I bought 2 of these for a Dual Opteron setup back in September of 2005!!!
What the hell took you guys so long to review them?
PS: For the haters that keep harping on the 100mm fan, you could make a 100 to 120 adapter out of a peice of sheet metal and a few power tools. If your so l334 that you have to have the super special $25 uber quiet 120mm fan, show your skills and make your own adapter.
Hell that gives me an idea. My father in law has a Digital Plasma Cutter, he could probably work out plans for such an adapter in a matter of a few hours and then crank them out from sheet alumn.
quote: The Tuniq Tower 120 is still the best air cooler tested so far at AnandTech
FWIW, I would really like to see you guys test the Scythe Ninja. It should nip at the heels of the Tuniq, has a decent mounting system, a quiet fan, a good price, and wide availability.
quote: This includes the serrated fin design which significantly increases the surface area of the fins.
That's silly, plain silly. Take you eyeball and point it at those serrations. Now, do you see a significant increase of surface area there? No - The "teeth" are a few millimeters square at best. A more plausible explanation is that they are there to reduce static pressure. The method has been used on other heatsinks - The Thermalright Ultra-120 and the Tuniq Tower for instance, but the serrated profile of this Coolermaster departs significantly from the profiles of the other two - so I wonder if my theory is correct or if the serrations exist for a completely different reason. But I'm quite comfortable asserting that they're not intended to increase surface area.
You guys should included the Thermaltake Typhoon VX in a future HSF review. It hasn't been out that long but is suppose to be one of the quietest coolers with awesome cooling. I remember reading its performance is very similar to the Zalman 9700 but the Typhoon VX can produce the same results yet remain much quieter.
Which is better, Copper or Aluminum for a heat sync? I would think Copper, but some say otherwise. And if Copper is better then wouldn't the Tuniq be better yet if they used copper fins as well.
What a waste of metal, what are the odd's that someone is going to buy this $50 cooler to overclock their AthlonXP. Do people even have AthlonXP's anymore? They've been discontinued for years.
If you've got an Athlon XP-M, it really might be fun to try this one out. My XP-M 2500+ made 2.4GHz on air (Thermalright cooler) when I had it, which is even now competetive for a lot of apps. The advantage is that an XP owner can buy this cooler, and then continue to use it when they step up to a new CPU/mainboard. It adds a selling point to this cooler that I'm sure some will appreciate.
To be honest, I would. I still run an Athlon XP, and it's cheaper to pay $50 for a new HSF that might buy me a couple extra MHz than $800 on a total refit (CPU, board, RAM, video card). Unless, of course, you're offering to buy me a new computer, in which case, I accept! B)
Any chance of testing a 9500 as well? I don't think a 9700 will fit beneath my PSU.
And I think it might have been mentioned in the Tuniq review, but was all temperature testing done with it at high speed? Would temps be affected if it were slowed down the same way the PWM-controlled fans slow down?
The Hyper 6+ has a 4-pin fan connection that can control fan speed. Temperature testing was done at default speed, although we did manually force highest speed to see if it made any difference in OC. It really did not improve OC performance. For noise testing we manually forced highest speed and reported both low speed (1800 RPM) and high speed (3600 RPM) results.
Since the kit auto controls fan speed on a 4-pin header we thought this was the fairest way to test performance. For noise we were concerned with the loudest you could possibly encounter with this cooler, which is why we manually forced highest speed.
If you ever buy a Tuniq Tower, I think you'll find that it cools so well, that improving upon it without liquid or a TEC would be extremely difficult.
Up until recently I was using a Swiftech MCX-64V that I thought was a pretty darn good cooler, albeit a little older, with a low-noise Delta 80mm fan.
The Tuniq beats it by 8-10C when idle, and by 10-15C under load in my system (Athlon 64 X2 4800+). And it isn't any louder (it may indeed be quieter, but my case fans overshadow the noise it makes anyway). About the only thing that I think Tuniq could try is lapping the contact surface better (on an IHS-based chip with AS5 goop I doubt this will help much) or adding additional heatpipes (i.e. going from six to eight), and I'm not sure that will do that much good either. The Tuniq is already amazing at how cool it can keep a CPU under load, a good indicator of its performance in overclocked situations (provided you have the right CPU/mainboard/ram/power supply to go with, of course). It also has the advantage of taking a 120mm fan, as opposed to the good, but proprietary Zalman, or the 100mm of the Coolermaster, allowing you to select from a wide range of fans to favor hardcore cooling, or near-silent operation.
