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Cooler Master Susurro


Date
: 02/1/06 – 08:39:47 PM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling

Page 1 : Index

Recently we have been seeing a whole slew of new Cooler Master products including new cases, heatsinks and even new performance thermal paste!. Since the founding of Cooler Master almost 10 years ago, they have been solely dedicated to creating the industry's best thermal solutions. Today, Cooler Master not only produces thermal solutions but quality cases, power supplies, multi function panels and other various accessories.

One of today's more cumbersome problems with computing is heat and noise, and as more and more powerful components are developed the problem only gets worse. In attempts to minimize the effects of this trend, Cooler Master developed the Susurro.

Page 2 : Package

A visually appealing package is a definite must because the package is the first thing a consumer will see. Cooler Master has always done a good job with packaging and the Susurro is no exception. It comes well packed in a compact cardboard box with the standard purple and white theme. On the front the word Susurro and a picture of the heatsink is printed along with "Spirit of Silence" and the main features.

A very comprehensive list of features and specifications can be found on the side and we shall discuss them later.

The top of the package displays key features:

Apparently Cooler Master managed to develop a heatsink compatible with the socket (A)M2!

Page 3 : Specifications

Specifications from Cooler Master's website:

Socket Type:
Socket 754, 939, 940, and M2

Fan Speed:
800 ~ 2800R.P.M. (control by thermal resistor)

Fan Dimension:
?92×25 mm (compatible with 80mm fan)

Sound Pressure Level:
16 dBA @ 1 meter, average loading

Heatsink Dimension:
77x92x40 mm (LxWxH)

Bearing Type:
Rifle Bearing

Fan Life Expectancy:
50,000 hours

Heatsink Material:
98% electronic conductivity (99.97% copper purification)

Heatsink Weight:
685 g (without FAN)

Fan Weight:
75 g

Applications:
AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 5000+ and higher, AMD AthlonTM 64 FX FX-59 and higher, AMD AthlonTM 64 4200+ and higher, AMD SempronTM 3800+ and higher

And some key features, again from Cooler Master's website:

1. Support Dual Core Processor
2. Ultra silent 92mm circular fan with thermal resistor to control fan speed automatically.
3. World NO.1 solution for AMD dual core K8 (Socket M2) and Opteron CPU, especially for low
profile system.
4. Frameless fan structure design is the best silent solution for slim type system.
5. Air intakes from top and surroundings achieve excellent heat dissipation.
6. High quality copper heatsink and 92mm frameless circular fan for best cooling performance.

Rifle bearing is a new name to many of us, rifle bearing aims to take the best of both ball and sleeve bearing to create a cost effective, quiet and long lasting fan. To do so, rifle bearing fans have grooves cut into the shaft and bearings in order to recycle and retain as much oil as possible.

Page 4 : Package Contents

Opening the box, the heatsink along with instruction brochure and thermal paste are uncovered.

The contents are protected by foam pads and a thin clear plastic base. The packaging could use a bit of work, but should be sufficient unless carelessly abused.

Examining the sides it is quite evident that Cooler Master's clip mechanism is very similar to the box AMD heatsink clip.

Cooler Master includes a pre-attached 92mm rifle bearing fan. According to Cooler Master, the frameless design increases airflow while reducing noise. Attached to it is a thermal resistor which controls the speed of the fan according to temperature.

The removal of four screws allows for the removal of the fan and wire grill.

The base of the Susurro could use some work, machine marks and other light scratches are clearly visible, but should not hinder performance too much.

Before moving onto the actual installation, we will first walk through a mock installation using the retention module. This process is identical to installing the stock AMD 64/ Opteron heatsink. To begin, hook the fixed side of the mounting clip onto the retention module.

Next move onto the other side.

Ensure that the lock is in its open position and hook it over the retention module.

Lock the clip mechanism and we're done!

Now, we shall move onto the actual installation.

Page 5 : Installation

As stated earlier, installing the Susurro is much like installing the box AMD cooler; the clips are almost identical, only Cooler Master has better quality.

I will be installing the Susurro on a DFI Lanparty NF4 Ultra- D with an AMD Opteron 148.

If a cooler is already present, remove it and clean the surface of the CPU with 99% rubbing alcohol and a lint free cloth. With the surface cleaned, apply a pea sized bead of thermal paste and for this installation I used the included thermal paste.

Now that the thermal paste is applied, place the heatsink on top of the CPU and follow through the installation process described on the previous page.

Lastly, plug the fan into either a 3 pin motherboard fan header or directly into the power supply.

Now with that all done, let's move onto the fun part – testing!

Page 6 : Performance

We will begin with the system specifications:

Throughout testing the ambient temperature remained at a constant of 21 degrees Celsius.
Load temperatures were recorded after running Prime95, OCCT and Folding @ Home for three hours, idle temperatures were recorded after letting the system idle for three hours on the Window's desktop with all unnecessary tasks ended.

In all tests, Cooler Master's Susurro performed slightly worse than the stock AMD Opteron cooler despite the fact that the Susurro is a well machined copper cooler equipped with a 92mm fan. Despite these short comings, the Susurro is indeed extremely quiet – only the slight sound of air and a frequent soft clicking of the rifle bearings were audible. Though the clicking is rather bothersome, once inside a chassis the clicking is muffled and near inaudible. At full speeds the sound is still bearable and produces only a slight hum.

Page 7 : Conclusion

The final verdict for the Susurro is difficult, while its cooling abilities were not exactly impressive, it was extremely quiet. The heatsink would no doubt benefit from more surface area, a more powerful fan and a well finished base. While the heatsink is easy to install, taking around five minutes, the price of around 30 dollars makes it less than most coolers on the market but it certainly doesn't fit the bill of the Hyper 6+ beast. Though unlike the Hyper 6+ and other high performance coolers the Susurro's true advantage lies in it's size. This low profile cooler is an ideal choice for SFF's and rackmounts. In the end, the Cooler Master Susurro makes an excellent quiet stock replacement and a great choice for those looking for a low profile heatsink.

Advantages

• Quiet
• Easy installation

  Disadvantages

• Poor base

  Overclockers Online would like to thank Cooler Master for making this review possible.