NEWS: CPU Cooler Round-Up

[TechZ]

TechARP take a look at some of the most popular CPU coolers in the market to see how they fare against each other. You may be very surprise at the performance results. They also take a look at case ducts. Are they effective? Or are they just a waste of our money?

The Zalman CNPS9700 LED and the Thermalright HR-01 (with a SUNON fan) are no doubt the best performers in this round-up. However, both fans are quite noisy and would be quite unacceptable to those who do not like noisy coolers. But if you one of who are used to Vantec Tornado noise levels, then the noise from the CNPS9700 or SUNON fan is nothing. It all boils down to how much noise you want to tolerate. If you care about the noise level, then your choice would differ from someone who don't mind the noise.

If you are looking for the best possible performance, irrespective of the noise level, then the Thermalright heatsinks are a better choice, since you can choose any fan you like. This is one of the reason why I like Thermalright heatsinks. However, this is not the case for Zalman coolers like the CNPS9700 or CNPS9500. The Thermalright heatsinks would definitely perform better with a very high flow fan like the Vantec Tornado (which is ridiculously loud). If you are wondering which of the two Thermalright would perform better in a high air flow situation, I would say XP-120. Our results seem to show the XP-120 benefiting more from high air flow than the HR-01. There is no reason to buy the XP-120 now though. You should consider its successor, the Thermalright SI-120 instead. It offers the same performance but with much better compatibility.

For those who want very little or near silent noise levels, then the Thermalright HR-01 would be the best choice. The HR-01 appears to be the most efficient heatsink in low airflow situations. It even beats the CNPS9700 when airflow is low. The HR-01 wins hands down when paired with a low airflow fan, no competition here. Although the Thermalright HR-01 is designed to be used passively, it is impossible to cool your processor passively without optimizing the airflow within the case. You should at least mount a low-speed fan on it. Overclocking is definitely not possible if it is used passively.

Should even a low-speed fan turn you off, you can always use the fan duct which Thermalright specially designed for the HR-01. It not only gives the HR-01 a much need boost in its passive cooling performance, it also helps to reduce case temperature by directly exhausting hot air from the HR-01 out of the case.

[slgrieb]

Thermalright heatsinks have been favorites of mine for 5 or 6 years now. A bit of time shopping for a fan can turn up some surprisingly quiet, high airflow fans. I've been very pleased with Sunon, but of late am buying more Panaflow's and I still like the YS Tech TMD fans.