Introduction

It’s been a while since our last big heatsink roundup, back in November 2007 we added 13 heatsinks to our performance/noise comparison database.

Between then and now we did do a couple of stand alone product reviews, 12 of them be exact; but now it’s time for a major update.

Today we’ll be testing 23 new heatsinks and comparing them to the 49 already tested in the past.

The new additions are from known names as well as new comers in the industry, we have compact and light weight heatsink, but also dual 120mm TEC powered cooling blocks. Here’s an overview of the products tested:

2PCOM PS1264U

Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme

Asus Axe Square

Asus Lion Square

Asus Royal Knight

Asus Triton 79

Asus Triton 88

Coolermaster Hyper N520

Coolermaster V10

Coolermaster V8

CoolJag Falcon 92-AL

CoolJag Falcon 92-CU

GlacialTech Igloo 5750

GlacialTech UFO V51

OCZ Gladiator Max

Prolimatech Megahalems

Scythe Mugen 2

Scythe Ninja 2

Scythe Orochi

SilenX IXC-120HA2 iXtrema

Thermolab BARAM

Titan TTC-NK35TZ

Xigmatek Thor's Hammer

22 of the coolers are visible in the group photo, the Prolimatech Megahalems arrived too late for the group shot unfortunately.

We’re using our overclocked Pentium D 3.6Ghz 90nm Prescott system for this review, so we can compare the results to those in our database.

Intel S775 (2006~2009) - Antec Sonata 2

We build a S775 system with parts from Alternate.de, the CPU is one hot running Pentium 4 524, 3.06Ghz. It is mounted on a Swiss-army knife equivalent of motherboards: an Asrock 775Dual-VSTA.



The mounting system on S775 is quite straight forward and well thought out, 4 holes around the socket serve as mounting points for the push pins on the standard Intel cooler. Installation is a snap, and removal is very easy too.



With the stock cooling and at stock voltage the 3Ghz P4 was running stable at 3.68Ghz, quite a nice improvement from default speeds.

A Watt Meter recorded peak power consumption under heavy CPU load at 138W, which is less than our previous Athlon 64 setup which consumed up to 165W. The Asrock bios lacks CPU voltage manipulation, so at default voltage is seems this Prescott setup is more power friendly then the over-volted AMD system.

We’re using a compact Antec Sonata II mid tower case, swapped out the PSU for a passive model from FSP rated at 400W, the outside of the PSU case never went past 40°C during our stress tests,

Intel S775 Setup
CPU	Pentium 4 524 @ 3628Mhz - 1.36v vcore
Mainboard	Asrock 775Dual-VSTA
Memory	1 * 512Mb Mushkin PC3200 LVLII V2
Other	Antec Sonata II with AcoustiFan DustPROOF 120mm @ 5v in the rear as outtake (mounted with soft-mounts) ATI R9000 Passive Cooling FSP ZEN 400W Passive Cooled PSU Seagate 7200.8 200Gb HDD in Scythe Quiet Drive

in-take temperature was measured at 22°C for all tests, but temp fluctuations, different mounting and user error can account up to 1-3°C of inaccuracy in the obtained results. Please keep this in mind when looking at the results. Each heatsink was tested repeatedly; if we got questionable results the test was restarted.


noise measurement: dBA meter is placed right at the edge of the case - with side panel removed

RPM of the fans was measured with a Velleman DTO6234N Tachometer

Noise level of each HSF combo was recorded with a Velleman DVM1326 Sound Level Meter, the sensor was placed ~5cm away from the side of the case with panel removed. The lowest dBA reading in the test room was 36dBA (dead quiet) with system running without HSF fan.

System was stressed by running K7 CPU Burn for 30min (after Thermal Compound's burn-in); this application pushes the temperature higher than any other application or game we've yet encountered. Speedfan was used to log maximum obtained temperatures.

Arctic Silver kindly send us their “Lumière” thermal testing compound which has the same colour as Ceramique, but only a break in time of 30min!

Arctic Silver's ArctiClean was used to clean off thermal paste of the CPU and heatsink between tests

Fans used for comparison

Delta FFB1212VHE 120x38mm Very High Speed provided by Sidewinder Computers

151CFM – 3200RPM – 12V fan

To eliminate as much variables in the tests we test each heatsink with a "reference" fan if it can be mounted.

GlobalWin NCB 120x120x25mm fan with 41.7CFM rating.

Delta NFB0912L 92x92x25mm fan with 42CFM rating.

Delta FFB1212VHE 120x120x38mm with 151CFM rating.

Four Intel stock heatsinks were also included in the tests:

Intel Reference Alu (included with older Pentium 4 S775 and Intel E2xxx)

Intel Reference Alu/Cu (included with Core 2 Duo models)

Intel Reference Alu/Cu Big (included with Core 2 Quad models)

Intel Reference Extreme (included with Core 2 Quad Extreme Models)

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With the test setup information out the way it’s time to meet our first contestant, as is custom here at Madshrimps we try to provide you with as much information possible without you having to click through 70+ pages; we’ll dedicate 1 page to each cooler which will make this article long enough; are you ready? ->

CoolJag Falcon 92-AL & 92-CU

CoolJag started making heatsink in 2001, mostly for large scale OEM, but more recently they have ventured into the enthusiast and retail market.

Cooljag is a renowned manufacturer of cooling devices specialized in the “skiving” technology. Since establishment in the year 2001, Cooljag has ventured and advanced in the field of skiving and has became a leader in mastering this technology. However, Cooljag is not self-contented for its achievements in the technology alone, and has evolved to become a thermal total solution provider. Being customer oriented and focused on thermal solutions, Cooljag targets specific thermal problems of our customers and finds the best overall solution for heat transfer, airflow, noise and cost, with all kinds of technologies. From our very own skiving technology to extrusion and even stacked fins with heat pipes, we can find and customize the best solution suited to our customers needs.

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CoolJag Falcon 92-AL & 92-CU

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CoolJag Falcon 92-AL
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2
- 92mm fan, temperature controlled
- 1250~2700rpm
- Heatsink With Fan: 487 gram
- Fan PWM Connector
- ~$40

CoolJag Falcon 92-AL
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2
- 92mm fan, temperature controlled
- 1220~2300rpm
- Heatsink With Fan: 818 gram
- Fan PWM Connector
- ~$45

Both these heatsinks share the same design, the difference being the material used and the fan speed. The 92-AL features a combination of copper base and aluminum fins, while the 92-CU is completely made from copper. The weight difference is quite big, the 92-CU almost weighing twice as heavy. The 92mm fan is temperature controlled, a small temp diode sits near the center of the fan motor. The minimum speed are similar for both models, while the maximum speed on the 92-AL is about ~400rpm higher.

They can be installed on Intel S775 with the included motherboard back plate, which means: motherboard removal. For AMD 939/AM2 the mounting clips can be used more easily without motherboard removal.



Next to the mounting gear the contents of the packages is the same, you get an installation manual with lots of pictures, there’s a small plastic bag with thermal paste and a small plastic paddle to spread the paste.



A total of four heat pipes are joined in the base, they curve upwards into a series of tightly packed fins, at the center of the fin construction sits the 92mm fan, this is a custom frameless fan, the fins actually act as part of the frame, and at the same time increase the total dissipation surface of the heatsink.



The copper base shown some sign of machine lapping, but it’s flat and quite smooth and should do the job adequately without need for manual lapping. The 92mm fan has transparent blades which come into full effect when powered on as they feature LEDs. On the last picture you can spot the small thermistor which is used to control the fan speed.



Installation on the Intel platform is quite time consuming as the access to the 4 screws is obstructed by the heatsink itself, bending gently the upper section to the left and right allows for easier access, but it is far from ideal.



Once powered on the 92mm fan lights up nicely; as you can see the compact size means little to no compatibility issues. The heat pipes orientated horizontal is the ideal position for them to work at their best.



We did a small experiment with the 92-CU, bending the top part upwards to allow the fan to blow towards the rear of the case, while performance did not suffer after this modification, it did not improve either; and with the fins blocking half of the DIMM slots not recommended.



The 92-AL is quite good, offering a better performance/noise ratio than the Intel stock coolers, the 92-CU ended up 2°C hotter while noise level is practically the same.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the CoolJag Falcon 92-AL and 92-CU heatsinks:



+ Compact size
+ acceptable performance/noise balance

- Pricey for a mid-range HSF
- Installation quite time consuming
- 92-CU offers no tangible benefit over much lighter and cheaper 92-AL

Glacialtech Igloo 5750

Glacialtech is a newcomer at the site, we have not tested any of their products yet, they have been around for a few years now, slowly emerging from the OEM market into retail.

GlacialTech Inc. was established in June 2001 by a team of 8 world-class researchers (PHDs) and three factory owners. Its technological areas of expertise include specialized thermal theory, soldering and mounting technologies, mechanism design, test and verification environment build-up and advanced conduct material development.

As a total thermal solution provider, GlacialTech is committed to using lighter weight materials, lower noise and lower manufacturing cost to deliver superior cooling solutions. All this has brought about the increased value for our customers with lighter system board loading, quiet working environment and optimal price performance. Price performance, noise performance and weight performance are our three cooling design philosophy. Having acquired ISO 9001 and 14001, GlacialTech commits itself to using green materials for its products designs and to perfecting green manufacturing processes in manufacturing its products.

