Top Tier CPU Air Coolers Q3 2015: 9-Way Roundup Review
by E. Fylladitakis on July 6, 2015 8:00 AM ESTTesting results, maximum fan speed (12 Volts)
| Core Temperature, Constant Thermal Load |
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*Note: When the cooler has two different fans, the fan speed of the faster fan is recorded.
We should start by noticing that one should be extremely careful when reading the performance charts. Even though some of the coolers are of similar design or size, their performance differs greatly. Similarly, coolers with similar thermal performance may have great differences in size, acoustics and or price.
Without a doubt, the grandest example of this warning is the Okeanos. Reeven's offering outpaces nearly every other cooler, comparing directly with Noctua's and Cryorig's finest, when tested at our maximum load and has the best average absolute thermal resistance. However, this is not due to excelling technology or design. On the contrary, the Okeanos is simpler and smaller than most of the coolers in this review. This achievement is simple brute force through high speed fans, which places the Okeanos far behind any other offering on acoustics.
Not unexpectedly, the thermal performance charts are being led by the Noctua NH-D15, the Cryorig R1 Ultimate and the Phanteks TC14PE. These are the best coolers of the most renowned manufacturers, so one would expect interative designs over time to yield benefits. The performance differences between these three offerings, thermal and acoustic alike, are very small. Raijintech's Tisis is the surprise of this review, with similar thermal and acoustics performance to that of the best coolers. The Tisis also has the best low load performance, where the charts shift greatly.
The Dark Rock Pro 3 from Be Quiet! offers lower noise levels but falls a little behind on thermal performance. Not the same can be said about Deepcool's offering, the Assassin, which does not match the thermal performance of the best coolers but is neither quieter nor notably cheaper. The performance gap is rather small but the Assassin is at a disadvantage. The Grandis falls even further behind in terms of thermal performance while the noise levels are similar, but SilentiumPC designed it to be more budget-friendly than other offerings, not to compete with the elite on terms of raw performance. Thermalright's Macho Zero is also an inconsistency in this review, as this cooler is not meant to provide maximum thermal performance and hits the bottom of our absolute thermal resistance charts. On the other hand, the Macho Zero paired with the TY147A is by far the quietest cooler in this review, being whisper-quiet even while the fan is spinning at maximum speed.
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Narcissist - Tuesday, July 14, 2015 - link
I fully agree with the Oxford Guy. I've got a NoFan CR-95C cooling my non-OC i7 4790K. This in conjuction with a couple of M.2 SSD-units, a passively cooled PSU and a passively cooled graphics card makes for a 100% quiet and rather powerful computer. To be on the safe side I've added a Noctua D14 which is configured to force air across all components when the motherboard temperature gets over 50 degC. I is almost never active, though. I've run the Prime95 "Torture Test" for prolonged periods but the CPU-temp consistently stays below 70 degC. In my opinion the NoFan unit is doing a splendid job, although at a price.Sivar - Friday, February 5, 2016 - link
Listen to Oxford Guy. I've used three NoFan models and they all work amazingly well...as long as your CPU's power consumption stays under 100W. If you use a 6- or 8- core i7, or if you overclock enough to hit the 100W envelope, fanless is not for you.Note that NoFan coolers benefit only slightly when a fan is used. They are truly built as fanless coolers from the ground up.
lagittaja - Monday, July 20, 2015 - link
My HTPC has a G2120 with NH-U12P, HD5670 with Accelero S1r2, 64GB Samsung 830 + 1TB WD Black along with 80+ Plat 400W fanless PSU. Inside Lian Li A05N.Only fans being filtered intake Gentle Typhoon @~600rpm and exhaust Slip Stream ~400rpm.
Pretty overkill cooling wise. Could drop the fan speeds even further..
To answer your question, yes it can easily handle it provided there's a teeny weeny bit of airflow in the case.
Work rig has a HR-02 Macho with 800rpm Slip Stream cooling a 3770K@4.7Ghz/1.336V. Could run it fanless if I'd drop the clocks to say 4.3/1.1 or so..
Cvengr - Friday, December 25, 2015 - link
It would simply be the ratio of surface area of the fins to the surface area of the top of the CPU making contact with the heat collector. The fans merely dissipate the heat more quickly over the same area.The advantage of the fans are to transfer the heat by convection to the outer environment more quickly than allowing the heat to build up closer to other components in the system.
If designed for heat transfer, the other components are likely to have been designed assuming an ambient temperature at a particular max level, say 100-130degF. As the delta Temp between the environment and the part generating the heat will increase, so will the heat flow by conduction.
Intent is to draw the heat as far away from the components as possible.
One problem in these designs is to get the heat away from the CPU, as well as the Motherboard components, as well as other components in the case, so the interior case temperatures don't approach the environmental max design temps of those components.
A disadvantage in building by components, is that the component manufacturers are likely to only design for their particular component or one they support.
A common problem in Data Centers is how to remove all the heat from the racks and equipment within them. ANSI/TIA 942 stds go a long way to coordinate between disciplines and trades to effect proper HVAC in the server areas, but even within the racks and cabinets, too many designs limit themselves to providing a temperature set point at different areas in the room, but fail to flow adequate air over the equipment to transfer the heat away from the local electronics environments.
Computer Room Air Conditioners (CRAC) units are notorious for being installed to remove heat, but fail to provide adequate ventilation (air movement) within the computer rooms.
Since most of the CRAC units use split systems (condensate lines in 1/2" copper tubing running through the wall to a condenser outside the building), The natural trend would be to incorporate a small heat exchanger using a CPU water cooling fluid as the secondary, and the chilled water from the condensate of a HVAC system as the primary chilled water to remove the heat.
I haven't shopped the Enterprise level systems. I wonder if such systems are commodities.
sjakti - Monday, July 6, 2015 - link
Interesting article, thank you! I especially appreciate the "Quick Conclusions", that's a great table.Shadow7037932 - Monday, July 6, 2015 - link
I wish you guys had included the Hyper 212+/EVO in the review as the base comparison.zodiacfml - Monday, July 6, 2015 - link
True. It should be the default heatsink to compare with. Now that majority of Intel's CPUs become low power and efficient, these dual tower designs seem overkill except for the unlocked multiplier overclocker or fanless PCs.Achaios - Monday, July 6, 2015 - link
Obsession with CM Hyper 212 EVO "Hypertwohundredtwelvetitis" is a disease also prevalent in Overclock.net. People go berserk over the 212, almost as if they have been mass brainwashed or mass hypnotized. To my best understanding, this mass hysteria is due to the fact that cheap "enthusiasts" may save up to the hugely important sum of $9.99 if they go with the 212 compared to other coolers for the wondrous performance gain of 0.8 Celsius. In other words, the mass hysteria with the 212 is because if you go with the 212, you will save enough money in the end to buy a pack of cigarettes and a can of beer.Nagorak - Monday, July 6, 2015 - link
Well every little bit counts, and to be honest I can understand why people would not want to spend $70-$80 on a heatsink. Getting a decent heatsink for $30-$40 makes sense for a lot of people. However, if you consider wasting money buying cigarettes to be reasonable, I can understand why you wouldn't put much stock in saving a few bucks.Achaios - Monday, July 6, 2015 - link
Given how many overclockers and enthusiasts actually use the CM Hyper Evo 212 in their rigs (as eveidenced at Overclock.net) I think that Zodiacfml's suggestion of the CM hyper Evo 212 being used as a baseline cooler is a good one and I recommend the OP to take it.