IMO for the size and only using seems like 2 heatpipes, price of max $34.99 would make far more sense.
Guess CM still believes they are the "best choice" or something along those lines?
they also 99% of the time overrate the TDP their coolers can actually handle, I am sure is a decent cooler, but no way in heck can it handle the same cooling capability that their full blown tower style coolers (or anyone else) can handle, but more or less pricing at/above the venerable hyper212 plus is moronic (^.^)
You are both correct. It takes less material which lowers manufacturing costs and generally more careful engineering which can raise costs. Smaller form factor components have also seen lower sales volumes because fewer people are prone to buy compact PC parts so the input costs are spread out among fewer units sold.
In any event, I would be reluctant to put one of these things on top of a 95W TDP CPU given the current state of TDP ratings being more about sustained load after hitting a thermal budget peak rather than the actual maximum TDP of the CPU. This sort of cooler is probably better suited for 65W TDP-rated chips and even then, good case airflow would certainly help the situation.
Size, engineering has nothing to do with it, in this segment people will pay whatever so they can have their 95w equipped box in the palm of their hand.
If it performs better than the noctua model, why not charge the same? I'm excited to pick one up, if it is quality, the price is worth it, otherwise it isn't. The Hyper 212 Black RGB is the best cheap cooler (the one I bought has an absolutely silent fan, very good) right now, so Cooler Master has piqued my interest.
It's also 2.4mm taller than the Noctua. Probably not a huge deal, but it does preclude installing a fullsize 25mm fan in an actual low-clearance situation.
To be fair, installing a 25mm fan in such a situation would be noisy. This brings up another issue - in the Dan A4 SFX (and similar min-clearance cases) the CPU fan on a Noctua NH L9i/a is ~11mm away from the side panel, and moving it even a tiny bit closer induces a lot of turbulence noise.
A major problem is that TDP isn't terribly useful as a metric, since Intel, AMD and cooling manufacturers all use different definitions. Gamers Nexus did a long-form piece on the differing definitions, and the fact that for the CPU manufacturers the formula is a relative and therefore unreliable one; for instance, it changes for a given CPU depending upon what level of cooling capacity they assume will be used with it. Cooler Master saying this cooler is good for 95W TDP tells us where it ranks against other Cooler Master products, but doesn't tell us anything meaningful about what CPUs it will handle. At least Noctua creates compatibility lists for its coolers, showing whether each model can handle stock, mild, moderate or major turbo/overclocking on a given CPU.
Maybe not. The NH-L9i is good for 65 watt CPUs so if this is Coolermaster is similar in surface area its going to need to brute force it with more air flow to make 95 watts happen and 6000RPM certainly do that.
I think the NH-L9i should still be better performance for the price. That's $39.99 and this new product's at $44.99.
It's possible people will want it just for the 92mm RGB PWM fan, though. It's very unique in that regard, as I don't believe there are any other adjustable RGB 92mm PWM fans on the market.
To clarify, I'm not the intended audience of the RGB fan, and likely most people here in the comments aren't either. But that is, for better or worse, it's main differentiating factor in this category of product.
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Dragonstongue - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
IMO for the size and only using seems like 2 heatpipes, price of max $34.99 would make far more sense.Guess CM still believes they are the "best choice" or something along those lines?
they also 99% of the time overrate the TDP their coolers can actually handle, I am sure is a decent cooler, but no way in heck can it handle the same cooling capability that their full blown tower style coolers (or anyone else) can handle, but more or less pricing at/above the venerable hyper212 plus is moronic (^.^)
Armourcore9brker - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
You have to pay for the size. It takes more engineering to do anything in a smaller form factor.flyingpants265 - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
No, it takes less metalChaitanya - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
It takes more machine hours packing fins in a smaller area.PeachNCream - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
You are both correct. It takes less material which lowers manufacturing costs and generally more careful engineering which can raise costs. Smaller form factor components have also seen lower sales volumes because fewer people are prone to buy compact PC parts so the input costs are spread out among fewer units sold.In any event, I would be reluctant to put one of these things on top of a 95W TDP CPU given the current state of TDP ratings being more about sustained load after hitting a thermal budget peak rather than the actual maximum TDP of the CPU. This sort of cooler is probably better suited for 65W TDP-rated chips and even then, good case airflow would certainly help the situation.
shabby - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
Size, engineering has nothing to do with it, in this segment people will pay whatever so they can have their 95w equipped box in the palm of their hand.Alistair - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
If it performs better than the noctua model, why not charge the same? I'm excited to pick one up, if it is quality, the price is worth it, otherwise it isn't. The Hyper 212 Black RGB is the best cheap cooler (the one I bought has an absolutely silent fan, very good) right now, so Cooler Master has piqued my interest.Alistair - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
Okay I checked the CAD price, it is $10 too high haha.jeremyshaw - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
It's also 2.4mm taller than the Noctua. Probably not a huge deal, but it does preclude installing a fullsize 25mm fan in an actual low-clearance situation.To be fair, installing a 25mm fan in such a situation would be noisy. This brings up another issue - in the Dan A4 SFX (and similar min-clearance cases) the CPU fan on a Noctua NH L9i/a is ~11mm away from the side panel, and moving it even a tiny bit closer induces a lot of turbulence noise.
Alistair - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
I personally am not interested in the L9 though, I like the L9x65 the taller one.rrinker - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
The $10 extra is for the RGB lights of course.Galcobar - Thursday, January 30, 2020 - link
A major problem is that TDP isn't terribly useful as a metric, since Intel, AMD and cooling manufacturers all use different definitions. Gamers Nexus did a long-form piece on the differing definitions, and the fact that for the CPU manufacturers the formula is a relative and therefore unreliable one; for instance, it changes for a given CPU depending upon what level of cooling capacity they assume will be used with it. Cooler Master saying this cooler is good for 95W TDP tells us where it ranks against other Cooler Master products, but doesn't tell us anything meaningful about what CPUs it will handle. At least Noctua creates compatibility lists for its coolers, showing whether each model can handle stock, mild, moderate or major turbo/overclocking on a given CPU.DirtyLoad - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
800 ~ 6600 ± 10% RPM, seems a bit high.quorm - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
Yeah, that 6600 has to be a typo.Operandi - Friday, January 31, 2020 - link
Maybe not. The NH-L9i is good for 65 watt CPUs so if this is Coolermaster is similar in surface area its going to need to brute force it with more air flow to make 95 watts happen and 6000RPM certainly do that.JoeyJoJo123 - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
I think the NH-L9i should still be better performance for the price. That's $39.99 and this new product's at $44.99.It's possible people will want it just for the 92mm RGB PWM fan, though. It's very unique in that regard, as I don't believe there are any other adjustable RGB 92mm PWM fans on the market.
JoeyJoJo123 - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
To clarify, I'm not the intended audience of the RGB fan, and likely most people here in the comments aren't either. But that is, for better or worse, it's main differentiating factor in this category of product.