GlacialTech offers two kinds of standard and customized cooling solutions. The standard cooling solutions deal with the CPU coolers for desktop and server PC system, PC case fan, VGA coolers and other accessory cooling products. The customized cooling solutions are furnished with applications for specialized PC barebones system, notebook, consumer products and telecommunication products.

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Glacialtech Igloo 5750

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Glacialtech Igloo 5750
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2/939
- 2x92mm fan
- 1400rpm
- Heatsink With Fan: 518 gram
- 3-pin Fan Connector
- ~$27

The Igloo 5750 is a top down heatsink equipped with two 92mm fans which are set up in a push-pull fashion. An overall compact heatsink which weighs in slightly over half a kilo.

The make up of the heatsink is efficient and based on familiar combination of aluminum fins, copper base and heat pipes. The Igloo 5750 features four of them joined in the based.



The 92mm fans (CHB9212ABS) use are rated at ~1400rpm our RPM meter clocked them at 1250rpm at 12v.

Installation is pretty straight forward once you have screwed the correct mounting bracket on the heatsink, for Intel it’s tool less push pins. The copper base can do with a better lapping if you want to get the most out of the HSF, machine lapping marks are quite pronounced.



Motherboard compatibility shouldn’t be a problem with the Igloo 5750, it doesn’t come near memory slots or northbridge heatsink. The ideal orientation of the heat pipes is horizontal; this also leaves the most room around the more crowded areas of the CPU socket.



For performance tests we included the Intel Stock AL and CU, as well as the Scythe ANDY which is a top-down cooler with a single 1x120mm fan.

The 92mm fans on the Igloo 5750 can be undervolted, but at 5v their rotation speed dropped to only ~425rpm, which was insufficient to properly cool the overclocked CPU.



The outcome is a lot more positive than expected, with two 92mm fans at ~1250rpm the noise generated is quite acceptable at only ~41dBA. And as it turns out, performance/noise wise, this heatsink does quite well, beating the ANDY slightly, it’s definitely better than any of the Intel Stock heatsinks.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Glacialtech Igloo 5750 heatsink:



+ Compact size
+ Good performance/noise balance
+ Competitive pricing
+ Easy installation

- Base finish needs manual lapping

Scythe Orochi

Scythe almost doesn’t need introduction here at the site, we started testing their product as far back as December 2003. For those not yet familiar with the company:

Scythe Co., Ltd., (Registered and incorporated in Tokyo Japan) originally started its business operation in Japan's famous "Akihabara Electric Town" located in the metropolitan Tokyo, where visitors can find a variety of products from the latest computer parts to the world's most advanced high-tech electric devices.
Sythe Co., Ltd., began its operation and business since November, 2002 as a distributor and the manufacturer of passive and low-noise PC parts. Since then, the company has established the R&D facility in Taiwan & China for production and quality control, and the USA office (in Los Angeles, California) & European office (in Hamburg, Germany) for customer care and sales support.
At Scythe, we believe that the best ideas for product come simply from knowing customers' needs and their expectations. Based on this philosophy, the PC enthusiasts working at Scythe know what to develop because that is exactly what we would like to have for ourselves too! We offer products with 100% quality assurance and total pride, and if the product has the Scythe name on it, you can rest assure that its quality will be up to the "Zero Tolerance" standards!

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Scythe Orochi

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Scythe Orochi
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2/939 (recently released Rev.B adds S1366 support)
- 1x140mm fan
- 500rpm
- Heatsink With Fan: 1250 gram ( 1150 gram without fan)
- 3-pin Fan Connector
- ~$50

Scythe’s heatsinks have been steadily increasing in size over the years, the Orochi is at the top of the chart in pure mass and is the one of the biggest CPU heatsink ever tested here at the site, weighing in at 1150 gram (without fan) this monster unit features 10 heat pipes which are squeezed in two layers in the copper base. Everything else is made out of the aluminum, you don’t want to imagine a copper Orochi!

Build to be used without a fan the Orochi pushes the boundaries of CPU cooling, to get the best passive cooling results the more dissipation area available, the better, so here we have a monster tower cooler which covers 20-30% of your motherboard.

While it’s nice to boast that you can cool a Core i7 passively, Scythe has also realized that even the smallest puff or forced air through the fins will drop temperatures noticeably, so they included a fan that fits with the design of the heatsink: 140mm.



The 140mm fan (SY1425SL12L) features a 3-pin connector and custom frame to reduce its size and weight. It clocks in at ~488rpm at 12v and is noiseless, even at very close distance; there’s no good reason not to use it.



The copper base features a nickel finish and is polished to perfection. In the middle photo above you can see the Orochi next to the stock Intel ALU cooler… it can fit 4 times in the Orochi and then some!

Mounting on the motherboard is solid, it has to be with this weight, a back plate is used and the clips installed on the Orochi keep it in place. Scythe made sure to clear the direct area around the CPU socket to allow for memory modules to be used on the motherboard, those with fancier memory heatsinks will have to do some improvisation though.



Getting the Orochi installed is a matter of orientation and preparation, make sure your case can handle this heatsink; we used an Antec Sonata 2 midi tower case, it was a close fit. The heat pipes were put horizontal (the only way the Orochi would fit); the 140mm could not be placed on top due to lack of space…



Fitting a normal 120mm fan is possible with the included clips, but only if your fan’s frame is flanged;

The performance comparison will be interesting, we included the Scythe Ninja CU and the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme. We equipped each heatsink with the same GlobalWin NCB 120mm fan as well as the stock fans included with the heatsinks.



The outcome is not as good as we hoped, this might be due to the less than ideal orientation of the Orochi which did not line up nicely with the exhaust fan, unfortunately due to the sheer size of the heatsink in many ATX cases it won’t be able to be installed any other way. Equipped with the stock 140mm fan (which is dead silent) the performance is acceptable. Without any fan installed the temperatures rise quickly by ~13°C, not the recommended mode of operation. With the NCB fan results are better, trailing the copper Ninja by a few degrees, the more compact Ultra-120 Extreme is noticeable better overall and comes at the same price (although without fan!)

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Scythe Orochi heatsink:



+ Noiseless cooling absolutely possible
+ Good performance/noise balance
+ Solid Installation

- Huge size will cause compatibility issues in some cases
- Passive performance less than stellar

Asus Triton 79

Asus is the Goliath in the end user computer market, they branch out from their mainboards to video cards, cases, laptops, and also CPU coolers; we feature no less than four different models in this roundup alone, all high end products with one aim: performance.

If you happen to not know Asus (chances are small, but it happens):

ASUS comes from the last four letters of Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology that represents the inspiration of art and learning. ASUS embodies the strength, creative spirit and purity symbolized by this regal and agile mythical creature, soaring to new heights of quality and innovation with each product it introduces to the market.

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Asus Triton 79

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Asus Triton 79
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2/939
- 1x120mm fan, custom design
- ~1300rpm
- Heatsink With Fan: 683 gram
- PWM Fan Connector
- ~$75

The first Asus cooler featured in this roundup goes by the name of Triton 79 “Amazing”, looking at the price it better be. This is a limited edition and comes with the most over the top product packing ever seen, you can easily re-use the package for your wife’s jewelry!

Back to the interesting part: the Triton 79 is an exquisitely finished tower cooler with four U-form heat pipes, aluminum fins, copper base, all nickel plated to give it good looks. Further *bling* is provided by the 120mm fan which is integrated in the middle and features blue LED lightening. Tachometer measured 1220rpm at 12v, 335rpm at 5v.



With most high performance tower coolers featuring 6 heat pipes nowadays, it’ll be interesting how this 4 heat pipe unit will perform, part of the performance equitation is mounting method. Asus opted for easy installation with S775 push pin mounting bracket which are attached to the Triton 79.



Now that we get a better idea of the base size compared to the push pins, it’s clear this heatsink will not be getting a S1366 mounting bracket; the base wouldn’t cover the Core i7 IHS completely. The finishing on the base leaves room for improvement; machine lapping traces are clearly visible.



Installation is plug and play and went quickly, orientation is simple, point the arrow with the word “air” written in the middle towards the rear of the case for correct airflow. The blue LED on the 120mm is quite discrete, less bright than expected.

At an expected retail price above $70 we’re pitting the Asus Triton 79 against some tough competition, Thermalright Ultra-120 and Xigmatek HDT-S1283.



Good things first, the integrated 120mm fan at full speed is moderately noisy and temperatures are quite good, out of the box a slightly better price/performance than the Xigmatek. At slow fan speed (335rpm!) there is more noise than expected, this fan doesn’t take kindly too classic undervolting, a PWM fan controller is needed. Temperatures at this low fan speed are too high.

Without the possibility to easily swap the integrated 120mm fan the testing ends here. The other two heatsink equipped with different fans are more flexible in offering the performance/noise ratio you’re looking for.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Asus Triton 79 heatsink:



+ Compact size
+ Good performance/noise balance
+ Easy installation

- Priced way too high

SilenX IXC-120HA2 iXtrema

SilenX made their first appearance on the site earlier this year, their silent fan series is quite known. They send us a direct-heatpipe-touch tower cooler which comes combined with a SilenX 120mm fan (what else!)

