Introduction

No doubt the average computer user will not think of it for a second, but to the readers of Hardware.Info it is one of the most important decisions when purchasing a new pc: the CPU cooler. Manufacturers come up with the most extreme creations to keep the processor as cool as possible. We compared 46 new models.

Can it yet be more extreme, we asked ourselves during our last big comparison test of CPU-coolers. The answer unequivocally is: yes. After requesting all our suppliers to send us their latest models, we received some very exotic creations. Gone are the times of the “plain vanilla” thermal block with fan. When you presently shop for a CPU-cooler, you can choose from some bizarre products.

The market for CPU-coolers consists almost exclusively out of the typical readers of Hardware.Info: namely those who are prepared to shell out some extra cash in order to overclock to the max - or to build an as quiet as possible pc. To build standard pc´s the systembuilders normally use the bundled coolers from Intel and AMD. Actually this is not a bad choice as the boxed coolers nowadays are quite good. People who will settle for nothing else but the best however use extra powerful- and/or quiet coolers. Because of this demand manufacturers feel challenged and try to beat each other to the punch.

Materials used

For whoever delves into the world of CPU-coolers, there are some principles not to be overlooked. First of all the choice of which metal is used to make the cooler is important for its capacity to cool. Cheaper coolers are made of aluminium, more expensive ones out of copper and some models are made out of a combination of these two metals. Although, as a raw material, copper is 2,5 times more expensive than aluminium, it’s a much better conductor of heat. Especially with the larger CPU-coolers it’s important that the heat generated by the processor is spread out through the cooling block as efficiently and as quickly as possible. Cooling blocks made of copper are better suited for this. At least as important are the size and the shape of the cooling block: the bigger the surface, the more heat can be dissipated into the air. Although more difficult to manufacture, the more expensive models have larger amounts of cooling-fins than cheaper models and therefore operate more efficiently. The capacity of a CPU-cooler is also dependant on the type of fan which is used. The more hot air a fan can displace, the better the cooling will be. As we already wrote in our case-fan comparison test in the previous edition, one should not be deterred by big fans. Often the big ones are quieter than the small ones.

Tower coolers blow directly towards the rear of the casing.

Tower

More manufacturers are switching to so called tower-models for their high-end coolers. With such a cooler, the fan is placed perpendicular to the cooling block and the fresh air is being directed straight through the cooling block. When mounted, the fan directs the air towards the rear or the case where an outtake fan forces it out. This faster airflow is the biggest advantage of such CPU-coolers, the hot air leaves the case as quickly as possible. With conventional CPU-coolers the fan blows downwards, directly towards the direction of the processor. The airflow hits the processor more directly – cooling it better, the heated air however swerves into all directions and stays more or less within the case. Still a conventional cooler has an added advantage which is that on motherboards the current stabilisers – the electrical components which supply the processor with the correct current – are located around the socket and thereby benefit from the airflow around the cooler. Should you not be planning to overclock, it is of little value to actively cool the current stabilisers and you’d be better off with a tower model cooler.

Heatpipes

Up to a few years ago we’d never heard of them. In the meantime every self-respecting manufacturer uses them: heatpipes. It’s an effective, albeit expensive, technology to increase CPU-cooler efficiency. The aim of using heatpipes is to displace heat quickly and efficiently. When using large coolers the heatpipes are used to move heat as quickly as possible from the bottom to the top of the cooling block. In fact a heatpipe is nothing more than an aluminium or copper tube filled with a fluid. This can be water, but more frequently ammonia or ethanol is used.

The working principle is quite simple. The bottom end of the heatpipe is located directly above the processor and as such is in direct connection with the heat source. The liquid contained in the heatpipe will absorb the heat and by consequence will evaporate. At the top-end of the heatpipe is a cooling block which in its turn absorbs the heat from the evaporated liquid, effectively cooling the gas, which in its turn condensates again and trickles down to the bottom of the heatpipe. Once below, the (once again) fluid absorbs the heat from the processor, etc. in a continuous cycle.

Not all heatpipes are equal though. Amongst other things the materials out of which the heatpipe is constructed and the type of fluid it contains determine its efficiency. In any case, dissipating heat by means of a heatpipe is much quicker than through a solid piece of metal.