I'm curious (no disrespect intended) --how do you think someone would go about making a better air cooler than the Tuniq?
quote: how do you think someone would go about making a better air cooler than the Tuniq
Start with the Tuniq and the make one that's lighter, with an even quieter fan, and not so large, with a better mounting system. That would be better in my book. Better doesn't always have to apply to cooling power - though I think that's probably what you were talking about.
For straight air cooling? Not likely. The Tuniq 120 already stays pretty cool, and for the most part it's at the point where temperatures aren't the limiting factor in stuff like OC'ing. The only way to get better in terms of temperatures would be water or phase-change (or TEC). In terms of noise levels, it's already very quiet, but maybe an even larger HSF could do a bit better. Really, at this point the case will start to have as much of an impact as any further HSF changes.
Now, if someone can come up with a way to make heatpipes work even better or something, we might see incremental improvements, but basically air cooling is pretty topped out I think. From here, we just want lower prices, lower noise, smaller, etc. but you can't usually get more than one of those at the same time.
Speaking of size, what is a good low profile cooler ? In my case (no pun intended), I'm using a Lian-Li PC-G50, PSU sits right over the CPU, and I would like to find a good low profile CPU cooler . . .
Perfect! I'd been checking out this older blog at https://compareheatsinks.blogspot.com for a good heatsink comparison but it only has a few Cooler Masters! Womp Womp.. 😂
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
25 Comments
Back to Article
Casper42 - Friday, April 6, 2007 - link
I bought 2 of these for a Dual Opteron setup back in September of 2005!!!What the hell took you guys so long to review them?
PS: For the haters that keep harping on the 100mm fan, you could make a 100 to 120 adapter out of a peice of sheet metal and a few power tools. If your so l334 that you have to have the super special $25 uber quiet 120mm fan, show your skills and make your own adapter.
Hell that gives me an idea. My father in law has a Digital Plasma Cutter, he could probably work out plans for such an adapter in a matter of a few hours and then crank them out from sheet alumn.
schlumpfi106 - Thursday, February 15, 2007 - link
Why is that a small complaint? It makes this cooler absolutely useless in my eyes. Not worth testing.
Missing Ghost - Saturday, February 17, 2007 - link
It's still better than integrated fans as found on many Zalman coolers.Macuser89 - Monday, February 19, 2007 - link
Why is an integrated or abnormal fan size bad. unless you want to change the fan for some reason, I can't think of anything.flipmode - Thursday, February 15, 2007 - link
FWIW, I would really like to see you guys test the Scythe Ninja. It should nip at the heels of the Tuniq, has a decent mounting system, a quiet fan, a good price, and wide availability.flipmode - Thursday, February 15, 2007 - link
That's silly, plain silly. Take you eyeball and point it at those serrations. Now, do you see a significant increase of surface area there? No - The "teeth" are a few millimeters square at best. A more plausible explanation is that they are there to reduce static pressure. The method has been used on other heatsinks - The Thermalright Ultra-120 and the Tuniq Tower for instance, but the serrated profile of this Coolermaster departs significantly from the profiles of the other two - so I wonder if my theory is correct or if the serrations exist for a completely different reason. But I'm quite comfortable asserting that they're not intended to increase surface area.stelleg151 - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
my vote is to start using the QX6700 for OC testing, more heatMacuser89 - Thursday, February 15, 2007 - link
too much work... they have more data to compare with x6800.Gigahertz19 - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
Jarred, WesleyYou guys should included the Thermaltake Typhoon VX in a future HSF review. It hasn't been out that long but is suppose to be one of the quietest coolers with awesome cooling. I remember reading its performance is very similar to the Zalman 9700 but the Typhoon VX can produce the same results yet remain much quieter.