SilenX has been a privately-owned and operated company based in southern California since 1995. There are several research and design facilities in addition to our primary warehouse facility and our renowned technical support and customer service center. Originally a high-end systems integrator for silent computers, SilenX shifted its focus to manufacturing silent PC components in 2002 and established factories in the United States, China, and Taiwan.

Our retail products are distributed in numerous countries around the world. We also have an OEM division that manufactures fans, thermal heatsink solutions and power supplies for various applications in computing, consumer electronics and other industrial uses. Our specialty is in low noise components as we have among the lowest noise cooling equipment in the industry.

Numerous awards have been won by our products in the consumer computing world for delivering a combination of the lowest noise levels without sacrificing high performance. Reviewers from around the world have praised our products for being on the forefront of the silent PC industry. Our commitment to the finest quality makes SilenX products both reliable and competitive.

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SilenX IXC-120HA2 iXtrema

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SilenX IXC-120HA2 iXtrema
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2/939
- 1x120mm fan
- 900~1700rpm
- Heatsink With Fan: 657 gram (559gr without fan)
- 3-pin Fan Connector
- ~$50

The iXtrema is a promising looking heatsink right out of the box, 4 large heat pipes in U form, which directly touch the CPU, a series of tightly packed aluminum fins, inside the package you get one ~1428rpm @12v (810rpm@5v as measured by the Tachometer) silent fan and two sets of clips, so you can attach a second fan to the iXtrema (clips made for 25mm height fans). The SilenX fan has some soft rubber pads on the inside to reduce vibration noise. You also get a fan speed controller inside the package, which makes this whole product quite complete for $50.



Getting the heatsink installed on AMD is easy using the integrated clip, on Intel S775 the system is genius, tool-less and still a very tight fit, kudos to SilenX for the mounting system. A plastic bracket is clipped in place using push pins, basically providing you with AMD AM2 mounting on the Intel platform, so you can re-use the same metal clip; while this system still relies on plastic push pins, this method is superior the Intel standard S775 push pins. This mounting method is not unique, Zalman uses the same for S775 seen here, SilenX made it tool less.



The SilenX iXtrema allows you to easily swap fans using the included clips, we installed our GlobalWin NCB on it, but also tested the performance of the stock SilenX 120mm fan. For comparison we included the Sunbeamtech Core Contact Freezer and Xigmatek HDT-1283, both DHT (direct-heatpipe-touch) heatsink with 120mm fans.



With the stock fan at full speed the performance is very good, but noise levels are high, undervolting helps a lot to drop the noise to more acceptable level, performance only suffers slightly (3-4 °C), the iXtrema goes up evenly with the Core Contact Freezer when both are equipped with the NCB fan, the HDT-1283 however is noticeably better, no matter which fan is used and at what speed.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the SilenX IXC-120HA2 iXtrema:



+ Excellent performance/noise balance
+ Easy and secure installation
+ Fan controller included
+ Competitive price

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Cooler Master V8

Cooler Master has been in the thermal management market for years now, they have some large OEM deals which allows their design team some flexibility when it comes down to designing end user products. The end result is this V8 CPU Cooler thought up by Cooler Master US.

Cooler Master was founded with the mission of providing the industry’s best thermal solutions. Since its establishment a decade ago, the company has remained faithful to this mission, emerging as a world leader in products and services for companies dealing with devices where heat issues must be resolved.
In pursuing this mission, Cooler Master is absolutely committed to delivering solutions that precisely meet customer requirements for features, performance, and quality. Moreover, we strive to be a reliable long-term partner for our customers that they can truly depend on. It aims to be the first and foremost name that comes to mind for companies around the world seeking thermal solutions, and seeks to build such a reputation through outstanding technology, sophisticated design, and superior service.
Cooler Master’s current business encompasses a comprehensive lineup of thermal solutions for a full range of applications. Its products range from heat sinks and fans to component housing, chassis, and ducting for computers, industrial machinery, telecommunications equipment, and many other devices.

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Cooler Master V8

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Cooler Master V8
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2/939
- 1x120mm fan
- 800~1800rpm
- Heatsink With Fan: 868 gram
- PWM Fan Connector
- ~$60

This is an interesting approach to increasing surface area and performance by Cooler Master, in the middle we have a classic tower cooler which features 4 U-form heat pipes joined in a copper (nickel plated) base (machine lapped, very few traces), but then on the outside we see two extra sets of aluminum fins which each have 2 heat pipes joining the other 4 in the base, for a total of 8 heat pipes. Airflow is generated by a 120mm fan which sits in the middle; the idea is to have the air flow through the cross section of aluminum fins; a shroud at the top helps guide air, but we’re missing one at the sides which helps the air go over fins at the outside; as now the incoming air will definitely pass over the middle fins, but not necessarily that extra set of aluminum fins…

Inside the package all the mounting gear required for a very secure install, a tube of thermal paste, detailed manual, the 120mm fan features PWM connector, but also has manual fan control through a rheobus which is mounted in a spare PCI slot.



The included 120mm fan (A12025-20RB-4DP-F1) has very discrete red LED lightening , the fan can be removed and swapped, the plastic shroud is held into place by inbus-screws, when removed you can clip it to another fan as long as that one’s frame is flanged, otherwise it won’t work. The stock fan measured 2030rpm@12v, 605rpm@5v, with the included fan controller the minimum speed was only 1430rpm!



Installation uses Cooler Master tested and approved “backplate screwed on tight from the back of the motherboard” method, meaning you’ll need to completely remove the motherboard from your case in order to easily install this heatsink; it does provide for an extremely tight fit. The V8 leaves plenty of room around the CPU socket to not cause compatibility issues.



Last year at Cebit we saw the V8 prototype for the first time, we were told the V8 was designed by Cooler Master US, not too surprising with the V8 name, at the same time the EU department came up with the Hyper 212, let’s pit the two against each other:



The stock fan at full speed provides plenty of airflow and allows the V8 to close in on the Hyper 212, but not quite catching up performance/noise wise. At low speed the stock fan is noticeable less noisy, performance is ok at best. Equipped with the GlobalWin NCB the Hyper 212 proves superior by almost 4°C, at low speed the difference remains the same, the Hyper 212 in the lead. FYI, the Hyper 212 costs $20 less.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Cooler Master V8:



+ Unique design
+ Very secure installation
+ Fan controller included
+ Ok performance/noise ratio

- Price
- Swapping fans not straight forward

Scythe Ninja 2

Scythe’s second heatsink in this roundup is the successor of the immensely popular Ninja tower cooler.

Scythe Co., Ltd., (Registered and incorporated in Tokyo Japan) originally started its business operation in Japan's famous "Akihabara Electric Town" located in the metropolitan Tokyo, where visitors can find a variety of products from the latest computer parts to the world's most advanced high-tech electric devices.
Sythe Co., Ltd., began its operation and business since November, 2002 as a distributor and the manufacturer of passive and low-noise PC parts. Since then, the company has established the R&D facility in Taiwan & China for production and quality control, and the USA office (in Los Angeles, California) & European office (in Hamburg, Germany) for customer care and sales support.
At Scythe, we believe that the best ideas for product come simply from knowing customers' needs and their expectations. Based on this philosophy, the PC enthusiasts working at Scythe know what to develop because that is exactly what we would like to have for ourselves too! We offer products with 100% quality assurance and total pride, and if the product has the Scythe name on it, you can rest assure that its quality will be up to the "Zero Tolerance" standards!

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Scythe Ninja 2

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Scythe Ninja 2
- Intel S478/S775 /AMD AM2/939 (Core i7 with $9 mounting kit)
- 1x120mm fan
- 1000rpm
- Heatsink With Fan: 849 gram (without fan: 732gr)
- PWM Fan Connector
- ~$40

The original Ninja was Scythe’s first widely popular heat pipe tower cooler available, it combined a sharp price with excellent low-noise performance. The Ninja 2 tweaks the design of the original with new mounting method and includes a low noise fan.



The design of the Ninja has changed only slightly, the heat pipes are more evenly spread over the surface area, there’s still enough room to fit multiple 120mm fans, although you only get clips for one (25 height fans only!). The copper base is machine lapped and polished, with only few traces visible. The included fan (SY1225SL12LM) runs at 1050rpm@12v and 570rpm@5v, this series of fans scored very high in our 120mm fan roundup.

Scythe included mounting brackets for Intel S478 and AMD S939; the Intel S775 and Core i7 (not included) brackets feature push pins, while this makes installation very easy, for a heatsink weighing in close to 900gram a bolt-through mechanism is preferred. With the fan installed on the Ninja 2 you might block the first DIMM on your motherboard if it’s close to the CPU socket, you can slide the fan upwards a bit so it will make room for normal DDR2/3 sticks.



We tested the Ninja 2 against the original Ninja as well as the 1kg Copper Ninja; we used the stock fans as well as our reference fans.



With the stock fan installed the Ninja 2 delivers impressive cooling performance at very low noise level, out of the box at 12v this fan is simply stellar. Undervolted it remains equally impressive, matching our reference NCB fan. Comparing the performance of the Ninja 2 to the original we see ~1°C difference with the NCB@12v, at 5v the order is reversed, so basically they are on par. Compared to the Ninja CU the Ninja 2 does good, trailing only a few degrees in our tests.

