Last message on previous page:
Whelp... Seems as though the majority of those HS do say in the spec for a Quad, except a couple, which I only read C2D series in the specs. But I was looking around for Zaward Vivo. And what ya know, I found a benchmark for it:

Zaward VIVO PCJ004 Exposed Copper Heatpipe CPU Cooler

Now it tests the E6600, not the quad, but look at how this testbed is setup:

Test System

*
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R (Intel P35 chipset) with F4G BIOS
*
System Memory: Crucial PC2-8500 CL5 Ballistix DDR2 RAM
*
Processor: Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz operating at multiple speeds
*
Cooling: Xigmatek HDT-S1283 Exposed Copper Heatpipe CPU Cooler
*
Video: Foxconn GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB overclocked to 600MHz Core / 900MHz RAM
*
Audio: HT Omega CLARO7.1 C-Media 8788 Oxygen Chipset
*
Hard Disk 1: Western Digital WD360GD 10,000 RPM SATA
*
Optical Drive: Toshiba Samsung SH-S203 SATA 20x DVD R/W
*
Enclosure: Lian Li PC-B20A ATX Case with 2x120mm and 1x90mm cooling fans
*
PSU: ePower Technology EP-1200P10 xScale 1200W PSU
*
Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP-2 (optimized to 16 processes at idle)

What ya know... Lian Li PC-B20A ATX case.

And the graphs indicating ambient temps.. and and.. a STOCK HS BASELINE!!!

Owell... I think I'll go to bed now...

This is all BS. Tom's Hardware is getting pretty stupid with the reviews written--so why not hire competent people to write? I mean really... for one, it's unprofessional. Tell us what your testbed is, what thermal compound you're using, and info such as ambient temperature. It's not so hard... just give us a list. Many of your reviews already are being laughed at by the enthusiast community. These coolers aren't all about keeping your processor cool at max overclock--which you won't even tell us what it is. We know some of these designs are junk, but you're just saying too much bad about the good ones around.

Oak for a high end(it overclocks better) and Plywood(you can get it from the dump) for a budget system.

That Lian Li PC-B20A is one sweet case

In my opinion, they need to compare these to the intel stock fan, so we have a nice relative comparison.

also, where is this much hyped Zalman?

and correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the thermal specification for an intel processor 70 degrees?

Lets think logically. They take the heatsink out of the box, install it, test it. However the fan goes, goes. If the documentation said to have it blow down, then thats what you do. if they are all mounted as recommended by the manufacturer, and on the test bench they overheat like crazy, then its a fair comparison. Thats not to say swapping out the fans, turning them over, and performing a buddha doll belly rubbing ritual will not bring the temperatures down significantly.

if a cooler requires that i remove the motherboard, then im likely to consider a clip-on cooler instead. When its all said and done if there is a new overall chart with results of all stages of the test, and they were consistent, then great, i can finally see where i rank in the scheme of things, and why i just bought a liquid cooling system for my q6600 @3.6 GHz

Ooohhh... That Heatpipe Direct Touch looks tantelizing. Imagine if one of the higher end like Thermaltake/Thermalright/Zalman does that but puts 6 heatpipes in a HDT setup.

Ooohhh....do I hear higher OC's on lower temps?????

Yeah, the more recent Lian Li PC cases make me wish I still had the first tower case I ever had. Going by the internal design it was almost identical to almost all of the current Lian Li mid towers other than not having the side facing 3.5" drive bays. Externally though it was made back in the 90s when they were still making cases with the 1 piece outer shells. It was also one of the few cases that I've ever seen, even to date other than certain brands that came with a removable lent filtering screen that went over the front intake, it mounted behind a removable section of the front bezel. Still to this date one of the best cases I've ever had.

As far as what direction the manufacturer recommends, Zerotherm says you can mount the Nirvana facing any direction benefits your case airflow the most. Most optimal situation is blowing towards the rear exhaust fan for push-pull effect. Others it depends on how the mounting hardware faces, but for intel using the 4 pin mounting backplate, again you can pretty much have them facing any direction. The only way you could get really restricted would be with possible mounting on the AMD am2 sockets and the likes. But like I said, when it comes to mounting, both platforms should be taken into consideration, maybe 1-5 point for intel ease of installation and 1-5 for AMD ease.

And I could tell the quality of articles was going down here at Toms after Phenom 9600BE review.

Yes, lets do that.

This review used noise as a category/factor for the overall performance of the heatsink. Now how do they accomplish this without providing something as basic as the ambient noise level?

And, how do they use temp as a factor when they don't supply, again, something as basic as ambient temp? The temp rise above ambient tells a lot more about a heatsink's performance than, "this cooler topped out at xx C."

Personally, I like to see tests done as close to a real-world situation that they can get. However, they were all tested under the same conditions. My only problem is they never specified what those conditions were.

Word. That is a good site to help elucidate the organization and quality of testing that is lacking with the THG article. I like to stick with FrostyTech for pure thermal performance information but it is always good to see real CPU results too. I snagged the Xigmatek after it first made it's appearance on Frosty's and I am happy to see it is holding up in the CPU reviews

Here is an idea.... that HDT technology with a TECooler. Draw away more heat from the hot side and there ya go. Imagine the possibilities.

How about using HDT for a radiator on a water cooled system? Use it to draw the heat to the fins. I can see many possibilities for this HDT. I wand to see more heatpipes, like say 6-8? See if that improves the heat dissipation performance.

Scythe Ninja B is 15c hotter than the Thermalright IFX-14? And who installs a cooling fan blowing down? Noooobody. Something seems amiss.

Or, drown the CPU in oil.
Or rent a walk-in sub-zero freezer and use the PC in there. That would be awesome.


Siberian eskimos must be very lucky. They dont worry about cooling their quadcore PC's.

Ironically, they need CPU warmers!

With regard to the article, I can't say I was impressed with the cooling of many of the coolers (quite fancy the Zalman Reserator though ). My 6000+ on stock cooling idles at about 28/30C and under 100% load in Seti@Home hasn't gone above 60C. Some of it is going to be my case though, I've carefully set up the fans in my CM-690, so I'm sure they're doing their job!

Your pic is giving me nightmares. Make it stop looking at me.

Dude, MINI-FRIDGE!!!!! It would totally fit. It is just like a kegerator. I wonder if you could hook up a kegerator inline with a water cooler...now that is efficiency. The kegerator-CPU cooling system...heat and sobriety...forget about it!