V3 Voltair V3TEC120-FC01 CPU TEC Cooler Review

[Crashman]

Has anyone tried building a sealed housing around a CPU, and sucking all the air out? Mount a Peltier with cold side inside vacuum... hot side outside vacuum... Would that solve the condensation problem? I guess condensation would just form on outside of housing... hmm *ponder*

Anything that's touched can get cold too. Most guys who go for sub-ambient cooling just seal everything around the socket to keep condensation out.

 

[fixxxer113]

I would like to see more details on what this cooler was originally intended for. Also, Tom's please do a test without a CPU pushed to its limits. Not all of us do extreme overclocking.

For example, I have an i7 940 that I run stock. I would be interested in a cooler that can significantly reduce my temps in stock speed, just to reduce the amount of hot air coming out of the case during summer. I live in Greece and when the weather is hot, sitting next to a running PC can be torture...

Also, you never stated what the manufacturers specs were to begin with. Usually the specs mention the maximum CPU or TDP supported.

 

[fixxxer113]

I would like to see more details on what this cooler was originally intended for. Also, Tom's please do a test without a CPU pushed to its limits. Not all of us do extreme overclocking.

For example, I have an i7 940 that I run stock. I would be interested in a cooler that can significantly reduce my temps in stock speed, just to reduce the amount of hot air coming out of the case during summer. I live in Greece and when the weather is hot, sitting next to a running PC can be torture...

Also, you never stated what the manufacturers specs were to begin with. Usually the specs mention the maximum CPU or TDP supported.

 

[Crashman]

I would like to see more details on what this cooler was originally intended for. Also, Tom's please do a test without a CPU pushed to its limits. Not all of us do extreme overclocking.

For example, I have an i7 940 that I run stock. I would be interested in a cooler that can significantly reduce my temps in stock speed, just to reduce the amount of hot air coming out of the case during summer. I live in Greece and when the weather is hot, sitting next to a running PC can be torture...

Also, you never stated what the manufacturers specs were to begin with. Usually the specs mention the maximum CPU or TDP supported.

Nope. Go to the web page. I speculate that it was probably made for a 4-core but I can't be sure because the company doesn't say anything about its limits. And the little overclock is far from extreme, look at the low voltage used

 

[RedJaron]

See, we say soda here; and where I'm from "old drive power connector" isn't specific.

I'll admit, it wasn't the best phrasing, but it wasn't inaccurate either.

I would like to see more details on what this cooler was originally intended for. Also, Tom's please do a test without a CPU pushed to its limits. Not all of us do extreme overclocking.

Light and moderate OCing generally doesn't require more than the stock cooler, especially on modern Intel chips. You've got an older model, so I don't know how those coolers fare against the current orbitals with copper core slugs. However, the thermal requirements of mild OCing are pretty easy to manage by any number of aftermarket coolers.

TL / DR, mild overclocks don't require massive cooling, so anything over $30 is overkill for it.

 

[Neobendix]

Oh well. There's still the Sandia cooler to look forward to, though I'm sad Coolermaster didn't have something close to a production model to show off at E3.

Forgive me if I am wrong but didn't Coolermaster already come out with a TEC hybrid solution called the Coolermaster V10?

 

[KaiserPhantasma]

don't even understand what kind of niche is this targeted for :/

 

[deusexmachina]

I have this exact cooler myself and have tested it across a couple of different processors. It is heavily dependent on ambient conditions. It could barely handle a 4.3 ghz overclock on a 4690k. I haven't gotten around to testing on something with a much lower TDP like a G3258. This will probably be a good cooler for Skylake. The TEC made for a 10c differential for me. The big problem I found with the TEC is the load on the PSU and the resulting heat. So you better have an isolated PSU.

 

[laststop311]

The only way a large air cooler damages a PC is if it is shipped already attached. As long as you install the cooler in your tower at home in its final resting place you will have no problems. I use a noctua nh d14 in my fortress ft02 case and its dead silent with amazing cooling potential and no damage and it's been on the board for 5 years.

 

[Reynod]

Great review as always crash!!

laststop I agree with you regarding moving PC's with large coolers mounted in them ... after picking up a unit that flew back to Perth with me (in the luggage) a few years back ... it literally broke inside the case ... became dislodged ... rattled around ... killed the mobo. There were tears ...

 

[OcelotRex]

I am not very sure you sufficiently answered his concerns with hypothetical situations that you cannot prove/disprove.

I'm not trying to prove or disprove a hypothetical situation. I'm testifying to real-world occurrences. Does anyone really need the testimony of Chris and Don to prove that things he or she knows can happen, did happen?

This one shouldn't be all that controversial. It's like if I told you about that time I went to Florida and my wife fed squirrels at the park from her hand, and rather than argue about the behavior of the squirrels you began arguing about whether I'd ever been to Florida.

If I said it rained yesterday you'd probably believe it. On the other hand, if I said it didn't rain you'd probably believe that. Both solutions are equally possible, one solution is actual and the other potentially "hypothetical" (IF it hadn't rained...). The reason you'd have believed either one is that neither option is particularly controversial, and I don't have anything to gain by lying.

Sorry for the late response - I understand that there are a variety of variables in play here but if someone indicates it rained in a location yesterday I simply head to a weather site and confirm that it did in fact rain.

That was what the OP was asking for: some detailed evidence of non-anecdotal occurrences indicating a pattern. You responded with anecdotes and asked to be taken at your word.

The premise of big-air coolers damaging boards is very plausible (hence why I alleviated that concern with my choice in chassis) and the causes would be very specific to the sourced parts.

 

[Crashman]

That was what the OP was asking for: some detailed evidence of non-anecdotal occurrences indicating a pattern. You responded with anecdotes and asked to be taken at your word.