For the last test we slapped on the Titan 115CFM fan which is close to 6x louder than the Ninja 2 stock fan, but it only dropped the temperature by a measly 2.5°C, this heatsink is not optimized for high speed fans, that’s for sure.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Scythe Ninja 2:



+ Good performance/noise ratio
+ Excellent 120mm fan included
+ Competitive Price
+ Passive operation

- Plastic Push Pin installation on S775/S1366 not ideal

ThermoLab BARAM

Korean company ThermoLab sends us their latest high end tower cooler build for S775 and S1366. They are a newcomer to the end-user cooling market, and they are aiming to make a splash with their first product, the BARAM.

Google Translated About Page. Active since 2003 it was only in 2007 when they concentrated on heat pipe technology, last year they released their first high end product which aims to remove up to 200W of heat

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ThermoLab BARAM

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ThermoLab BARAM
- Intel S775/S1366 /AMD AM2/939
- Heatsink : 640 gram
- ~$53

The BARAM comes in a bland unremarkable packaging; inside there are however plenty of goodies, next to the metal brackets you’ll also find a detailed installation manual, a tube of thermal paste and clips to mount up to 2x120mm fans to the BARAM, these fans must have flanged frame though.

A total of 5 heatpipes are joined in a copper base (which has an almost perfect mirror finish), the aluminum fins are cut quite uniquely , most likely to improve turbulence and surface area; whether or not it has worked the test results will reveal.



Installation takes a few minutes but you’ll end up with a very secure fit, although the BARAM only weighs 640 gram, the bolt-through mounting method will ensure enough pressure for perfect contact. A metal bracket at the rear of the motherboard makes sure the PCB is not bend out of shape.



This heatsink is meant for those looking for extreme performance, it is shipped without fan so you must purchase your own, and this increases the overall cost. We put it head two head with its main competitor: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme.



Coupled with the extremely noise and high performance Delta 3200rpm 120mm fan the outcome is very promising, the BARAM only trails the Ultra-120 Extreme by 1°C, which is negligible. As the CFM decreases, the difference increases in favor of the TRUE, with the NCB @ low speed the BARAM proves it is capable of silently cooling your PC setup, but it is designed to be used with higher performance fans.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the ThermoLab BARAM:



+ Excellent Performance With high CFM fans
+ Solid bolt-through mounting method
+ Clips for 2x120mm fans

- Not ideal for low noise computing
- Price

Xigmatek Thor’s Hammer S126384

Xigmatek send us their first enthusiast grade products last year, they specialize in Heatpipe-Direct-Technology, their HDT-S1283 proved that low cost and high performance is quite possible. That product featured 3 heatpipes, the Thor’s Hammer tested today is monster in comparison: 7 heat pipes in total (of which 3 with slightly smaller diameter).

Purpose and targets of becoming one of the worlds leaders in thermal PC Industry were set for Xigmatek Co. Ltd in 2005, the founding year! To ensure reaching this project aims, Xigmateks management followed up with hard work, experiences and customer friendly business style.
Honing one of the world’s most efficient manufacturing operations, Integration Presence in major economic regions, being tied up with most important strategic alliances between suppliers and academia and further majority investments in R&D are some of Xigmateks aggressive incensement strategies.
Combining the cream of product designers, R&D engineers and technical people (main team in Germany) Xigmatek is proud and full of confidence to offer excellent quality products and service to cover the customers requirements and demands.
Within the standard channels as the consumer market and the distributing electrical appliances, Xigmatek will keep on focusing on development and set up even new sales channels to comply ever-changing demands and requirements.
Several years of experiences company background in Thermal IT industry provides our customer the best, reliable, environmental and performing Thermal/Cooling Systems including excellent Service to fulfill global users and customers demands.

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Xigmatek Thor’s Hammer S126384

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Xigmatek Thor’s Hammer S126384
- Intel S775/S1366 /AMD AM2/939
- Heatsink : 820 gram
- ~$65

When Xigmatek first approached us for reviewing this heatsink they were quite secretive, promising something completely insane compared to their previous S1283 product. How right they were. The Thor’s Hammer is quite a work of engineering art and wouldn’t look out of place behind a glass panel in your living room. The attention to detail on this heatsink is quite high, going from the strangely cut aluminum fins, the dual layer of heat pipes, the fan mounting method and the overall nickel plated finish all over this heatsink. Simply put, it’s a sight to behold.

A total of four large heat pipes make up the heatpipe-direct-touch base, while an additional 3 slightly smaller heat pipes make up the second layer; these heat pipes go up into an immense array of aluminum fins; a very unique approach to increase total cooling capacity; Xigmatek rates this unit up to 200W.



Inside the package a detailed manual, mounting clips and motherboard back plate, also a small English key and a total of 8 rubber fan mounts, so you can mount up to two 120mm fans, as long as they have flanged frames.

The Thor takes up quite a bit of room over the CPU socket, installation is straight forward but requires some time, only 2 of the 4 mounting screws can be accessed with the screw driver, the remaining two you’ll need to screw on tight using the included English key. A small note on thermal compound appliance, a dot in the middle does not work correctly with HDT heatsinks, you’ll need to draw a few lines in the orientation of the heat pipes to ensure proper contact. In our testing the difference between “dot in the middle” vs “lines” method was ~2°C. So a very worthy “tweak” to maximize performance!



Time for the performance tests, we mounted three different fans on the Thor and put it up against the Ultra-120 eXtreme and their own HDT-S1283



With high CFM fans the differences become immensely small, the Thor’s Hammer is one of a small group of heatsinks we tested which was able to match the Ultra-120 Extreme with the Delta 3200rpm; With the Global NCB performance/noise is very respectable but not able to beat the more affordable HDT-S1283; this heatsink is meant for the ultra high end and it will take an overclocked Core i7 to really see the benefit of those extra heat pipes.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Xigmatek Thor’s Hammer S126384:



+ Extreme Performance With high CFM fans
+ Good Performance/noise with mid-range CFM fans
+ Solid bolt-through mounting method
+ Mounting for 2x120mm fans

- Price

Scythe Mugen 2

Scythe’s third new product in this roundup is the Mugen 2 which is the successor of the Infinity tower heatsink, which was later renamed to Mugen. While the dimensions are similar to their Ninja heatsink, this one has more aluminum fins and a different heat pipe layout;

Scythe Co., Ltd., (Registered and incorporated in Tokyo Japan) originally started its business operation in Japan's famous "Akihabara Electric Town" located in the metropolitan Tokyo, where visitors can find a variety of products from the latest computer parts to the world's most advanced high-tech electric devices.
Sythe Co., Ltd., began its operation and business since November, 2002 as a distributor and the manufacturer of passive and low-noise PC parts. Since then, the company has established the R&D facility in Taiwan & China for production and quality control, and the USA office (in Los Angeles, California) & European office (in Hamburg, Germany) for customer care and sales support.
At Scythe, we believe that the best ideas for product come simply from knowing customers' needs and their expectations. Based on this philosophy, the PC enthusiasts working at Scythe know what to develop because that is exactly what we would like to have for ourselves too! We offer products with 100% quality assurance and total pride, and if the product has the Scythe name on it, you can rest assure that its quality will be up to the "Zero Tolerance" standards!

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Scythe Mugen 2

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Scythe Mugen 2
- Intel S478/S775/S1366 /AMD AM2/939
- Heatsink : 884 gram (772gr without fan)
- 1300rpm 120mm PWM fan
- ~$40

The Mugen 2 is one of the first Scythe heatsink which comes with their new multiplatform mounting kit, which adds S1366 support and does away with push pin installation. The heatsink is made up of 5 heat pipes joined in a copper base which has a mirror finish. The aluminum fins do not span the entire wide of the heatsink, instead they are grouped by 1 heat pipe each. If you take a look at the photo above ^ you can see that cardboard cutouts keep them in their place during shipping.

Scythe includes a 120mm PWM fan (SY1225SL12LM-P) in the box rated at 1300rpm, the tachometer measured 1290rpm at 12v, undervolting this PWM fan did not quite work, best to use the motherboards PWM connector and use the BIOS’s fan speed control.

Inside the package you’ll find a detailed manual, a small bag of thermal paste, the new mounting kit, one set of fan clips for 120x120x25mm fans (you can mount up to two 120mm fans, but only one set of clips is included)



Installation was not as easy as hoped, you have to screw the heatsink in place from the rear of the motherboard, lining up the heatsink with the holes on the motherboard and doing it all proper took quite a bit of time; the final fit provides a solid mounting, but the system can be tweaked a bit for easy-of-use, there’s room for improvement.



We’ll compare the performance of the Mugen 2 to the Ninja 2 as well as the original Ultra-120 (none eXtreme). Both Mugen 2 and Ninja 2 are priced the same so the outcome will be interesting:



The included PWM fan is quite good at full speed, offering a superior performance/noise ratio than our reference NCB@12v. Compared to the Ninja 2 the Mugen 2’s fan is slightly noisier, but the Mugen 2 also cools slightly better. Equipped with our reference fans the results are slightly in favor of the Mugen 2, even at low fan speed the Mugen 2 manages to edge out. Only in the passive test it proves less efficient than the Ninja 2.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Scythe Mugen 2:



+ Good Performance/noise ratio
+ Included 120mm PWM fan is quite good
+ Solid bolt-through multi-platform mounting method
+ Better than Ninja 2 at high and low CFM
+ Competitive price

- Installation can be cumbersome

OCZ Gladiator MAX

OCZ send us their latest air cooler, the big brother of the Gladiator 92mm HSF. The MAX features 120mm fan support, 4 heat pipes which touch directly the CPU IHS. OCZ’s core business has been and still is PC memory; but they’ve branched out successfully into other areas, we previously tested their Vendetta series of CPU coolers are were quite pleased by the value and performance offered.

