't know if I'd recommend it to anybody, mainly because it wasn't this good when I first got it - it was actually pretty terrible. I couldn't even achieve a 3.7GHz OC@1.4v without going over 62 degrees just playing games. When I got the cooler there were some black marks on it, and a good amount of scratches too. I ended up having to pay an extra $10 at an auto shop to get some sand paper and lap it up to 2500 grit.

 

[Peciura]

Obviously "CoolerMaster Hyper 212+" became reference cooler for many people. There are some reasons for that:
1. good performer
2. cheap
3. compatible to all recent sockets
4. easy to install
5. clips for a second fan
6. it is truly available (for little money) in all regions

Last year test configuration doubles value of both articles - it should have been mentioned in the head.

 

[g00fysmiley]

thank you crashman, i was actually lookign into a good heatsink fo rmy new build. i shall order the Xigmatek, thank you looks like a good value and i'll be using an amd 4 core so it should orient right. as always well done

 

[Guest]

so based on this test and the january test the Noctua NH-D14 still wins the best performance rite? and the price has already dropped to 60$

 

[saint19]

so based on this test and the january test the Noctua NH-D14 still wins the best performance rite? and the price has already dropped to 60$

The Silver Arrow is head up with the NH-D14.

 

[ramxilliw]

Well, I can find the Xigmatek Gaia SD1283 only in newegg. That's a problem for me, wish the have it in another site.

 

[Lutfij]

a good read so far ... and a nice comparison with 2009 competition

 

[jimmyzline]

The CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ is best HSF for the $$$ on the planet boys!

 

[mattmock]

The article mentions that most of the fans have can be controlled by PWM or voltage. The last time I tried a PWM fan, I found that the switching speed was just low enough to create a high-pitched whine when the card was at less then 100%. It sounded similar to the electronic whine you can sometimes get from video cards or motherboards. Has anyone else experienced this? Does this happen with all PWM fans or just some models?

 

[Th-z]

Thomas Soderstrom: We ran into a bit of trouble while testing Deepcool's solution: after watching our first motherboard’s voltage regulator go up in smoke, we had to lower our ambient temperature to 10 C to finish testing on a second, identical motherboard.

Ouch sorry to hear that, is the board still salvageable? So it seems Deepcool Matrix 400 is something you wouldn't recommend, but you didn't mention any of that in the conclusion.

The way stock cooler is facing down so VRMs can get adequate cooling is taken for granted, but when all of sudden we replace it with after market tower cooler, it's not so sure anymore. To be honest when I read these cooler reviews, the only things I care about is how low the CPU temperature can get and how quiet they are, never thought VRM could go up in smoke because of overheating. So I have to thank you for including this info. And it also brings up another issue, VRM temperature can be a problem with water cooling.

 

[lewac]

my thermal issues are resolved in an entirely different manner. External whole box fan. I don't use ANY internal fans at all (even the power supply fan(s) are removed). Just the CPU heatsink. the downside of my method is that it takes a bit more mechanical skill here. First I install a 12" X 12" X 1" filter into a "cooling box" mounted within the room somewhat near the box to cooled. Then I use aluminum 4" diameter dryer vent hose from the input air box (somewhat similar to a vehicle diesel engine's) whose airflow is derived from a large 115VAC, 265 CFM squirrel cage fan) whose output is ducted back to a 2" X 10" cutout in the rear of the box. the output is redirected within the box by another box inserted about 8" into same whose motherboard side is open. This directs a massive amount of air directly onto the CPU heatsink; memory sticks, support chips and sinks, hard drives, and everyhing else mounted in the box. So not only is the CPU super cooled.. but so is everything else mounted within the box. The warm air is vented out through the FRONT AND REAR of the box to the point that any paper, even pens sitting in front of same will be blown clear across the room!

And not only that. My box stays super clean inside even after years of service... just change the input filter every quarter. fan to use? look here:

http://www.horticulturesource.com/hydrofarm-active-air-blower-265-cfm-p6393/?osCsid=903ce88432f786d9b875b9d4afabc6bd

