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Spire VertiCool II and DiamondCool II


Date
: 05/12/06 – 03:09:14 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer: Spire
Price: ~$32, either cooler

Founded in 1991, Spire brands themselves as "a premier brand for computer thermal solutions". In order to meet the needs of the global market, they have established their production facilities in China, their corporate office in the USA, and their overseas branches in The Netherlands, U.K., Germany, France, Taiwan, Japan, and Brazil. Spire truly is a global company.

Spire's goal is to build on the current success of their name so that they are recognized worldwide as a provider of top quality cooling solutions.

On the plate today we have two new coolers from Spire, the
VertiCool II
and the
DiamondCool II
. Both make use of heatpipe technology and both promise quiet operation. But will Spire succeed in building up their name with these new coolers? Read on to find out!

Page 2 : VertiCool II

First up is the VertiCool II.

Package

The VertiCool II arrived in a colourful, generic package. Surely my use of such words together has intrigued you. While the package is indeed colourful, it is a template Spire design that varies only by size and model number, and thus, is generic.

Displayed upon the rear side are other Spire products.

On the right side, we are informed in no less than seven languages that the installation manual may be found within the box.

And finally, we have the left side, which presents a collection of somewhat generic statements. I sure hope that a CPU cooler would extend processor life! ;)

Opening the box, we can see the cooler itself, and the socket 939 mounting brackets.

Included were backplates for both socket 939 and socket 775, the aforementioned socket 939 mounting brackets, the installation manual, and a tube of thermal compound.

Overall, I felt that the packing for this product was somewhat disappointing. The CPU base was right against the cardboard, protected only by a small plastic film. Also, all the pieces were loose within the box. Providing insulation for the cooler itself and containing the smaller components would be an improvement; ensuring that even if shipped via UPS, this cooler would arrive unscathed.

Now that we know what the box looks like, we can look at some specs.

Specifications

As seen on Spire's site, here are the specifications:

And here's what Spire has to say:

Heatpipes + many fins + quiet fan. This is an excellent equation for air coolers, and is shared by many "enthusiast" level HSFs.

Now that we have an idea of what to expect from this cooler, let's take a closer look at it.

The Cooler

Let's start off with a profile shot:

Looking at the front of the VertiCool II, we see the 80mm UV reactive spider fan, rated to run at 2300RPM at a low noise level of 19dBA, delivering 25.78CFM of air flow. Behind the fan are the two heatpipes. At the bottom are the socket 775 mounting brackets, which come installed by default.

Turning the cooler, we get a better view of the two heatpipes, which are mounted on the copper base and curve upwards in a "U" shape into the 45 aluminum fins.

The topside of the VertiCool II is brandished with a blue metal cover which shows airflow direction.

What about the base? I am happy to report that the all-copper base is very smooth, with no scratches,

and is also quite reflective.

Next up: installation

Installation

Well, these socket 775 mounting brackets:

aren't going to do me any good in a socket 939 system, so off they go!

Two screws later, we have one socket 939 cooler ready to go.

At this point I noticed that one of the screws sits tight against the fan guard. This makes life a bit harder, as you will either have to remove the fan, remove your motherboard, install the heatsink, reattach the fan, and reinstall the motherboard, or attempt to use screwy angles, and awkward tension, to get this cooler installed. This design flaw could be mended by simply rotating the fan guard by half an inch.

Before we even think about installing, we'll have to remove the stock mounting bracket.

At this point, if you do not have a metal backplate, you would have to install one. As you can see, I already have one.

Next, apply a small, BB sized drop of thermal grease in the center of the CPU.

Then attach the cooler! As methods to do this were just discussed, there is no need to reiterate them.

Even though this cooler is of a decent size, there is still clearance on all sides. I found the VertiCool II to be surprisingly light for its size. This is always nice, as it reduces stress on the motherboard and potential heartbreaks.

Acoustics

I have no way to measure the actual sound output of this cooler. I can, however, tell you that it is indeed fairly quiet. With the case side panel on, this cooler is inaudible from four feet or further away, and produces only a slight "whoosh" noise if closer. No high pitched whines, merely the sound of air moving.

So far, so good. Now let's take a look at the DiamondCool II.

Page 3 : DiamondCool II

The DiamondCool II

Package

While I was writing this review, I was aiming to make it one review, but still have both sections stand on their own. However, there is a bit of overlap between the two coolers, so instead of mindlessly rehashing my comments, do read the other sections!

The front. Note that the model number is different from the VertiCool II:

The rear:

The right side:

The left side:

Opening the box we see the cooler, as well as the manual and the backplate off to one side.

Included accessories consist of a manual, a backplate, and a tube of thermal compound.

Once again, I disliked the packaging. The VertiCool II had plastic film to protect the base, but, regrettably, the DiamondCool II did not. Loose parts and an unprotected cooler base just don't go down too well.

Time for some specs.