Entering the memory market in August 2000, OCZ Technology was built around the determination to manufacture the best high speed DDR and RDRAM. OCZ was founded by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts, and our commitment to the end-user has not digressed. OCZ Technology has been an innovator in many areas. We were the first manufacturer to make Dual Channel optimized memory available to the public, which originally took advantage of nVidia's Twinbank or Dual DDR architecture, found in their nForce chipset. We have now taken that technology and tailored it for the Canterwood, and Granite Bay chipset's. OCZ developed and was the first to implement ULN technology, which has been a critical element in our manufacturing process for some time. We at OCZ diligently work to improve communication with CPU and motherboard chipset manufacturers prior to the release of their products. Only in this manner can we fine-tune our memory's SPD settings, ensuring a synergistic relationship between the memory module, memory controller, and microprocessor. In today’s rapidly evolving semiconductor industry, such communication is not simply research, but a necessary component of our manufacturing process.

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OCZ Gladiator MAX

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OCZ Gladiator MAX
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2/939 (S1366 with separate $10 mounting kit)
- Heatsink : 717 gram (557gr without fan)
- 800~1500rpm 120mm PWM fan
- ~$40

The Gladiator Max is a supercharged version of the Vendetta 2, they have plenty of features in common, fan mounting method, fin design and layout, the fan (AD1212DX-A7BGL) is also the same one as on the Vendetta 2, a re-badged Arctic-Cooling AF12025 PWM. The main difference then is the extra heat pipe.

Inside the standard package you find a small bag of thermal paste, installation manual, push pin mounting for S775 and clip for AM2/S939. The separately available ForceII accessory adds bolt-through mounting for S775 and S1366. For those paying attention, the Xigmatek Thor’s Hammer features the same mounting kit; revealing the original OEM of recent OCZ HSF series.



Standard installation on S775 with the push-pins is very easy and takes only a few minutes. The bolt through method takes only a few extra minutes but does deliver a much tighter fit. The Gladiator is quite compact and won’t pose any compatibility issues, with plenty of room around the socket left.



OCZ has never shied away from competition, so we’ll put it up against Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and Thermalright Ultra-120 extreme



We used the bolt-through kit for all tests except one, we did one test with the Push-Pins mounting method, marked (PP) in the chart; with the stock fan the difference in heatsink mounting is good for a 1.5°C drop in CPU temperature. The stock fan offers a good performance/noise ratio, not quite silent at 12v though, but beating the NCB at 12v. At low fan speed the Gladiator MAX is quite good, matching performance of the Ultra-120 Extreme. With more extreme cooling (Delta 3200rpm) the performance is stellar, only trailing the TRUE by a few degrees. Overall price/performance/noise not as good as the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 but a close second!

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the OCZ Gladiator MAX:



+ Good Performance/noise ratio
+ Easy installation, either with push pins or bolt-through kit
+ Competitive price

- Bolt-through kit not standard

Asus Royal Knight

The second Asus heatsink in the roundup is a top-down unit made from full copper with custom 120mm white LED fan integrated.

ASUS comes from the last four letters of Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology that represents the inspiration of art and learning. ASUS embodies the strength, creative spirit and purity symbolized by this regal and agile mythical creature, soaring to new heights of quality and innovation with each product it introduces to the market.

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Asus Royal Knight

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Asus Royal Knight
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2/939
- Heatsink : 795 gram
- 800~1300rpm 120mm PWM fan
- ~$60

The Asus Royal Knight is a weighty full copper heatsink, the copper base (with small traces of machine lapping) the 6 heat pipes and large series of fins are combined in a top-down fashion, the integrated 120mm fan pushes air directly onto the motherboard through the HSF fins. The fan frame is made up part heatsink fins part plastic with a royal emblem on the side.



The integrated 120mm fan measured 1290rpm at 12v, but only 356rpm at 5v, not enough to keep the CPU from overheating, undervolting is best done through the motherboard’s PWM fan control.

Installation is plug and play thanks to the push-pin installation for S775, while the heatsink is quite big there’s enough clearance around the CPU socket to avoid issues.



The price of the Royal Knight puts in the high-end bracket, we compared it to the Thermalright SI-128SE which comes at ~$50 without fan, a quality fan will increase total price on par with the Royal Knight:



The performance of the Royal Knight is acceptable, the fan is noticeable when running at full speed; compared to the SI-128SE the Royal Knight does trail quite a bit, the all copper design doesn’t prove superior.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Asus Royal Knight:



+ Acceptable Performance/noise ratio
+ Easy installation

- High price

2PCOM PS1264U

PC-Cooling.de send us the 2PCOM low cost (€24) tower heatsink with codename PS1264U, a mix of copper base, heatpipes and aluminum fins, large enough to fit 120mm fan, puts it straight into the heart of the competition.


This product review was made possible by PC-Cooling

2PCOM was founded in 2007 from Priority Pioneer Co. Ltd. 2PCOM is a new brand to offer the outstanding IT peripherals, accessories and consumer electronics. Our head quarter is located in Taiwan, China branch office is located in Guan Dong and factory is located in Guan Dong, too.

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2PCOM PS1264U

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2PCOM PS1264U
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2/939
- Heatsink : 570 gram (426gr without fan)
- 700~2300rpm 120mm PWM fan
- ~€24

The PS1264U (they really need to come with a more user-friendly name) is quite a light weight, but features all the necessary ingredients of a high end product, 4 heat pipes which directly touch the CPU’s IHS, a series of compact aluminum fins (with extra fins at the rear to deflect airflow to the motherboard power circuitry) and a high speed 120mm PWM fan.

Inside the package you’ll find a bag of thermal paste and plastic paddle, a detailed installation manual, and mounting gear for AMD/Intel platforms. The fan is mounted on the heatsink with two metal clips, they work with any 120x120x25mm fan. The 120mm fan (DT1212HSHP) runs at 2400rpm@12v and 593rpm@5v, that’s quite a range to choose from, going from high end CFM to dead quiet low CFM.



The attention to detail on the heatsink is acceptable, the base shows clear signs of machine lapping, the aluminum fins are slightly thinner than seen on competitive products, looking at the price of the PS1264U these things can be easily forgiven.

Installation is plug and play on both AMD/Intel products, the S775 mounting uses the Intel push-pin method. As this tower cooler is not very big there is no compatibility issues at all, plenty of space around the CPU socket left.



This is one of the most affordable heatsinks tested in this roundup, at €24 there not a lot of other tower coolers available that have 120mm fan support or HDT technology, in fact there are none at this price. Finding an enthusiast cooler at that price is quite hard actually, the Freezer 7 Pro from Arctic-Cooling is the only real competitor so let us compare the PS1264U with that one, we’ll also throw in the Ultra-120 which costs almost twice as much, just to see how they all stack up:



Going by the performance numbers alone we can see that the PS1264U does pretty ok, not as good as a more expensive HDT cooler, but far from bad either, the included fan is definitely loud at full speed, performance is quite good with high CFM fans. If you want lower noise the stock fan can also provide, it’s much better than the Freezer 7 Pro and coupled with the reference 120mm NCB fan the PS1264U is only 5-6°C behind the Ultra-120. Now take into account the fact that this cooler is extremely affordable and those performance/noise numbers are very impressive.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the 2PCOM PS1264U:



+ Good Performance/noise ratio
+ Easy installation
+ Extremely competitively priced

- unpronounceable product name?

Asus Triton 88

Asus third heatsink in this roundup is Core i7 ready, the latest in the Triton series packs quite a punch with 6 heat pipes and room to mount up to three 120mm fans.

ASUS comes from the last four letters of Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology that represents the inspiration of art and learning. ASUS embodies the strength, creative spirit and purity symbolized by this regal and agile mythical creature, soaring to new heights of quality and innovation with each product it introduces to the market.

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Asus Triton 88

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Asus Triton 88
- Intel S775/S1366 / AMD AM2/939
- Heatsink : 889 gram
- 800~2100rpm 120mm PWM fan
- ~€47

This is one of the more affordable Asus coolers in this roundup, it’s a tower cooler design which comes with a custom 120mm installed in the middle, inside the package you’ll also find extra clips to mount an additional two 120mm fans. The mounting kit included is a bolt-through mechanism for the Intel platforms, while a simple clip is all that’s needed for AMD.

A total of 6 heat pipes are packed together in a copper base with excellent nickel plated finish , the aluminum fins received the same treatment to give the whole a classy look. The Triton 88 is quite large; each separate fin column is as large as some of the other coolers tested.

The custom fan runs at ~2210rpm@12v according to the tachometer, undervolting is best done with Bios Q-Fan as this PWM fan doesn’t react very good to normal undervolting.