Peltier

Two coolers in our test use a different technology to conduct heat away from the processor. A Peltier-element is a platelet which gets really cold on one side and seriously hot on the other. Throuch such an element the heat generated by the processor is conducted directly upwards thereby actively cooling the CPU. The drawback of the Peltier-element is that it uses quite a lot of energy whereby the top-side of the element can become hotter than the processor itself. A Peltier uses about 60 Watts which means that the cooling block and the fan have to cope with double the amount of heat. This heat will not complete disappear from the case. Coolers which use such elements therefore have both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that the processor is cooled much more efficiently; disadvantage is that a lot more heat has to be dealt with. Testingmethods

A processor uses a certain amount of electricity, expressed in Watts. The Law of Conservation of Energy teaches us that all the power consumed by the processor is transferred into heat. For testing the coolers we used a different element which can transfer power into heat, but one which is far more predictable: a resistor. Agreed, we canot play any 3D-games with a resistor but thanks to Ohm’s Law of Resistance we can exactly predict how many Watts of heat are generated.By using an adjustable power supply – called a Variac – we can set the coltages in such a way that we can take measurements at 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 Watts. The results have been normalised at 20· Celcius, room temperature. Our test set-up can accommodate both socket 775 as AM2 coolers so all coolers could be tested the same way. The testresults can easily be translated to the real world: an Intel Core 2 Duo has a maximum power consumption (TDP) of 65 Watts. The final temperature will be achieved by using our measurements between 60 and 80 Watts.

Apart from the cooling capacity we measured the noise as produced by the cooler. To clearly indicate the differences, we measured at a 10 cm distance. Do not be alarmed if our measured dB values are higher than indicated by the manufacturers – these official values were achieved by measuring at a 1 m distance.

All coolers were tested at highest- and lowest rpm settings. Whenever a cooler was bundled with a fan controller, we used that one. In all other cases we used a proper resistor which simulates the lowest possible rpm in case the rpm are controlled by the motherboard.

You will further notice if the coolers have their own brackets (to be fitted to the motherboard) or if they use the standard fitting for a 775 or AM2 socket

Aerocool / Akasa / Arctic Cooling

Aerocool

The Aerocool Dominator is a bulky device. This cooler dissipates the heat though 3 heatpipes onto a big, separate cooling block with a 12 cm fan. An equal construction we see with the Thermalright and Silverstone coolers. At the highest rmp the Dominator cools slightly better than average. At the lowest rmp the Aerocool finishes 8^th. The noise level is quite noticable. The smaller Aerocool Xfire is at its lowest rpm the most silent cooler but one. The cooling capacity at this setting is not too well however. At full speed this cooler does not function convincingly either

Akasa

Just as with the Aerocool Dominator, the Akasa Evo 120 uses three heatpipes to transfer the heat to a cooling block with room for a 120 mm fan. The difference is that the cooling block is not positioned flatly, but at an angle so that the fan can direct the hot air towards the outtake fan. The Akasa concept does not prove to be successful. Both at low- and high rpm it is one of the worst performing coolers. Nothing to write home about

Arctic Cooling

Arctic cooling supplied us with the Freezer 7 pro, a device which we tested earlier. The cooler is suited for 775 sockets and can be easily clicked onto the motherboard without the use of a bracket. The performance of this tower model is above average – with respect to cooling and noise levels. Although not a high-flyer, the selling price of 31 Euro’s makes this device worthwhile considering.

The price/performance ration of the Arctic cooling Freezer 7 Pro is excellent.

ASUS / Auras

ASUS

ASUS supplied us with 5 coolers. We started testing with the Cilly Vent – a relatively simple AM2 socket cooler much like the boxed AMD cooler. Still it has an advantage over the boxed cooler: at max. rpm the Cilly Vent is one of the quietest in our test. In the temperature test however it finishes last, which is sufficient reason for us to tell you to forget about this product. The Silent Knight got some positive reactions on our website at its announcement. The designers were clearly inspired by the Zalman CNPS-9500, although Asus placed the fan halfway the copper fins. The cooler is not really spectacular, but at its lowers rpm setting the cooling capacity and noise level are better than average. The Silent Square and Silent Square Pro are the best coolers in the Asus inventory. Both are tower models dissipating heat towards the centrally placed fan by means of five heatpipes. The biggest difference between the two is that the Pro comes with a fancontroller, wheras the not-Pro looks a bit smarter with its blue lighting. The Silent Square Pro cools above average but drops to average levels at its lowest rpm setting. In both cases the fan is not very noisy. Finally, the VR Guard is a 775 socket cooler which we tested previously. Unique to this cooler is its limited height, making it suitable for smaller pc cases. Performance of this cooler is nothing special however.

