Cooling Hardware
Written by garfi3ld Thursday, 15 December 2011 08:09
Just a few weeks ago I had the chance to tell everyone about the Noctua heatsink that we have been running on our LGA 1155 test bench for almost a year. Because of how happy we have been with it we decided to give another Noctua heatsink a chance for our new LGA 2011 test bench. We went with the NH-D14 for the ultimate performance. We have actually taken a look at that same heatsink before in the past HERE, but with the special edition we decided to go over the new brackets and compare the NH-D14 to Intel’s water cooling. Will the monster air cooling outperform water cooling? Let’s find out.
Written by garfi3ld Friday, 25 November 2011 07:59
It’s been a while since our last review of a Noctua heatsink. Part of that has to do with their patients and dedication to make their products perfect before introducing anything. The other reason it’s been so long is just plain delay on our part. We have actually had one of their heatsinks here in the office for quite a while. In fact, some of our more dedicated readers may recognize this one from our test rig. Noctua’s NH-C14 is a top flow cooler design that both helps cool your ram and motherboard while also being shorter than most high end traditional tower designs. How does that effect cooling? Let’s jump in and take a look.
Written by Lersar Tuesday, 06 September 2011 11:04
Cooler Master has presented us with another laptop cooling product. In our previous review we talked about how some aim for cooling, comfort, portability or any combination of the three. The Cooler Master NotePal LapAir clearly aims more for the comfort range of the laptop cooling market.
Written by Lersar Tuesday, 16 August 2011 20:36
Cooling components is critical. This is why when you buy a processor it comes with a CPU heatsink and fan. Heat wears components out faster and reduces their reliability. The first thing I do when working with a new machine is replace the stock heatsink with an aftermarket one. They are more efficient and depending on the configuration, could even be quieter. Cooler Master has sent us a CPU cooler that caught my attention. The GeminII S524 is a square shaped cooler that instead of sitting directly over the CPU itself extends over one side to cool additional components. I have always been a big fan of aftermarket CPU coolers with two fans in a push/pull configuration. Typically CPU coolers with a single fan don’t seem to work as well, and I am unsure of how the overhang will impact the general airflow in the case itself.
Written by Lersar Monday, 09 May 2011 05:42
Any computer enthusiast will tell you the two things you can never have enough of: USB ports and cooling. Having finally moved into an office that will hopefully survive the summer with me, I was ready to make my desktop as practicle as it could be comfortable. A combination of great timing, psychic abilities, and a few hundred emails to Artic Cooling resulted in them sending us a care package to help.
Written by garfi3ld Tuesday, 03 May 2011 05:19
A few years ago if I told you that the Ram manufacture Corsair was going to make a name for themselves in the cooling market you might have laughed me out of the room. A few short years later they have not only made a name for themselves in cooling, but in audio, power supplies, ssd’s, and cases. Looking back, the reason they have been so successful is probably because they can look at a problem and break it down to what the enthusiast really needs and then focus on making it the best product in that nitch. Today, we are going to take a look at the H50 their first foray into the cooling market to see if it is still the top performer that has made it so popular over the last two years.
Written by Nacelle Monday, 18 October 2010 05:37
Following the success of the original TherMax, Spire is introducing the TherMax Eclipse. Powered by Innovation and awesome looks, this CPU Cooler is ready to cool the extremely hot 130W Micro-processors that are on the market today. Universally compatible with the Intel 1156/1366/775 platforms in combination with the AMD AM3/AM2/940/939 platforms, giving professionals and gamers a huge scope to utilize this impressive diablo. I think we've heard enough from the marketing department, let's see what this baby can do.Written by Nacelle Monday, 23 August 2010 14:43
When I was told that I was doing a review of a heatsink from a company called Zaward, I asked around to see if I was the only one who had never heard of them. Since I wasn't the only one, I was glad to be the first to see what the guys from Taiwan had to offer.
Written by Nacelle Wednesday, 18 August 2010 19:00
A lot of us overclock our computer because we want high end performance without the high end price tag. But it seems all the cool guys want to convince you that you just have to go with water cooling. What? A good water cooling set-up can set you back more than the cost of the CPU. So why not get something that will keep your CPU cool, look cool, and won't break the bank. The Titan Fenrir Evo certain fills the "look cool" requirement. Let see how it does in the other two.