Installation on Intel takes quite a bit of time as the access to the 4 mounting screws is blocked by the heatsink, so you’ll have to use the included English key which increases installation time quite a bit. In the end you do have a very tight fit, this ~900gr HSF won’t come off by accident.

When powered on the included fan emits a small blue light, quite discrete. Clipping on an extra 120mm is made easy with the large metal clips which work with any 120x120x25mm fan.



Since we didn’t swap the standard fan, or were able to successfully undervolt it the noise measurements will be quite high for the Triton 88, the stock fan at 2200rpm makes quite a bit of noise; we put it up against another high end heatsink, the Ultra-120 from Thermalright:



The Triton 88 definitely delivers in the performance area, with the stock fan at full speed temperatures are very good, adding an additional high CFM fan the CPU temp drops another few degrees, and closes in on the Ultra-120. With the potential to mount a third 120mm fan this heatsink is definitely high end.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Asus Triton 88:



+ Excellent performance with high CFM fans
+ Solid Mounting Method
+ Competitive pricing (you have to shop around a bit though!)
+ Up to three 120mm fans can be installed

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Titan TTC-NK35TZ

Titan has been around for quite some time now, they moved from OEM to retail a few years back with plenty of price/performance competitive products. They send us their latest compact tower cooler which features easy installation and new 92mm PWM fan.

TITAN Technology Limited was established in Taiwan by a group of progressive and experienced engineers in their respective fields. Since our establishment with over 16 years of manufacturing experience with high quality cooling devices for various kinds of PCs, we have successfully gained worldwide recognition for our innovative designs.

TITAN is headquartered in Taiwan and has its own two factories, total approximate 20,000 square meters. Both are located in Guang Dong- China, China. There are around 1200 employees, which provide combined efforts a production capacity of output 1.2 million units per month. TITAN is also leading manufacturer of various thermal products such as: CPU Coolers, VGA Coolers, H.D.D coolers, System Blowers, D.C fans, Heatsinks in comprehensive solution of cooling systems in different applications of PC systems. We have just launched the newest design; the superior water cooling kit(case), annual sales US$57,000,000 combined water and air-cooling in the world; the performance is excellent to reduce heat problems and operates at minimal noise levels. To keep advance with the fast changing market; new models are launched every 1-2 months to meet your requirements.

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Titan TTC-NK35TZ

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Titan TTC-NK35TZ
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2/939
- Heatsink : 571 gram (499 gr without fan)
- 900~2800rpm 92mm PWM fan
- ~€18

We tested the AMD only version 3 years ago, not much has changed since then, there’s a new mounting for S775, a metal clip for AMD platform, the fan is a new design, 92mm PWM (TFD-9525H12ZP) which measured 2651rpm@12v ,1128rpm@5v, you can swap the fan if you have a flanged 92mm available.

The design of the heatsink is straight forward, 3 U-form heat pipes joined in a copper base transport heat to the aluminum fins. The copper base shows clear signs of machine lapping but is flat. Inside the package you’ll find a small tube of thermal paste to help work away the imperfections.



It’s compact size and light weight makes it ideal candidate for push-pin installation, straight forward and good enough for a solid fit.



The Titan TTC-NK35TZ is priced very competitively, below €20 the only real competitor is the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro:



The stock fan is noisy at full speed, which was expected, performance of the NK35TZ is on par with the Freezer 7 Pro, although at full speed the performance/noise ratio is not as good; undervolted the outcome is more promising, here the Titan is quieter than the Freezer 7 while only trailing by a measly 0.5°C.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Titan TTC-NK35TZ:



+ Acceptable performance/noise balance
+ Easy Installation
+ Very competitive pricing

- Product name unpronounceable

Cooler Master Hyper N520

Cooler Master’s second cooler in this roundup is a dual 92mm fan compact unit which carries the popular Hyper name; it’s LGA1366 ready so it better be able to handle the heat of a paltry Pentium 4!

Cooler Master was founded with the mission of providing the industry’s best thermal solutions. Since its establishment a decade ago, the company has remained faithful to this mission, emerging as a world leader in products and services for companies dealing with devices where heat issues must be resolved.

In pursuing this mission, Cooler Master is absolutely committed to delivering solutions that precisely meet customer requirements for features, performance, and quality. Moreover, we strive to be a reliable long-term partner for our customers that they can truly depend on. It aims to be the first and foremost name that comes to mind for companies around the world seeking thermal solutions, and seeks to build such a reputation through outstanding technology, sophisticated design, and superior service.
Cooler Master’s current business encompasses a comprehensive lineup of thermal solutions for a full range of applications. Its products range from heat sinks and fans to component housing, chassis, and ducting for computers, industrial machinery, telecommunications equipment, and many other devices.

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Cooler Master Hyper N520

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Cooler Master Hyper N520
- Intel S775/S1366 / AMD AM2/939
- Heatsink : 571 gram (499 gr without fan)
- 2x92mm fans, each rated at 1800rpm
- ~$40

The Hyper N520 comes with plenty of mounting accessories for all current AMD/Intel platforms out there; you also get a detailed instruction manual and small tube of thermal paste.

The heatsink itself is a compact tower cooler which features two custom 92mm fans (A9225-18CB-3BN-L1) which have an open frame, they are set up in a push/pull configuration. There are a total of 4 heat pipes at each side joined in a copper base which has a very good finish. Strangely enough the two 92mm fans are not set up in a direct line, they are slightly mis-aligned as they don’t span the whole width of the N520.

The design of these 92mm fans we saw first used by Cooler Master on one of their first Hyper series heatsinks, the Hyper 48 released in 2005. These are rebadged Delta fans, the new ones feature a higher RPM than the one from 2005 which was rated at 1400rpm, the new ones: 1800rpm. We measured 1670rpm@12v and 671rpm@5v. You can replace the fans on this heatsink by removing the mounting screws, but seeing as they offer a nice RPM range and have a good performance/noise ratio, it’s not recommended.




The mounting method of the latest generations of Cooler Master HSF are identical when bolt-through kits are included, you have to secure the N520 in place from the rear of the motherboard using the included inbus-key and metal backplate. While this method takes some time, it ensures a proper fit.



The Hyper series got a very strong member at the end of 2006: the Hyper TX: a compact tower cooler with 3 heat pipes and single 92mm fan. Its performance was above par and became a favorite here at the site. A new Hyper series model will have to match up to it, at the least. We’ll also include the OCZ Vendetta which features 92mm fan and comes at a price approx $10 lower than the Hyper N520.



At full speed the two 92mm fans are very audible, performance numbers are quite good, not able to match the Hyper TX performance/noise wise, but a very close call. Undervolted the noise level drops considerably, borderline dead quiet, performance is still acceptable, slightly better than the TX. Overall though the N520 with its two fans fails to improve on the single fan Hyper TX we tested years ago.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Cooler Master Hyper N520:



+ Acceptable performance/noise balance
+ Solid installation method

- Price

Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme

Arctic-Cooling can be considered as one of the companies responsible for the push towards silent PC cooling; they first made name with their Silencer series for VGA cards, while later on their Freezer CPU cooler series provided low cost products with very good performance/noise ratio. Their latest product is no entry level unit though, PC-Cooling.de provided us with the Freezer Xtreme which features 4 large heat pipes and custom 120mm fan.


This product review was made possible by PC-Cooling

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Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme

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Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2/939 (Rev 2 adds S1366 support)
- Heatsink : 722 gram (574 gr without fan)
- 800-1500rpm Custom 120mm PWM fan
- ~$35

The Freezer Xtreme comes in minimalist packaging, there are but a few essentials inside the plastic container, mounting bracket and clips for installation and a manual. There’s no thermal paste included as Arctic-Cooling pre-applied a layer of their MX-2 on the base. Once this paste is removed we’re met with a copper base which shows only few signs of machine lapping; in it are joined 4 U-form heat pipes which move the heat to the large arrays of aluminum fins. In the middle we find a 120mm PWM fan with custom frame and mounting, it measured 1475rpm@12v, 731rpm@5v. It’s possible to swap it with your own fan, but you’ll have to improvise on securing that fan.



Installation according to the manual is very easy, on AMD you just use the included clips; on Intel you first install the plastic bracket and then screw the heatsink in place. Getting the plastic plugs completely pushed down requires a screw driver (placed as seen in the picture below), once you’ve figured that out you need to remove the 120mm fan and screw the Xtreme in place, this takes a bit of force as the screws are not very long and the two metal clips are bend upwards quite a bit. In the end we did get the Freezer Xtreme installed, but the whole installation method can be much simplified. We suggest push-pins for the bracket as seen with the SilenX, and longer screws.



We compare the performance of the Xtreme to the Freezer 7 Pro, as well as the lower priced 2PCOM PS1264U:



Well this turned out disappointing, with the stock fan the Freezer Xtreme is running quite hot and is not silent at all. The cheaper Freezer 7 Pro is noticeably better at different fan speeds. Compared to the PS1264U the Xtreme stands no chance… until you switch the stock fan, we paired the Xtreme with the high Titan CFM fan and performance went upwards by a huge amount, while this fan is very noisy, its shows that the tightly packed aluminum fins on the Freezer Xtreme are made for high CFM, not low CFM, the stock 120mm fan is not the ideal partner of this heatsink, far from it.