you pay more, yes. but you also get a LOT more. oh... plug the fan power into your UPS. when the UPS turns on so does the fan (thus a switch for the fan is not necessary). this particular fan draws about 1 amp from the UPS which is about typical for the amount of CFM. The fan is good for at least 5 YEARS of 24/7 use.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]dark_lord69[/nom]This is what I'm gonna buy.http://www.scythe-eu.com/en/produc [...] ooler.htmlIt's as quiet as the quietest one compared in this article.It costs $35 (not expensive).And cools better than the Cooler Master Hyper 212.The only drawback is the size. It's big enough that the fan hangs over the ram. So if you use high profile cooling for your ram this baby won't fit. But thanks to OCZ that's not an issue for me.[/citation]Looks good to me:
[nom]Th-z[/nom]Ouch]http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535-6.html[citation][nom]Th-z[/nom]Ouch sorry to hear that, is the board still salvageable? So it seems Deepcool Matrix 400 is something you wouldn't recommend, but you didn't mention any of that in the conclusion. The way stock cooler is facing down so VRMs can get adequate cooling is taken for granted, but when all of sudden we replace it with after market tower cooler, it's not so sure anymore. To be honest when I read these cooler reviews, the only things I care about is how low the CPU temperature can get and how quiet they are, never thought VRM could go up in smoke because of overheating. So I have to thank you for including this info. And it also brings up another issue, VRM temperature can be a problem with water cooling.[/citation]I normally use an Antec SpotCool for VRM cooling in water-cooled systems. Of course there's always the option to use a lower O/C voltage, or fewer CPU cores, to reduce VRM output and heat.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Be nice to see some of the generally accepted "$40 category winners" like the Scythe Mugen 2 in an article such as this.

 

[tpi2007]

Why didn't you test something from Arctic Cooling ?

I have a 775 based system with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, and they still make an updated version for new platforms, both Intel and AMD.

It's just that when I read value for money, Arctic Cooling is a classic.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]tpi2007[/nom]Why didn't you test something from Arctic Cooling ?I have a 775 based system with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, and they still make an updated version for new platforms, both Intel and AMD. It's just that when I read value for money, Arctic Cooling is a classic.[/citation]Like this?
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535-3.html
Arctic Cooling said they didn't want the previous 2010 models added because they had new 2010 models coming out...oh, like around now...after the article was finished.

 

[youssef 2010]

where is cooler master? thermaltake? Scythe?

 

[tpi2007]

[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]Like this?http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 535-3.htmlArctic Cooling said they didn't want the previous 2010 models added because they had new 2010 models coming out...oh, like around now...after the article was finished.[/citation]


Exactly! Mine is now more than two years old now, working perfectly, first with a Core 2 Duo E8400, now with a Core 2 Quad Q9550. Mine still has a black fan, which I find better looking (especially when it's dirty LOL. A white fan might make you more aware it needs cleaning though LOL).

Well, given that new models are now out, you have another excuse to do another article soon Or why not even update this article ?

 

[youssef 2010]

[citation][nom]lewac[/nom]my thermal issues are resolved in an entirely different manner. External whole box fan. I don't use ANY internal fans at all (even the power supply fan(s) are removed). Just the CPU heatsink. the downside of my method is that it takes a bit more mechanical skill here. First I install a 12" X 12" X 1" filter into a "cooling box" mounted within the room somewhat near the box to cooled. Then I use aluminum 4" diameter dryer vent hose from the input air box (somewhat similar to a vehicle diesel engine's) whose airflow is derived from a large 115VAC, 265 CFM squirrel cage fan) whose output is ducted back to a 2" X 10" cutout in the rear of the box. the output is redirected within the box by another box inserted about 8" into same whose motherboard side is open. This directs a massive amount of air directly onto the CPU heatsink; memory sticks, support chips and sinks, hard drives, and everyhing else mounted in the box. So not only is the CPU super cooled.. but so is everything else mounted within the box. The warm air is vented out through the FRONT AND REAR of the box to the point that any paper, even pens sitting in front of same will be blown clear across the room! And not only that. My box stays super clean inside even after years of service... just change the input filter every quarter. fan to use? look here:http://www.horticulturesource.com/ [...] d4afabc6bdyou pay more, yes. but you also get a LOT more. oh... plug the fan power into your UPS. when the UPS turns on so does the fan (thus a switch for the fan is not necessary). this particular fan draws about 1 amp from the UPS which is about typical for the amount of CFM. The fan is good for at least 5 YEARS of 24/7 use.[/citation]

very interesting but soooooo much hassle

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]youssef 2010[/nom]where is cooler master? thermaltake? Scythe?[/citation]Another complainer that didn't actually read the review, or even bother reading the SECOND POST in this thread?
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535-4.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535-9.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535-6.html

Everyone got invited. One company decided to wait for the next roundup because its new product wasn't ready. The new article has new models, the old article has older models, the same system was used in both article and all this information was yours for the reading, in the newer article.

 

[theshonen8899]

This is a nice review. Thanks!