The Phononic HEX 2.0 TEC CPU Cooler Review
by E. Fylladitakis on September 26, 2016 9:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Cooler
- TEC
- Phononic
- HEX 2.0
Testing results, low fan speed (7 Volts)
Note that the voltage refers only to that of the fan, the TEC requires a constant 12V supply.
| Core Temperature, Constant Thermal Load (Low Fan Speed) |
The advantage of using a TEC at lower thermal loads becomes more apparent when the cooler fans are running at a reduced speed. Here we see that the performance of the HEX 2.0 was only slightly affected by the change of the fan’s speed under a thermal load of 60W, registering a thermal resistance of 0.1200 °C/W, a value comparable only to that of the best air coolers available. However, once again, the thermal performance of the HEX 2.0 degrades sharply as the thermal load increases, especially for thermal loads above 200W. With a thermal load of 340W, the thermal resistance of the HEX 2.0 is only 0.2506 °C/W, a very poor value that only outperforms low range and stock coolers.
In terms of acoustics performance, the 92 mm fan of the HEX 2.0 is virtually noiseless under these operating conditions. Our instruments recorded 33.6 dB(A) from a distance of one meter, only 3.2 dB(A) higher than our floor noise level. It will not be easily discernible by human ears inside a normal room, but it can be discerned if someone focus on the task.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
48 Comments
View All Comments
MrSpadge - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
"As the load increases, the thermal resistance of the HEX 2.0 decreases, particularly with thermal loads above 200W. With a thermal load of 340W, the thermal resistance of the HEX 2.0 drops down to 0.1685 °C/W"Yep.. this should be:
"As the load increases, the thermal resistance of the HEX 2.0 INCREASES, particularly with thermal loads above 200W. With a thermal load of 340W, the thermal resistance of the HEX 2.0 INCREASES UP to 0.1685 °C/W"
bug77 - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
Oh goodie. A cooler with Windows-only software. Where do I sign up? /sBulkSlash - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
It's great to see someone experimenting with TECs again, I think the last time I used one was with the ATI Radeon 800 XT! It's a pity this doesn't really work for really high temperatures as that's really where a TEC can come into its own.Haravikk - Wednesday, September 28, 2016 - link
Seems like some odd choices. For me it always seemed like a TEC made most sense as an external unit for liquid cooling, since the liquid can transfer the heat out and the TEC then cools it somewhere that the condensation problem can be controlled. Plus externally you can have a massive heatsink or even a huge plate for dissipating passively.Trying to squeeze it inside a case like this just doesn't seem all that practical, and it doesn't really seem to offer much in the way of advantages; I'm not that fussy about how cool my processor is when it's idle so long as my fans are quiet at that point. Most good coolers will keep a CPU from exceeding 40-50ºC under light load without making too much noise (some will even do it passively in the right case) so I just don't see what this unit offers for the price and complexity.
Also, while aesthetically I like the fan in the middle, practically I don't see the point; horizontal space usually isn't so tight that you can't fit the fan on the front or back of the cooler, plus with that design it's easy to provide mounts for a second fan. Sandwiching in the middle just seems like it limits the heatsink unnecessarily.
dave_the_nerd - Wednesday, September 28, 2016 - link
On one hand, this is a compact, nice looking cooler that performs very well with the 50-65w TDP CPUs that Intel makes and sells.OTOH, I really want a Reeven Okeanos now.
zodiacfml - Saturday, October 1, 2016 - link
Other reviews were not able to find that advantage at low loads.The question now is, which chips are suitable for overclocking to 65W. If it did, will it improve highest possible overlclock?
Sunburn74 - Tuesday, October 4, 2016 - link
Was I the only one who thought the conclusion was a bit off? Why didn't the reviewer just say it's a bad product at a terrible price point? I mean, it appears to be that there is always a smaller, quieter, cheaper and equally if more efficient cooling option in almost every situation testedSadler2010 - Monday, August 22, 2022 - link
I used to run an Ultra Chilltec Black until the Peltier died it successfully cooled a Phenom II 970T and my FX-8350 until it flatlined. So my experience with TEC's was good, but now I'm looking at AIO's to avoid the issues brought by TEC's.