Specifications

As seen on Spire's site:

And here's what Spire has to say:

In writing, the DiamondCool II sounds like the better of the two coolers. 4 heatpipes as opposed to 2, copper fins vs. aluminum, 55 fins vs. 45, and a 2400RPM fan vs. 2300. But specifications don't always accurately reflect real life performance. That's why we write reviews…

But enough with specifications and speculation, let's take a look at the cooler itself.

The Cooler

The DiamondCool II is certainly visually appealing! The sheer amount of copper used in this heatsink screams "heat dispersion!"

For cooling, Spire has chosen to use their UV reactive 90mm spider fan, rated to run at 2400RPM, at a noise level of 21dBA, delivering 41.14CFM of airflow.

Looking at the side, we see the four heatpipes, which attach to the base, curve, and then run through the 55 copper fins. It is an interesting design as the copper fins contact the heatpipes at both the bottom of the fins and in the middle of the fins. All other designs I've seen have the heatpipes attached to the cooler base, which then run upwards and have the fins mounted off of them.

Here we can see more clearly of what I am speaking:

And here is where the heatpipes end:

Looking at the base, we see that it is not as nice as the base on the VertiCool II.

It's still a flat and smooth base; it could just use a minor lapping job to polish it up.

Now let's install this cooler.

Installation

Seeing as how the DiamondCool II is ready for socket 939 right out of the box, there is nothing to change around. Unlike the VertiCool II, the screws are both easily accessible.

Installation involved nothing more than removing the previous heatsink, cleaning the CPU with rubbing alcohol and cotton balls, and placing the DiamondCool II in place and screwing it down. This is assuming that you have the stock mounting bracket off and a decent backplate, as discussed in the previous page.

This cooler certainly has a small footprint. You should have no spacing issues.

Acoustics

Like the VertiCool II, the DiamondCool II is respectably quiet and is inaudible from 4+ feet away when within a closed case. Without equipment to measure the actual sound output, I would have to say that both coolers are equally quiet.

Both coolers have strengths and weaknesses in different areas. Installation of the VertiCool II takes a bit more work than needs be, while the DiamondCool II could use a bit of work on the base. But how well do they actually perform? Read on to find out!

Page 4 : Testing

First of all, the test system.

The Coolers

Testing Method

Upon installing the heatsink, the system was booted and allowed to idle for five minutes while the temperature was monitored to confirm that the heatsink had been mounted properly. Next, StressPrime 2004 was run in blend mode for three hours. At the end of three hours, the temperatures of the CPU, motherboard, and hard disk were recorded as registered by SpeedFan. StressPrime was then stopped and the system idled for three hours with only normal Windows services and SpeedFan running. Once again, temperatures were recorded. The room temperature was maintained within 2 degrees of 20 degrees C throughout testing. In order to limit the variables to the CPU cooler and the room temperature, testing was done with the case side off and all extra fans disabled.

Here are the results:

As we can see, both coolers performed better than the stock cooler. However, the VertiCool II pulled ahead of the DiamondCool II. I found this interesting, as I had initially thought that the DiamondCool II would be the better of the two. Why is this not the case? I think that the reason is surface area. Heatsink performance depends on, among other things, surface area. While the VertiCool II had a fair amount of surface area, the DiamondCool II had… well, less. Going along with this idea, having heatpipes that attach to the base and bottom of the fins, and then curve slightly and go back into the fins doesn't provide much extra surface area either.

Regardless, both units run cooler than the stock equipment while producing less noise, which is something that we can all respect. But in the end, the VertiCool II is the better performer, and thus, the better cooler.

Let's wrap things up on the next page.

Page 5 : Conclusion

So how do we classify these new coolers from Spire? Considering that the cost for either HSF is ~$32 according to PriceWatch, I think that one word sums it up: balance.

Consider the VertiCool II, it remains a quiet cooler while still offering decent cooling capacities. Even though it is a larger cooler, it still remains lightweight, and it has been designed in such a way that spacing should not be an issue. No work is required on the cooler, as the base comes polished to perfection right out of the box. Those with sensitive ears will also enjoy this cooler, as its acoustic toll is low. Overall, it is a well rounded heatsink, excelling in several areas.

As for the DiamondCool II, I'd like to think of it as a younger sibling to the VertiCool II. While it shares many of the same traits as its older sibling, it does so on a smaller scale, meaning it also delivers performance on a smaller scale. This in and of itself is not a bad thing; not all coolers are equal. But considering that both coolers are available for purchase at the same price just doesn't make sense. If the DiamondCool II were cheaper than the VertiCool II, I would have no problem recommending either one, depending on your budget. But since they both cost the same, I can only recommend one: the VertiCool II.

Advantages (VertiCool II)

• Decent Performance
• Polished Base
• Lightweight
• Quiet

  Disadvantages (VertiCool II)

• Installation

  Advantages (DiamondCool II)

• Quiet
• Easy Installation

  Disadvantages (DiamondCool II)

• Performs worse than the VertiCool II

  Overclockers Online would like to thank Spire for providing the sample products.