The premise of big-air coolers damaging boards is very plausible (hence why I alleviated that concern with my choice in chassis) and the causes would be very specific to the sourced parts.

I'm sorry, but I never thought back then that anyone would be asking years later for evidence that a system we shipped was destroyed. What he's actually saying is "Even though people know this happens, I won't accept that this HAS happened until you go back and write an article about what happened". But the good news is that we didn't wipe the email server.

And you'll say the article that I did write about the matter of dead boards due to flex is anecdotal, even though it points out the diagnostics process, because there weren't any photos of the invisible. That's fine for you, it's just not compelling to me. And that last conversation ended with someone who would take extraordinary time to complain but not even a few seconds to look up the URL for the article I referred: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-tahiti-le-crossfire-overclocking,3454-6.html

 

[OcelotRex]

That was what the OP was asking for: some detailed evidence of non-anecdotal occurrences indicating a pattern. You responded with anecdotes and asked to be taken at your word.

The premise of big-air coolers damaging boards is very plausible (hence why I alleviated that concern with my choice in chassis) and the causes would be very specific to the sourced parts.

I'm sorry, but I never thought back then that anyone would be asking years later for evidence that a system we shipped was destroyed. What he's actually saying is "Even though people know this happens, I won't accept that this HAS happened until you go back and write an article about what happened". But the good news is that we didn't wipe the email server.

And you'll say the article that I did write about the matter of dead boards due to flex is anecdotal, even though it points out the diagnostics process, because there weren't any photos of the invisible. That's fine for you, it's just not compelling to me. And that last conversation ended with someone who would take extraordinary time to complain but not even a few seconds to look up the URL for the article I referred: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-tahiti-le-crossfire-overclocking,3454-6.html

I don't think that the OP was asking for that at all. I think that the OP was asking for the link you provided for me, which I appreciate since I missed that article. It's also very likely that they missed it as well.

Here in the SBM article from yesterday was another incident with motherboards - a bad PCIe slot:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/q2-2015-newegg-system-builder-marathon-1600-mini-gaming-pc,4204.html

I wouldn't use that one incident to conclude that MSI has a quality problem. It's the first article on this site I've read about that issue. Had Julio indicated a persistent issue with MSI, PCIe slots, or anything else I feel it's reasonable to request a link to support the assertion, not a treatise on how things happen in the real world not on the internet.

 

[Crashman]

I don't think that the OP was asking for that at all. I think that the OP was asking for the link you provided for me, which I appreciate since I missed that article. It's also very likely that they missed it as well.

Here in the SBM article from yesterday was another incident with motherboards - a bad PCIe slot:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/q2-2015-newegg-system-builder-marathon-1600-mini-gaming-pc,4204.html

I wouldn't use that one incident to conclude that MSI has a quality problem. It's the first article on this site I've read about that issue. Had Julio indicated a persistent issue with MSI, PCIe slots, or anything else I feel it's reasonable to request a link to support the assertion, not a treatise on how things happen in the real world not on the internet.

I thought he was asking for the former (the shipping incident) over the later. And we only documented the shipping incident internally.

 

[Bossyfins]

I am so confused about this incident...

 

[Crashman]

I am so confused about this incident...

I said in this article that we had a machine come apart in shipping and he wanted proof that a machine had come apart, in the form of a link to an article that we never made 🙂

 

[Bossyfins]

Ahhh, makes sense now. Don't tell me FedEx broke it LOL

 

[OcelotRex]

I don't think that the OP was asking for that at all. I think that the OP was asking for the link you provided for me, which I appreciate since I missed that article. It's also very likely that they missed it as well.

Here in the SBM article from yesterday was another incident with motherboards - a bad PCIe slot:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/q2-2015-newegg-system-builder-marathon-1600-mini-gaming-pc,4204.html

I wouldn't use that one incident to conclude that MSI has a quality problem. It's the first article on this site I've read about that issue. Had Julio indicated a persistent issue with MSI, PCIe slots, or anything else I feel it's reasonable to request a link to support the assertion, not a treatise on how things happen in the real world not on the internet.

I thought he was asking for the former (the shipping incident) over the later. And we only documented the shipping incident internally.

I'll freely admit my reading comp skills are not up to snuff and you're the expert so I will apologize for dragging this on. Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[Crashman]

Ahhh, makes sense now. Don't tell me FedEx broke it LOL

OK, I won't tell if you don't tell.

I thought he was asking for the former (the shipping incident) over the later. And we only documented the shipping incident internally.

I'll freely admit my reading comp skills are not up to snuff and you're the expert so I will apologize for dragging this on. Thanks for all the feedback!

LOL, remember that the person you're relying on to track parallel conversations could have ADD

 

[Bossyfins]

I won't tell ; o

 

[wtfxxxgp]

I am not very sure you sufficiently answered his concerns with hypothetical situations that you cannot prove/disprove.

I'm not trying to prove or disprove a hypothetical situation. I'm testifying to real-world occurrences. Does anyone really need the testimony of Chris and Don to prove that things he or she knows can happen, did happen?

This one shouldn't be all that controversial. It's like if I told you about that time I went to Florida and my wife fed squirrels at the park from her hand, and rather than argue about the behavior of the squirrels you began arguing about whether I'd ever been to Florida.

If I said it rained yesterday you'd probably believe it. On the other hand, if I said it didn't rain you'd probably believe that. Both solutions are equally possible, one solution is actual and the other potentially "hypothetical" (IF it hadn't rained...). The reason you'd have believed either one is that neither option is particularly controversial, and I don't have anything to gain by lying.

That last sentence should have been the clincher. I agree, it just takes pure common sense as well - the more weight that is living precariously over your nice shiny new CPU, the more risk there is in having that weight come crashing down...on that same shiny new CPU. It's absolutely possible and more than likely has happened MANY times.