The Silent Square Pro is the best performing cooler in the Asus inventory.

Auras

For a lot of people the name Auras will not ring a bell. Still this is a manufacturer with a lot of experience. In many notebook computers you will find coolers from auras. For desktop pc’s the company has first and foremost the PRS-775 and PRS-940. Two tower models which are practically identical and can be placed on a 775 and AM2 socket without the use of a bracket.

Due to the large base-plate the PRS-940 performs well. The relatively cheap cooler can hold its own amongst the much more expensive high-end coolers. The PRS-775 exits our tests at a slightly lower level. The noise level of both models is below average. Both coolers are sharply priced: 25 Euro’s. For those who believe this is too expensive, Auras offers a cheaper model: the PRS-771. This model does not blow our tops however.

Auras, expert in the notebook cooling field, also perform well with the desktop pc’s.

Cooler Master

A little more extreme – but still cheap at 21 euro’s – is the Hyper TX, suited for AMD and Intel. The price/performance of this tower cooler is excellent. Noise levels are below average and cooling capacity, at lowest rpm setting, are above average.

The looks of the Cooler Master Mars deserve cudo’s, but the cooling capacity is below average.

The most eye-catching cooler in our tests is the Cooler Master Mars. This dome shaped CPU-cooler can best be described as two Zalman coolers put together with a fan in the middle. This cooler, installed in a slick casemod will definitely steal the show, but is good for looks only. The cooling capacity is clearly below par. You will have to run the fan at relative high speeds, making it rather noisy.

The eccentric Cooler Master Eclipse can both be very silent and very noisy.

Another daunting design is the Cooler Master Eclipse. This stand-up cooler uses a radial fan which blows cool air from the inside out. With a plastic hood you can direct the exiting air towards the outtake fan. The cooling capacity varies: at the highest rpm setting the Eclipse performs above average, at the lowest rpm setting it performs less than average. Considering noise levels we see different results. At the lowest rpm setting the Eclipse is the most silent cooler in our test – apart from the noiseless passive models of course. At the highest rpm setting the Eclipse joins the top-7 in noise production.

A little less brute that the prototype, but the Cooler Master Geminii is an impressive appearance.

Our line-up of impressive coolers is completed by the Geminii – a huge cooler of which the prototype could already be seen at the 2006 CeBIT. The Geminii tranfers heat through six heatpipes to a enormous cooling grid on which two 12 cm fans can be mounted. It will not easily fit into every computer case however. The good thing about this cooler is that it cools the motherboard chipset at the same time. The geminii is delivered without fans. We therefore used two separate Cooler Master TLF-S12 fans. Unfortunately the Geminii looks cooler than it really cools.

Gigabyte / Macstek / Noctua

Gigabyte sent us the 3D Rocket II. In a picture this animal looks gigantic. In real life its dimensions are truly scary. The 3D Rocket II is so tall that is will not fit in normal computer cases. Adepts of silence will not consider this model, because it is a noisy device even with its rpm-controller in the lowest setting. The cooling capacity is phenomenal however. At highest rpm it is the third best in the test. Gigabyte uses two fans, one below and the other on top to get rid of the hot air generated by the cooling block.

The gigantic Gigabyte 3D Rocket II will not fit any case, but cools really well.

Macstek

Mastec sent us their testversion of the Triumph Deluxe. It uses a Peltier-element. Bundled with the cooler comes a 5,25” control panel which engages the Peltier once a certain processor temperature has been reached. The panel is quite annoying by the way. When in use it displays an animation of a little man digging. It already got on our nerves after two seconds. In the introduction we already mentioned that a Peltier-element uses quite a considerable amount of energy. This shows up in our test. As soon as the cooler element is engaged, the cooler alone uses nearly 100 Watts! A big power supply is therefore a must. The extra heat must also leave the case, so that you can only use this cooler when the airflow within your case is optimal. In cooling capacity the Mastec Triumph Deluxe disappoints. It ends up at the 9^th position.