We re-tested the heatsink several times and each time the temperatures with the stock fan were quite high. Maybe we had a broken sample? Not likely… our Freezer Xtreme was approximately ~8°C hotter than the Freezer 7 Pro, while noise level wise it was ~4dBA quieter. We compared our results with those from this huge 68 CPU cooler roundup done by German colleague reviewers; their findings:

7 pro
Resultierende Differenz: 20,215 °C
Lautstärke: 45,9 dB/A

Xtreme
Resultierende Differenz: 26,318 K
Lautstärke: 45,2 dB/A

A 6°C difference in favor of the 7 Pro, quite close to our findings.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme:



+ Acceptable performance with high speed fans
+ Affordable price

- Cumbersome installation
- Disappointing performance
- Included fan noisy at full speed

Glacialtech UFO V51 Silent

Glacialtech second entry is also a dual 92mm fan solution, although noticeably bigger than the Igloo.

GlacialTech Inc. was established in June 2001 by a team of 8 world-class researchers (PHDs) and three factory owners. Its technological areas of expertise include specialized thermal theory, soldering and mounting technologies, mechanism design, test and verification environment build-up and advanced conduct material development.

As a total thermal solution provider, GlacialTech is committed to using lighter weight materials, lower noise and lower manufacturing cost to deliver superior cooling solutions. All this has brought about the increased value for our customers with lighter system board loading, quiet working environment and optimal price performance. Price performance, noise performance and weight performance are our three cooling design philosophy. Having acquired ISO 9001 and 14001, GlacialTech commits itself to using green materials for its products designs and to perfecting green manufacturing processes in manufacturing its products.

GlacialTech offers two kinds of standard and customized cooling solutions. The standard cooling solutions deal with the CPU coolers for desktop and server PC system, PC case fan, VGA coolers and other accessory cooling products. The customized cooling solutions are furnished with applications for specialized PC barebones system, notebook, consumer products and telecommunication products.

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Glacialtech UFO V51

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Glacialtech UFO V51
- Intel S775/S1366 / AMD AM2/939
- Heatsink : 804 gram
- Two 92mm fans rated at 1600rpm
- No Price Info Available

The UFO V51 comes in two versions, one with PWM fan, rated at 800~2500rpm or the normal one we’re testing, which has a 3-pin connector and is rated at 1600rpm (measured 1630rpm@12v, 624rpm@5v).

Inside the package you’ll find mounting brackets for all the popular AMD/Intel platforms out there, including S1366. The thermal paste is provided in a small plastic bottle. The user manual is quite detailed.

The heatsink features nickel plated copper base (with mirror finish!), 4 heat pipes transport the heat to the tightly packed fins which are cooled by two custom 92mm fans, which are setup up in push/pull configuration. While the total size of the heatsink seen from the top is large enough to fit a larger 120mm fan, Glacialtech opted for two smaller fans…



Installation is time consuming, but provides a tight fit. Two metal brackets are installed on the motherboard, then you secure the UFO V51 in place with the metal clip, you’ll have to use the included inbus key. Compatibility issues on the mainboard are not likely as the main body is raised quite high; but which might be an issue in smaller cases is the overall dimension. In the Antec Sonata 2 it was a tight fit.



We’ll compare the performance of the UFO V51 to another large top-down cooler, the Scythe Zipang which features a huge 140mm fan.



The fans on the UFO V51 are quite audible at full speed, performance is more than acceptable though, undervolting the fans to minimum speed makes them almost dead quiet, but performance suffers noticeably, a setting in between 7~9v would provide the best performance/noise ratio. Compared to the Zipang the UFO V51 trails slightly at similar noise levels; compared to the smaller Igloo the UFO V51 doesn’t really stand out all that much, it takes 9 extra decibel of cooling power to drop 1.5°C… not very convincing.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Glacialtech UFO V51 Silent:



+ Acceptable performance/noise ratio
+ Solid installation (which does take some time)
+ Wide platform compatibility

- Large heatsink, yet small fans used
- Performance not remarkably better than smaller Igloo 5750

Asus Axe Square

Another Asus heatsink passes the revue, the Axe Square is a top-down CPU Cooler much like the Royal Knight with 5 heat pipes, 120mm fan, but with aluminum fins.

ASUS comes from the last four letters of Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology that represents the inspiration of art and learning. ASUS embodies the strength, creative spirit and purity symbolized by this regal and agile mythical creature, soaring to new heights of quality and innovation with each product it introduces to the market.

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Asus Axe Square

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Asus Axe Square
- Intel S775/ AMD AM2/939
- Heatsink : 654 gram
- 120mm PWM fan rated at 1400rpm
- ~€60

The Axe Square comes in very fancy packaging with all the mounting gear separately ordered in a compact storage box. The heatsink design is quasi the same as the Royal Knight, 5 copper heat pipes all nickel plated merged into one very nicely finished copper base. The main difference between the two are the aluminum fins (vs copper on the Royal Knight) and the design of the plastic shroud, which is slightly less fancy on the Axe Square.

The included 120mm fan runs at 1375rpm@12v and 483rpm@5v, while it looks to be removable, it’s far from easy to get the plastic shroud to come off, afraid of breaking it, we left the stock fan in place, so it’s definitely not easily removable.




Installation is plug and play using the standard Intel push-pin method.



Let’s compare this cooler to the full copper Asus Royal Knight as well as the Thermalright SI-128SE:



The stock fan at full speed proves worthy, keeping the CPU temperature in check, compared to the Royal Knight we also see a noticeable difference of ~3°C; another example or AlCu HSF proving to be better than full copper. The gap with the SI-128SE is smaller and the Axe Square comes close performance/noise wise. When we undervolt the stock fan to 5v the CPU temperature rises by ~14°C, while the fan is very quiet, the performance is not stellar.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Asus Axe Square:



+ Good performance/noise ratio
+ Easy installation

- High Price

Cooler Master V10

Cooler Master send us this heatsink last minute, the huge V10, which sports two 120mm fans and a 70W TEC for extreme performance. Oh, and it weighs 1.2kg, making it the heaviest CPU heatsink tested to date!

Cooler Master was founded with the mission of providing the industry’s best thermal solutions. Since its establishment a decade ago, the company has remained faithful to this mission, emerging as a world leader in products and services for companies dealing with devices where heat issues must be resolved.
In pursuing this mission, Cooler Master is absolutely committed to delivering solutions that precisely meet customer requirements for features, performance, and quality. Moreover, we strive to be a reliable long-term partner for our customers that they can truly depend on. It aims to be the first and foremost name that comes to mind for companies around the world seeking thermal solutions, and seeks to build such a reputation through outstanding technology, sophisticated design, and superior service.
Cooler Master’s current business encompasses a comprehensive lineup of thermal solutions for a full range of applications. Its products range from heat sinks and fans to component housing, chassis, and ducting for computers, industrial machinery, telecommunications equipment, and many other devices.

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Cooler Master V10

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Cooler Master V10
- Intel S775/S1366 / AMD AM2/939
- Heatsink : 1270 gram
- 2x120mm PWM fan rated at 800~2400rpm
- ~$120

Cooler Master came up with quite an elaborate design for the V10 heatsink, it’s a cooling monster weighing in close to 1.3kg when placed on a balance, it’s made up of 10 heat pipes which carry the heat from the copper base (very nicely machine lapped) to 3 separate aluminum cooling towers; to further increase the performance they have integrated a 70W TEC (peltier) with the cool side cooling down the heat pipes going to the base, while another set on the hot side takes care of removing that heat.

Mounting 1.3kg of metal on your CPU will not be done with push-pins, so Cooler Master included their tried and tested “mounted from the rear of the motherboard” gear inside the package, you’ll also get a detailed manual and sample of Cooler Master’s new “ThermalFusion 400” thermal paste.

To illustrate the cooling action on the V10 we made this small illustration in Paint:


(red=heat, blue=cooling path)

No matter from what side you look at the V10, it’s a beast of a cooler.



Thinking we had seen it all with the Scythe Orochi we have here the V10 which claims the title as heaviest HSF at 1270 gram ( vs 1250 gram for the Orochi). The V10 covers 30-40% of the motherboard, but concentrates airflow over two areas, there’s one 120mm fan which expels air towards the rear, while the second one blows air onto the ram slots. There’s enough room for larger DDR2/DDR3 enthusiast modules, but more exotic ram sticks might run into compatibility issues.

The 120mm fans run at 2300rpm @ 12v and 1078rpm @ 5v. The TEC comes into action when the temp probe measures between 20~70°C (to prevent condensation); the higher the CPU temp the more power the TEC will draw. At high fan speed we measured a 30~40W power draw, while at low fan speed the TEC had to work harder, drawing the maximum rated 70W.

Getting the motherboard back into the case with the V10 installed was quite a challenge as this unit takes up a lot of space, in the end we succeeded, with a few millimeter to spare left and right.