Written by Lersar Monday, 26 July 2010 04:00
Overclocking is useful not only for pushing enthusiast cores to new records, but also for budget builders to get the most out of their money. Therefore, it would only make sense that a CPU cooler also be affordable, while of course keeping the processor from overheating. Today we review the Thermaltake Frio, a goliath cooler designed for overclocking capacity.Written by Lersar Monday, 28 June 2010 22:47
Over the last few years Cooler Master has reinvented heatsink design and helped many car guys get their fix with their V8 and V10 coolers. Both have amazing performance and good looks. However, both are also a little pricy. Today Cooler Master is officially announcing their newest addition to their lineup, the V6GT. The idea behind the V6GT is to get good performance while keeping the cost a little lower than their V8 and v10. Let’s take a closer look.
Written by garfi3ld Tuesday, 22 June 2010 19:00
One of the best ways to keep the noise level of your high end gaming rig down is to look at water cooling options. Some of the all-in-one kits perform well, but are still hit and miss. Putting together your own kit is more complicated, but will give you much better performance, not to mention great looks. One of the big names in water cooling parts is a company called Danger Den. With help from Acoustic PC we were able to update our old water cooling kit with the parts needed to keep our i7 930 cool.
Written by Lersar Thursday, 03 June 2010 23:49
Budget builds have become more and more popular as the economy sees more falls and the industry sees more rises into the world of PC gaming. Regardless of if you have an entry level build or an enthusiast, cutting corners to save dollars only ends up costing you more in the end. There are several companies that strive to provide quality performance matched with affordable price-points, and XtremeGear has sent us such a piece: the HP1216B.
Written by Lersar Sunday, 02 May 2010 19:00
Appearance has become a large part of any PC gaming enthusiast's rig, with more and more chassis coming with windowed sides standard in order to to show off your hardware. This addition is yet another decision to factor into the buying process. Thermaltake has a large line of CPU coolers, many with a unique design and performance. My favorite has always been the SpinQ line and today I sit down with the new SpinQ VT to see how it performs, in both the eye of the user and the processor.
Written by Lersar Sunday, 25 April 2010 00:55
The simple case fan that we know and love has truly taken on a few extra roles over the years, including making our towers look kick-ass. Few methods can top the simplicity and functionality of LEDs, when they're done right. It should be silent of course and you can't forget adequate cooling either. Just as easy as any fan can make a build, it can also break a build. Gelid Solutions recently sent us their newest entry, the Wing 12PL, to see how well it performs in the demanding field of case cooling.
Written by garfi3ld Tuesday, 06 April 2010 19:00
When it comes to heatsinks little changes but just when you think that it's all been done someone comes along and says they can do better. Sometimes it's with a new design or shape, other times it's using TEC cooling, and then sometimes it's just plain ol' size. Noctua has recently introduced the NH-D14 and D14 apparently means "monster". This has to be the largest heatsink I have ever seen and now it's sitting on our workbench today begging to be tested, let's jump in.
Written by Lersar Sunday, 14 March 2010 19:00
It's rare nowadays to see a company make a case fan attractive without the use of lighting of some sort. That doesn't mean it can't be done. Cooler Master's new 120mm case fan the Excalibur, is proof of that. The simple and sleek design just doesn't get justice behind bezels. Careful not to judge books by their covers today I sit down with the Excalibur to see how it performs.
Written by garfi3ld Sunday, 07 March 2010 19:00
We have taken a look at a few products from Gelid Solutions in the past, I was very impressed with the low noise levels of their first heatsink Silent CPU Cooler. Their last heatsink was designed to perform well, but not to compete with some of the larger high-end coolers that enthusiasts normally go after. No because of that Gelid Solutions has released the Tranquillo, a larger heatsink aimed at high performance but still following Gelid's Silent product line. Today we have the chance to put it to the test and see how it performs compared to some of best heatsinks on the market.
Written by Lersar Tuesday, 22 December 2009 19:00
Gaming PCs have long since reached a point where multiple fans of different sizes and RPM are necessary to adequately cool the hardware it uses. With such a variety comes the potential of tweaking each individual fan to a certain speed, in order to preserve power when not needed and control the airflow of the rig. If you are using standard fans connected to a power supply alone, this is impossible. The solution to all these problems is a fan controller, in this case a 5.25" expansion bay and hardware that, at the very least, controls multiple fans. The interface of a controller, how it controls the speeds, style, and capacity are but a few things that set models apart from one another. NZXT has sent us the Sentry 2 to see how it performs.
Written by garfi3ld Wednesday, 11 November 2009 03:28
One of the top heatsink manufactures, Thermalright, has impressed us multiple times with their top performing heatsinks. Recently, they introduced a new brand and product line called CoGage. CoGage products are designed for penny pinching enthusiasts who want Thermalright's performance, on a budget. When Our new friends over at Acoustic PC contacted us, and asked if we wanted to check out the True Spirit. We said,"Of course, we would love too." So, They sent us a whole box full of goodies, to help in the testing. Big thanks go out to them!
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