Noctua

In our previous tests we came across this Austrian manufacturer. They manufacture huge tower cooling block on which you can mount fans. The NH-U12F is not a new development, but will now be delivered ready to be installed complete with a fan. Performance is not bad. At the lowest rpm setting the Noctua places itself in the top-5. Noise levels are average. Users can replace the installed fan or expand the cooler with a second fan.

Noctua now sells the NH-U12 cooler with a fan.

NorthQ / Scythe

NorthQ

Manufacturer NorthQ is a newcomer on the Dutch market and is distributed by the online shop Komplett. It is evidently clear that the design of the NorthQ UFO coolers is based on the Zalman CNPS-7700 series. The difference is that the NorthQ cooling-finns are corrugated to enlarge the cooling surface. The corrugation seems to impair the airflow though, because the measured cooling capacity is a bit disappointing. The UFP Copper finishes just above the average, the rest finish below. Regarding the noise levels the coolers finish below average too. Agreed, they are somewhat cheaper than the original, but that’s about it.

Nobody can deny that northQ designs are based upon those of Zalman.

Scythe

After our last cooler tests, we had a lot of complaints because we did not include Scythe. And rightfully so, because the products of this manufacturer prove to be remarkably good. The Scythe Infinity, Mine and Ninja are all three tower cooler models. Infinity and Ninja use six heatpipes, Mine uses three. All Coolers come standard with one fan. In the infinity there is room for an additional fan, the Ninja can even host up to four. This appears overkill, because all models perform very well in the standard issues. The infinity up front: regarding temperature at high rpm it finishes fourth and at low rpm setting second. Regarding noise levels it finishes in the top 5. All in all, the Scythe Infinity has the best overall test results. The Mine – at 10 Euro’s less – is not bad at all, whereas the Ninja disappoints a little. Important point is that all three coolers are very quiet, both in high- as low rpm setting. At the highest rpm settings they all end up in the top 5. Finally, the Scythe Samurai Z is a conventional cooler and scores a little less convincing.

The Scythe Mine scores points with cooling capacity, noice levels and price.

SilverStone / Spire / Thermalright

Silverstone

We tested the SilverStone Nitrogon NT04, NT05 and NT06 – three completely different coolers. The NT04 is a relatively simple AM2 socket cooler on which we will waste little words: regarding cooling capacity it scores lowest and noise level is below par as well. The NT05 is a 775 socket tower model cooler of limited proportions. On all levels it scores below average especially with noise levels. The NT06, in concept related to the Aerocool Dominator, is the only one standing out positively. At the highest rpm setting it finishes 8^th in cooling capacity. This comes with such a high noise level however that this cooler is not to be taken seriously.

With the Siverstone nitrogen NT06 earplugs are compulsory!

Spire

The Spire Verticool III is quite a hefty tower cooler, which for the most part is made out of copper and houses a 90 mm fan in the middle of the cooling block. The Spire is not really convincing, the cooling capacity hovers around the average whereas noise levels are above average. Costing 35 Euro’s is it cheaper than many high-end products, but even at this price better products are to be had as our tests shows.

The Spire Verticool III is not really convincing.

Thermalright

Thermalright specialises in cooling blocks. The SI-128 is primarily made out of aluminium and can be sued with a 12 cm fan of choice. Four very large heatpipesconduct the heat away from the CPU to a clever cooling block. In combination with the best 12 cm fan of our recent test (SilverStone SM121) the Thermalright SM-128 achieves the best result of all air coolers! It only has to allow the Titan Amanda with Peltier in front of it. The low-speed test we did with the quietest casefan out of the previous test and in this instance the cooling performance plummets. It’s a nice device for overclockers who want to create the ultimate cooler with the help of some brute force casefans, but to other people this device is less interesting. Especially when we consider the price which is 59 Euro’s.

In combination with the bese casefan of our most recent test, the Thermalright SI-128 is the best air cooler in this test.

