Print this article

Socket A HSF Roundup 01/2002


Date
: 01/30/02 – 01:51:26 PM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling

Page 1 : Introduction

Introduction

Let's start our roundup with a small introduction, shall we? Alright, by now, every hardware enthusiast in the world should know that every AMD CPU running at +1GHz produces quite a lot of heat when they are stressed out. And what happens to a CPU when it gets too hot? Right, it doesn't run stable anymore, you'll experience random BSODs, other crashes or the CPU might even get permanently damaged by the heat. As you probably know, AMD CPUs are very vulnerable when it comes to heat and heatsinks. That's the main reason why a good heatsink is so damn important for everyone who has a fast CPU which generates a lot of heat (I'm not just talking about AMD CPUs here). The past couple of months, O² received a few kick-ass new and less new heatsinks which we have put to the test for you guys. O² has put all results in some nice charts with the necessary comments and the result is this January CPU cooler roundup. We hope you will enjoy yourselves by reading it as much as we did by writing it.

Here's the complete list of coolers included in this month's CPU Cooler Roundup (or shootout, whatever you like to call it is fine by me) …

This month's contestants are :

- CPU Radiator ZEN
- Zalman CNPS 5000
- Zalman CNPS 6000-Cu
- Zalman CNPS 6000-AlCu
- Thermaltake Volcano7
- Vantec CCK-6027D
- T.I.T.I. Dr. Thermal
- Swiftech MCXC370
- Swiftech MCX462

Testing Method

Here's how we test all heatsinks @ O² … We tested each heatsink for about an hour with RC5 and Prime95 running together with other common used software like email, ICQ and stuff. RC5 and Prime95 is used to max out the CPU power and to let the CPU generate as much heat as possible. After an hour, we measured the temperature with that little program called Motherboard Monitor. (Check out our downloads page for links to these proggies) The next step is to turn off all the programs that were running during the stress test and see how the temperature evolves after about half an hour. That's when we measure the idle temps. I'd like to note that the sidepanels of our testrig were removed and that and no additional case cooling was turned on. By the way … this is how we always test the HSF's around here so we can compare results from various heatsinks. Ambient temps were around 20-21°C and both sidepanels of our AOpen HQ45 case were removed to ensure a good airflow to the fan(s) on the heatsinks …

Special thanks to Plycon, Vantec, Thermaltake, Swiftech, TSHeatronics Co. Ltd. and QuietPC.com for supplying us with samples ;)

Now let the fight begin!!

Page 2 : Zen CPU Radiator

The Tests

Test System :

- AOpen HQ45 Case (sidepanels removed)
- AMD Athlon Tbird 1GHz @ 1.4GHz (1.75v)
- IWill KK266plus-R Mainboard
- 384MB Crucial PC133 SDRAM
- Inno3D GeForce2 Ti Video card
- IBM 20GB UDMA100 7200rpm hard drive
- Windows XP Professional + VIA 4in1 4.35

– The Thermal Interface Material (TIM) has been removed from each heatsink before the tests –

TSHeatronics CPU Radiator ZEN

Manufacturer: TSHeatronics Co. Ltd.
Price : $100
Kindly supplied by the Plycon and TSHeatronics Co. Ltd.!

Alright, let's start with a well-known cooler, the ZEN CPU Radiator. The ZEN has already been discussed over a thousand times all over the web and all reviews have a similar conclusion : Very hard to install and way too expensive! And O² has to agree with that conclusion. Our ZEN Radiator didn't come with a manual in English (only a Japanese one, but we managed to download it on the TSHeatronics website). I don't know for you guys, but I'm going crazy by just looking at a Japanese or Chinese text. But it's not all bad of course. The unique and innovative, but rather large design consists of one aluminum radiator which is centered in the housing and will touch the CPU core and two 60mm fans spinning at 4600RPM. The Zen weighs no less than 350g which makes this cooler no lightweight, but it isn't all that heavy either. The Zen Radiator is shipped unmounted but the box contains all you need to put it together. This goes all very easy, so don't you worry about that. But then the time has come to mount the ZEN CPU cooler onto the CPU. That's the hardest part of the process because the retention mechanisme is just terrible. I wouldn't like to put this cooler on a new AMD Athlon CPU! All in all, it's good looking cooler that doesn't make to much noise and performs quite well also. The big problems here are the pricetag and the retention clip!

Performance :

Page 3 : Zalman CNPS 5000 & 6000

Zalman CNPS 5000

Manufacturer: Zalman
Price : $39.95
Kindly supplied by the Plycon!