What do we compare a $120 air cooled heatsink with? The Thermalright IFX-14 for starters, although that one only costs ~$70. Then there are also the CoolIT units, Freezone ($220) and Eliminator ($150) which are all-in-one cooling solutions at $100+ too. We’ll also throw in the Ultra-120 Extreme for good measure. This chart will be a bit bigger than the previous ones, but that goes hand in hand with the size of the V10 :)



Good news first, it beats the more expensive CoolIT Eliminator in both noise and performance easily. With the two 120mm fans running at 5v the TEC takes care of the cooling and performance/noise ratio is quite good, almost matching the TRUE and IFX-14. In the end though the V10 main issue is its price, it shouldn’t cost twice as much to match performance of compact tower cooler like the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme. While the V10 has cooling power in abundance, the TEC drives up the price, while it may not be entirely needed, unplugging the TEC in our tests increased temperatures only by 1-2°C. Overall we commend Cooler Master for an original retail product and new approach to CPU air cooling, but if a water cooled unit like the Freezone with 56W TEC is unable to beat a tower cooler, what chances does an air cooled TEC construction have?

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Cooler Master V10:



+ Good performance
+ Solid Installation
+ Better performance/noise than more expensive water-cooled products

- Ridiculously high price
- Unable to beat much cheaper Air Coolers

Asus Lion Square

This the last of five Asus heatsinks we tested in this roundup. The Lion Square is a compact tower cooler with custom 92mm fan integrated in the middle, it has 4 large heat pipes and a series of aluminum fins.

ASUS comes from the last four letters of Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology that represents the inspiration of art and learning. ASUS embodies the strength, creative spirit and purity symbolized by this regal and agile mythical creature, soaring to new heights of quality and innovation with each product it introduces to the market.

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Asus Lion Square

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Asus Lion Square
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2/939
- Heatsink : 1270 gram
- 92mm PWM fan rated at 2300rpm
- ~$55

The Asus Lion Square looks like a promising unit right from the start, it has large diameter heat pipes, 4 of them joined in a copper base, which transfer heat to a series of compact aluminum fins, they have a cut-out at each corner for installation purposes. The whole surface is nickel plated, including the base which shows some traces of machine lapping. The 92mm fan runs at 2165rpm@12v, this PWM fan doesn’t take kindly to classic undervolting, better to use the BIOS Smart Fan function.

Inside the package you’ll find a manual, small tube of thermal paste, S775 mounting bracket and motherboard back plate, for AMD you only need one metal clip.



Installation requires motherboard removal but it all goes very quickly thanks to the pre-attached mounting screws and the Lion Square has cutouts so you can reach the screws with a screwdriver, no inbus-key needed here. The plastic cover plate on top of the Lion has an indicator of the airflow, take this into account for orientation (point it towards the rear of your case)



Let’s compare the Asus Lion Square to another compact 92mm HSF, the Auras LPT-709 and the OCZ Vendetta:



With stock fans at full speed the Asus Lion Square comes out as the quietest, at 47.1dBA it is still quite noticeable, but far from disturbing. Performance wise it’s only a few degrees behind the Vendetta and LPT-709.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Asus Lion Square:



+ Good performance/noise ratio
+ Solid Installation
+ Compact design

- Quite Pricey

Still there ? Good! You have reached the last product page of the review, and we can assure you, you don’t want to miss this one !

Prolimatech Megahalems

Prolimatech is a newcomer in the enthusiast market, and like ThermoLab it aims to grab our attention with a very high end CPU cooler product. Dubbed the Megahalems it’s their first mainstream product (some slides reveal more products in the pipe-lines), it features 6 large diameter heat pipes and an insane amount of aluminum fins.


This product review was made possible by Caseking

Prolimatech,founded in 2008 is headquartered in Taiwan, led by a team of dedicated experts with 22 years of accumulated experience in the field of computer thermal solutions. Prolimatech stands for Professionalism exceeding beyond all Limits. We are here to challenge any limits that stand in our way to achieve what was thought to be impossible.

Prolimatech incorporates integration of the aerospace resource-saving technology and advanced heat conduction technology to create the best heat absorption and dissipation solutions while pertaining to the science of aesthetics. Our never-ending quest is to satisfy every computer overclocker's and every enthusiast's needs for high quality and performance oriented thermal solutions for their high-end computer components.

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Prolimatech Megahalems

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Prolimatech Megahalems
- Intel S775 / S1366
- Heatsink : 788 gram
- ~$65

Prolimatech’s about page goes straight to the point, the Megahalems is designed for high end computer enthusiasts, it comes at a very high price and inside the box you only find the essentials: thermal paste, mounting gear, fan clips, short installation manual.

The heatink is made up of 6 large diameter heat pipes which are joined in a copper base, they go up at each side into two separate columns of closely packed aluminum fins. The production quality is very high. The whole is nickel plated for a cleaner look.

The copper base shows very dim traces of machine lapping, when you visit the Prolimatech website you are greeted with a message regarding their heatsink’s base:

Prolimatech does not condone any type of lapping done to the CPU or to heatsink base. Every Prolimatech's heatsink base is designed on a pin-point scale of how the base is to be flat and/or curved where it's needed to be. We have programed our machines to machine the surface in a very calculated way. Any after-manufacture lapping or modding done to the base will alter the design, hence negating its performance factor as well as its warranty.

While the base in our pictures doesn’t feature a mirror polish, it’s not required, as long as it is adequately flat and doesn’t show large imperfections it will do it's job: transfer heat.



Since this is an Intel only heatsink Prolimatech decided to make a mounting system based on… AMD’s two point mounting method. Instead of opting for the 4 point installation of S775/S1366 with 4 mounting screw, you have to first (without tools) install two aluminum brackets at each side of the CPU, you have place the heatsink on the CPU and then place a third aluminum bracket in the center that holds the Megahalems in place. Of the 23 heatsinks tested today this is the only one where we had to modify the mounting gear a bit to make it fit, at one side of the CPU socket the aluminum bracket was touching the caps, a bit of grinding and cutting later it could fit.

The Ultra-120 from Thermalright also uses a two point installation on AMD’s S939/AM2 and you could turn the HSF slightly left/right after it was mounted, the Prolimatech method has a few extra holes in the base (at the top) and knobs on the aluminum mounting bracket to prevent this from happening. Overall the installation is quite straight forward and doesn’t take too much time (as long as everything fits ok with your motherboard)



Prolimatech includes one set of fan mounting clips, which only works with 120x120x25mm fans. For the $60+ asking price a second pair would have been much appreciated. They do sell them separately for $2~4; also available are clips for 120x120x38mm fans. We mounted our Delta 3200rpm 38mm fan by borrowing the clips from ThermoLab BARAM;


Onto the performance results, the Megahalems’ aim is quite clear, be the best at this price point, the Thermolab BARAM, Xigmatek Thor’s Hammer and Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme make for some excellent comparison material:



We used our 3 reference fans on the 4 heatsinks, starting with low noise results first, the NCB@Low is an excellent partner for the Megahalems, it’s noticeable better here than the competition, in fact, it beats all other heatsinks (when equipped with the NCB@Low) out there, except one IFX-14 (49.5°C). That’s quite an achievement, as this means the Megahalems is better then Scythe low-noise tower cooler line-up. (Ninja CU checks in at 54.5°C). Moving on the Global @ High which is still quite low noise considering the upcoming fan solutions. Here the Megahalems comes in 2nd a few degrees after the Ultra-120 Extreme.

Onto the big boys, 115CFM Titan first. 2nd place, 1.5°C after the TRUE. Delta 3200rpm: 1st place, 0.5°C lead..

Overall we can conclude that these high end heatsinks are extremely well matched, the Prolimatech sticks out at the low noise end, delivering CPU temps noticeably lower than the competition. With mid-range CFM fans the differences are smaller and the TRUE catches up. With higher noise CFM fans the CPU temperature is quite similar, taking into account a 1-3°C inaccuracy and you can see there’s no clear winner amongst thing group.

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In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Prolimatech Megahalems:



+ Excellent Performance/Noise Level With All Fans!
+ Solid Installation

- Price (pay more for extra/different fan clips!)
- Possible mounting bracket compatibility issues

Summary and Conclusive Thoughts

After several weeks of testing and a few weeks of data mining and sorting everything out we were ready to present you with our results in one big article. We have been providing sneak previews of these heatsinks since March, and are happy to finally get this roundup out of the door.

There were plenty of new super high end CPU coolers tested today which matched, and even surpassed the previous price/performance champions. While the Thermalright IFX-14 still stands tall and undefeated, the battle for second place is fierce; our readers now have a choice of several high quality CPU coolers which will demand of them that they overclock and overvolt their CPUs to make their purchase worthwhile.

We can’t possible draw one overall winner from the huge group of CPU coolers tested over the years. As you know, availability, price, requirements are but some of the factors which play major roles in the decision process. We can provide our readers with the raw measurable data: performance, noise, weight, features, and hope this can help you make an informed decision.

Bookmark this page where our online chart generator resides, so you can come back when you found a good deal for a CPU cooler and want to know how it stacks up against the competition.

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Of the 23 products today, if we only take into account those tested in this roundup, the result chart looks like this…



Just kidding, enough chart scrolling action for today! (unless you really want to, here's the full 700x7400 640Kb chart). Please take a look at our dynamic chart generator located at this page to get some nice to the point result charts with those heatsinks which interest you. Flip through the previous pages to learn their strengths and drawbacks and we hope you find the one for you which helps you achieve your goal, whether it’s extreme performance, complete silence, or somewhere in between.

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We like to thank all the companies and web shops who helped us by sending in CPU coolers for test; without their support these pages would be quiet empty. Thank you.