Thermaltake / Zalman

Thermaltake

One of the successes of Thermaltake is the BigTyphoon which is used by a lot of overclockers since its introduction. The German manufacturer Typhoon did not take kindly to this success and filed a case against Thermaltake. The court ruled that Thermaltake may no longer use the name. And so the latest version carries the name BigType 120 VX and it also offers good performances. At both high- and low rpm setting the cooler finishes 6^th and the noise levels are very moderate. All in all a really recommendable device. The Blue Orb II is Thermaltakes incarnation of the Zalman fanned coolers. The cooling capacity is better but the noise level disappoints. The Sonic tower Rev 2 is a passive cooler for which we simulated the presence of an air sucking casefan. Of course the cooling performance is less than those of active coolers, but the device holds its own. The Sonic Tower works well is there is enough airflow in the pc case, in which case it’s recommendable to use it.

Thermaltake BigTyphoon as been renamed BigTyp.

Titan

The Titan Amanda is a spitting image of the Macstek Triumph.It is a public secret that this cooler is manufactured by Nacstek. Still we are more enthousiastic about this incarnation of a Peltier cooler. First and foremost because of the lack of the control panel, Titan controls the Peltier by means of a PCI card. This device has 2 integrated fans which carry the heat away from the Peltier much more easily. About the results we can be brief: the Amanda offers the best cooling capacity. Even with a 100 Watts heatproduction, the Titan keeps the temperature at 36,8 degrees. The noise level is extremely high though. It’s ideal for overclockers who are afraid to go the phase-change route, but do require a better cooling than can be supplied by a regular aircooler.

Thanks to a Peltier-element, the Titan Amanda offers the best cooling capacity.

Zalman / Zerotherm

Zalman

For two years in a row now Zalman has won our yearly award for the best CPU cooler. The Korean manufacturer obviously has built up a large amount of fans. The new CNPS-8000 looks relatively standard and is not much bigger than than a normal Intel or AMD boxed cooler. Don’t be mislead however: at highest rpm this Zalman is in the top 10 with regard to cooling capacity. The noise level however is truly un-Zalmanian.

The CNPS-9700 is the latest incarnation if the previously tested CNPS-9500. In fact it is the same cooler. It’s quite a bit larger though and this usually means better and quieter. The cooling capacity gets it into 5^th (high rpm) and 8^th (low rpm) position, an excellent achievement. Noise levels are clearly better than average. The days that Zalman was the only supplier of silent coolers however seem to be over.

The Zalman CNPS-9700 performs well, but the days of them supplying the quietest seem to be over.

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Zerotherm

The last newcomer in this test is Zerotherm, represented by 5 models. The BTF80, BRF90 and BRF95 are tower coolers with ribs in a butterfly motif – nice for the female casemodder. The BTF80 is made of aluminium, the BTF90 is made of copper and the BTF95 is a passive model. The coolers are not overly expensive, but neither are they cheap. The cooling performance of the BTF80 and the BTF90 is above expectation and average. Regarding the noise level they perform below par.

The CF800 and CF900 finally are standard coolers for the 775 socket, again made of aluminium and copper. Despite the presence of four heatpipes, we are not pleased by the cooling capacity of these models.

Nice for female casemodders: Zerotherm cooler sbuth a butterfly motif.

Graph: Temperature (high-speed)

Graph: Temperature (low-speed)

Graph: Noise level

Gold, silver, bronze

We saw CPU coolers in all sorts, colors and sizes. Best overall performance is achieved by the Scythe Infinity. In all tests regarding temperature and noise this cooler finishes among the best. At this moment it is the ideal cooler for those who value a high cooling capacity and a low noise level. Also, should you value an extremely quiet cooler, the Infinity is the cooler to go for. This cooler therefore wins our Gold Award. The Silver Awards go to the Titan Amanda and the Thermalright SI-128, both for the excellent cooling performance. Overclockers on a budget will certainly appreciate both products. Top price/performance is offered by the Cooler Master Hyper TX. At only 21 euro’s is offers excellent cooling capacity and is very quiet. Consequently Cooler Master gets the bronze.

Scythe Infinity

Thermalright SI-128
Titan Amanda

Cooler Master Hyper TX AMD
Cooler Master Hyper TX Intel