Zalman! Do you remember their entry in the cooler market with those quiet flower-power heatsinks? We had them in one of our previous shootouts. Well, this CNPS 5000 is something completely different. The Y.S.Tech fan that Zalman chose to put on their CNSP 5000 is very loud. I'm not used to this kind of noise when I'm looking at a Zalman product. But, the fast 60mm fan is necessary to cool down the strange looking copper heatsink. What do I mean by 'strange'? Well, the heatsink is actually a bunch of fin mounted together around a center. The point in the middle serves as the shiny copper base plate. The CNPS 5000 needs to be mounted directly to the motherboard. The advantage of mounting a CPU cooler directly to the motherboard is that it sits much more solid and you don't have to worry that much about the heatsink getting knocked off the CPU socket during transportation. Because after all, the CNPS 5000 weighs over 400g. The downside is that you will have to remove the motherboard from your case to put this cooler in place.

Performance :

Zalman CNPS 6000-Cu & CNPS 6000-AlCu

Manufacturer: Zalman
Price Zalman CNPS 6000-Cu : $45.95
Price Zalman CNPS 6000-AlCu : $42.95
Kindly supplied by the QuietPC.com!

Yes, even more Zalman heatsinks folks … I will discuss these two Zalman cooler at the same time because the aluminum and copper CNPS 6000-AlCu is identical in configuration to the CNPS 6000 Cu model, but is mainly made out of aluminium instead of copper to save on cost. The CNPS 6000 series is a revision of the older Zalman flower heatsinks I talked about earlier in this article. The set of fins coming together in the base plate of the heatsink makes these coolers so special. Another weird thing is that the heatsinks don't come with a fan which is mounted directly on top of the heatsink. Nope, these Zalman CNPS 6000 coolers have a fan that needs to be attached to the screw of the AGP slot. But of course you remember this from our last Zalman cooler roundup. Both CNPS 6000 coolers are pretty heavy due to the impressive amount of copper used in the design. The alu/copper heatsink weighs about 270g while the all copper one has a weight of over 460g! Now that's a lot to attach to the CPU socket. Here's what Zalman says about it :

Zalman Tech Co., Ltd. is not responsible for any damage to a system or a CPU occurring when moving a computer with an overweight heatsink.

But don't worry, in most cases you will not have any problems with this. Let's talk about the fan some more. While the fan of the original Zalman CNPS coolers had an optional noiseless mode by using a resistor to slow down the fan, these new models have an adjustable fan speed connector (FAN MATE 1). Now you're able to adjust the RPM of the fan to fit your needs. More airflow for a faster CPU, less airflow to get a more quiet system. That's nice huh! ;) We're also very pleased with the retention clip on both heatsinks. Even my girlfriend can handle this kind of installations …

Performance :

Page 4 : Tt, Vantec & T.I.T.I.

Thermaltake Volcano7

Manufacturer: Thermaltake
Price : $23.99
Kindly supplied by the Thermaltake!

Thermaltake is a giant in the land of CPU coolers. They always try to be ahead of the competition and still produce great mid/high-performance HSFs at the lowest possible price. Today, we have one Thermaltake product in our roundup, the Volcano7. Basically, there's nothing special about the Volcano7. Well, at least nothing that we haven't seen somewhere before. The Volcano7 does use a 80mm fan with a built-in thermal sensor which is not often used on coolers with a pricetag of less than let's say $100 if you know what I mean ;) What I'm trying to say is that Thermaltake really wants to offer you something new and exciting. Here comes the Variable Fan Speed Control baby! Here's how it goes … when you power on your rig, the fan on the Volcano7 will spin at 2900RPM. And we all know that a 80mm fan spinning at 'only' 2900RPM has a very low noiselevel. But as soon as your case temperature starts to rise, the fan will speed up to a whopping 5000RPM. This increase in RPM allows the fan to deliver no less than 53CFM of airflow over the nice blue heatsink (oh, I love blue heatsinks!). The downside is of course the noiselevel of a 80mm fan spinning around at 5000RPM :( But in real life, you can't have it all, can you? I also never heard the fan slow down anymore once the fan speed had gone up. By the way, the fan is covered with a smooth looking fan bracket to prevent sliced and bleeding fingers. To conclude the chit-chat about Thermaltake's flagship, we want to say that the clipping system is very solid but you will need a right screwdriver to attach the heatsink to the CPU.

Performance :

Vantec CCK-6027D

Manufacturer: Vantec
Price : $25.95
Kindly supplied by the Vantec!

Vantec HSFs always make my heart run faster when I touch them. No seriously, Vantec has produced some kick-ass coolers so far, think about the all-copper CCK-6035D. But that doesn't nessecarilly mean that every new Vantec HSF is a good one. That's why we tend to investigate the CCK-6027D low profile cooler. First of all, the 6027D is made entirely out of copper and the outside of the heatsink is polished like hell. You can actually use it in the bathroom as a mirror to admire yourself ;) Well, I hope you know I'm just kidding here, but that's to show you how shiny the surface area really is. On top of the copper heatsink, we see a 60mm fan covered by a fan bracket and spinning at 5500RPM. While the CCK-6027D is a lot more quiet than the CCK-6035D, it'll still be way to loud for some of you. But that's the price you got to pay if you need a cool rig. The retention clip is also one of the best we've seen so far. You can attach and remove the 6027D on your CPU socket with just your thumb as a tool. Love that one!