Macuser89 - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
Which is better, Copper or Aluminum for a heat sync? I would think Copper, but some say otherwise. And if Copper is better then wouldn't the Tuniq be better yet if they used copper fins as well.Samus - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
What a waste of metal, what are the odd's that someone is going to buy this $50 cooler to overclock their AthlonXP. Do people even have AthlonXP's anymore? They've been discontinued for years.LoneWolf15 - Thursday, February 15, 2007 - link
If you've got an Athlon XP-M, it really might be fun to try this one out. My XP-M 2500+ made 2.4GHz on air (Thermalright cooler) when I had it, which is even now competetive for a lot of apps. The advantage is that an XP owner can buy this cooler, and then continue to use it when they step up to a new CPU/mainboard. It adds a selling point to this cooler that I'm sure some will appreciate.Shinei - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
To be honest, I would. I still run an Athlon XP, and it's cheaper to pay $50 for a new HSF that might buy me a couple extra MHz than $800 on a total refit (CPU, board, RAM, video card). Unless, of course, you're offering to buy me a new computer, in which case, I accept! B)Macuser89 - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
I wish you would compare a similar Zalmen cooler. Zalmen are pretty good, and i just wonder how they compare to others.Wesley Fink - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
We have the top-of-the-line Zalman 9700 in the lab for review.strikeback03 - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
Any chance of testing a 9500 as well? I don't think a 9700 will fit beneath my PSU.And I think it might have been mentioned in the Tuniq review, but was all temperature testing done with it at high speed? Would temps be affected if it were slowed down the same way the PWM-controlled fans slow down?
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
The Hyper 6+ has a 4-pin fan connection that can control fan speed. Temperature testing was done at default speed, although we did manually force highest speed to see if it made any difference in OC. It really did not improve OC performance. For noise testing we manually forced highest speed and reported both low speed (1800 RPM) and high speed (3600 RPM) results.Since the kit auto controls fan speed on a 4-pin header we thought this was the fairest way to test performance. For noise we were concerned with the loudest you could possibly encounter with this cooler, which is why we manually forced highest speed.
tuteja1986 - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
Can't someone make a much better air cooler than Tuniq Tower 120 for overclocking needs.LoneWolf15 - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
If you ever buy a Tuniq Tower, I think you'll find that it cools so well, that improving upon it without liquid or a TEC would be extremely difficult.Up until recently I was using a Swiftech MCX-64V that I thought was a pretty darn good cooler, albeit a little older, with a low-noise Delta 80mm fan.
The Tuniq beats it by 8-10C when idle, and by 10-15C under load in my system (Athlon 64 X2 4800+). And it isn't any louder (it may indeed be quieter, but my case fans overshadow the noise it makes anyway). About the only thing that I think Tuniq could try is lapping the contact surface better (on an IHS-based chip with AS5 goop I doubt this will help much) or adding additional heatpipes (i.e. going from six to eight), and I'm not sure that will do that much good either. The Tuniq is already amazing at how cool it can keep a CPU under load, a good indicator of its performance in overclocked situations (provided you have the right CPU/mainboard/ram/power supply to go with, of course). It also has the advantage of taking a 120mm fan, as opposed to the good, but proprietary Zalman, or the 100mm of the Coolermaster, allowing you to select from a wide range of fans to favor hardcore cooling, or near-silent operation.
I'm curious (no disrespect intended) --how do you think someone would go about making a better air cooler than the Tuniq?
flipmode - Thursday, February 15, 2007 - link
Start with the Tuniq and the make one that's lighter, with an even quieter fan, and not so large, with a better mounting system. That would be better in my book. Better doesn't always have to apply to cooling power - though I think that's probably what you were talking about.JarredWalton - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
For straight air cooling? Not likely. The Tuniq 120 already stays pretty cool, and for the most part it's at the point where temperatures aren't the limiting factor in stuff like OC'ing. The only way to get better in terms of temperatures would be water or phase-change (or TEC). In terms of noise levels, it's already very quiet, but maybe an even larger HSF could do a bit better. Really, at this point the case will start to have as much of an impact as any further HSF changes.Now, if someone can come up with a way to make heatpipes work even better or something, we might see incremental improvements, but basically air cooling is pretty topped out I think. From here, we just want lower prices, lower noise, smaller, etc. but you can't usually get more than one of those at the same time.
yyrkoon - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
Speaking of size, what is a good low profile cooler ? In my case (no pun intended), I'm using a Lian-Li PC-G50, PSU sits right over the CPU, and I would like to find a good low profile CPU cooler . . .katastrophe - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
Shouldn't the graph on page 5 be titled as Mhz, or the values changed to reflect Ghz?Wesley Fink - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
Yes. Corrected to be more consistent.thatdjsnow - Saturday, August 24, 2019 - link
Perfect! I'd been checking out this older blog at https://compareheatsinks.blogspot.com for a good heatsink comparison but it only has a few Cooler Masters! Womp Womp.. 😂This was much more helpful, thank you!