Performance :

T.I.T.I. Dr. Thermal TI-V77

Manufacturer: T.I.T.I.
Price : $24.99
Kindly supplied by the Plycon!

Well well, doesn't this cooler sound familiar? It should be, because we had a full review of it only a couple of weeks ago. That's why I'm going to give you only a brief summary of the Dr.Thermal's specs. The TI-V77 looks like the original Thermoengine's big brother and is made out of aluminum with a copper insert at the bottom. The retention clip is very innovative and fairly easy to use! A good all-round cooler without a lot of noise … More information? Check out our full review of this cooler here!

Performance :

Page 5 : Swiftech

Swiftech MCXC370

Manufacturer: Swiftech
Price : $48
Kindly supplied by the Swiftech!

Last but certainly not least, we will discuss two of Swiftech's best coolers available today. We all know that Swiftech has products with an unseen quality level, but we also have to note that Swiftech's cooling material is very expensive! But unlike with some other heatsink manufacturers, you'll get real value for the money you invest in a Swiftech cooler. The first Swiftech we'll have a look at in today's roundup is the brandnew MCXC370. The MCXC370 is based on the same round pin design as the original MC(X)370 all-aluminum heatsink which was one of the best high-performance coolers back in the days because it even kicked some copper cooler's ass. The heatsink has a smooth full copper base plate. Compared to previous versions of the MC heatsink range from Swiftech, this MCXC370 comes with the new 3 Tab Clip Design to ensure that the heavy heatsink (482g!!) is properly attached. Remember the Swiftech clip design with the springs? Well, the MCXC370 still has that amazing clip! Just loosen up the screws and the MCXC370 will meet AMD and Intel Heatsink to CPU pressure specifications and will fit the CPU socket just fine! Too bad the fan doesn't come with a fan bracket, but hey, everyone makes mistakes :)

Performance :

Swiftech MCX462

Manufacturer: Swiftech
Price : $72.95
Kindly supplied by the Swiftech!

The Swiftech MCX462, what a mofo! Could this one be THE best heatsink known to mankind? I don't know about that, but it sure has everything to rule bigtime. Just like the MCXC370, this MCX462 also comes with a fully copper base plate. In fact, the design is very similar to that of the MCXC370 we discussed above, but there are some differences. The first one is the number of round pins on the copper base plate. This number is a little higher on our MCX462 which is understandable because the copper base plate is also a little bigger. An other difference between the two Swiftech coolers in our roundup is the fan. While the MCXC370 uses a high performance 60mm, the MCX462 is equiped with a high performance
80mm
fan that is capable of delivering a lot more airflow than the 60mm fan of course. And guess what, the 80mm fan even has a fan bracket to protect those curious fingers of yours. Now how much does this beast weigh? … no less than 730g with fan and 560g without the fan! Jesus Christ, Mother of God! That's why Swiftech chose to equip this heavy monster with a clipping system to mount the heatsink directly to the motherboard (just like we saw on the Zalman CNPS 5000 heatsink earlier in this roundup). This type of retention mechanism isn't nowhere near that easy as the MCXC370 one, but on the other hand, you are certain that the huge heatsink won't come off by accident.

Performance :

Page 6 : Conclusion

SUMMARY

Everyone has his own personal favorites and that's why there shall never be a HSF on the market this is perfect for every single one of you! That's what I always say when I'm writing a conclusion of a cooler roundup. While you want a high performance cooler at all cost, I might think a noiseless Zalman is a better solution for me .. or the other way round. That's how it always goes when you buy something important. But always keep in mind that a cooler is the most essential part of a fast AND stable rig!

The Swiftech MCX462 heatsink is the best heatsink we've ever had the chance to put to the test. The numbers speak for themselves if you ask me! Too bad, the MCX462 is so darn pricey :( But if you do have the $$$ to buy it and you plan on doing some serious overclocking, this is the heatsink to go for! The MCXC370 has also improved a little compared to previous models, but nothing to write home about really. The ZEN CPU Radiator has also managed to amaze me today. While running a lot more quiet than other coolers with similar performance, it's a good cooler that needs some redesigning and a much lower pricetag to become more popular. The Zalman CNPS 6000 coolers we talked about are able to do what they are made for, but nothing more than that. I mean, you don't have to put these things on top of an overclocked 1.4GHz Tbird with a core voltage of 1.9v!

If we think about the price/performance ratio of the coolers in this January roundup, we can come up with a TOP 3 that looks something like this one :

TOP 3

First place  : Tt Volcano7
Second place : T.I.T.I. Dr.Thermal
thirt place  : Vantec CCK-6027D

This Month's Top Performer
: Swiftech MCX462

Best low budget
: T.I.T.I. Dr.Thermal TI-V77 (not too noisy, good overall performance, great retention clip and all this at a good price)

Once more we'd like to thank Plycon, Vantec, Thermaltake, Swiftech, TSHeatronics Co. Ltd. and QuietPC.com for supplying us with review samples of their products!