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Cogage True Spirit Details

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2:10 AM - 05/08/2009 by Thomas Soderstrom

In the quest for the fairest and most accurate evaluation, we wanted to compare the Domino A.L.C. to a similarly-priced air cooling sink, using the same fan to remove any question of “performance to noise ratio.” We found that similarly-priced sink in Thermalright’s Ultra 120 eXtreme, available with fan in the -1366 RT package for a Web price starting around $65. We contacted Thermalright immediately to request a sample.

Instead, Thermalright sent its newer True Spirit, which resembles the less-eXtreme original-version Ultra 120. The Cogage brand is still relatively new, and we've seen very limited coverage of Thermalright's new arm, so we decided to give this less-aggressive solution a shot in the ring.

Because the True Spirit is a mainstream product, its $39 estimated retail price threw off our ~$60 water/air comparison. So, the Cogage sink will either succeed brilliantly or fail miserably as it goes up against the Domino. Representatives at Thermalright estimate that this cooler will hit retail shelves mid-May.

The use of four heat pipes, rather than six, separate the True Spirit and the original Ultra 120 from the pricier Ultra 120 eXtreme and Thermalright True. Included in the retail box are the sink, a 120 x 25 mm fan, two fan retention clips, a foldable mounting bracket, a tube of Thermalright Chill Factor thermal paste, installation instructions, and a decorative sticker.

Installation is not difficult to understand, but the physical process not easy either. Getting the folding bracket to the exact required shape to make it line up with all holes can be difficult, and the bracket’s center screw doesn’t simply fall into the sink’s matching divot. Furthermore, the extra tension required to keep this tall cooler square with the CPU means that extra force must be applied to the top of each pin to get it to lock, and we hate putting that much pressure against the board.

We managed to get it on “wrong” once before we decided the best way to install this sink is to remove the motherboard, center the socket over a knee for support, and push to get the pins in. Remember to check constantly to make sure the bracket’s screw has not slid out of the sink’s divot. It may not deserve our harshest criticism, but this installation bracket is certainly among the more cumbersome we’ve used. We'd suggest a larger screw head that more positively aligns with the divot.

The True Spirit’s 140mm fan is rated at 1,000-1,500 RPM on its Web page, 1,000-1,800 RPM on its label, and it ran at 1,600 RPM when we connected it to a continuous 12V source. The Cogage Web site also lists noise levels between 19.6 and 37.4 decibels.

Talkback
Proximon 05/08/2009 8:34 AM
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I would have liked a better description of this Cogage. HDT? Aluminum block? Copper? It could have used a few more pictures as well.

dragonsprayer 05/08/2009 9:16 AM
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JeBuSBrian 05/08/2009 9:36 AM
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Come on, Tom's! Hire a proof-reader already. Your writers obviously can't do the jobs themselves. And it simply makes this site look more unprofessional than it already has become.

renozi 05/08/2009 9:38 AM
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Is the Spirit better than the TRUE 120?

Crashman 05/08/2009 10:36 AM
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renozi :
Is the Spirit better than the TRUE 120?



The article said they never sent the Ultra 120 Extreme.

dragonsprayer 05/08/2009 10:48 AM
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Anonymous 05/08/2009 10:57 AM
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"At full speed (2,800 RPM) its fan was over twice as loud as that of the True Spirit."

That will lead people to believe it was 56dB, when in fact something that is "twice as loud" is only +6dB

Crashman 05/08/2009 11:09 AM
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Drikanna :
"At full speed (2,800 RPM) its fan was over twice as loud as that of the True Spirit."That will lead people to believe it was 56dB, when in fact something that is "twice as loud" is only +6dB



No. Twice as loud is +10db. Twice as many fans would be +3db. We didn't have a accoustically dampened room to test them in, and taking meter readings against background noise provides skewed numbers that most people can't work out. It's easier to simply say "at least twice as loud" when you mean more than 10db louder.

What makes that observation most significant is that both companies rate their devices at similar full-speed noise levels, when it's quite obvious to testers that one device is very much louder than the other.

There are many ways to screw up a reading even in a silent room. The standard from audio devices is to test at one meter, but some review sites do it at around one decimeter. If you go in the other direction, perhaps the "noisier" device was tested at 1 dekameter.

Any company who advertises noise readings that were taken at more than one meter without specifying the distance is cheating its customers. Any company who advertises noise readings that were taken at less than one meter is cheating itself.

dragonsprayer 05/08/2009 11:31 AM
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dragonsprayer 05/08/2009 11:35 AM
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Crashman 05/08/2009 1:12 PM
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Congrats on getting a good processor. I get those once in a while too. With Core i7, it's like one out of five.

kschoche 05/08/2009 1:55 PM
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dragonsprayer :
lol! me? sorry about the typos - i am testing a system while i test this - keep in mind its running at 4.15ghz at 72c with prime 95 and 3d mark06 running at the same time!!!!! with hypo treading on! try that cyber-loser! or ibuyjunk! o man i should not do that sorry THG! i know they support the site but, when they claim 4.1ghz but do not spec 100c with prime 95 - well we get a little up set over here! hybrid single (keep in mind this is our low end system!) (includes push pull fans in 3 rads- look for the split at the upper left)anyone that wants to build ther own email me or pm me! tech support is free for THG, loop: http://s329.photobucket.com/albums [...] s-i7-2.jpg ,,,, http://s329.photobucket.com/albums [...] C_0166.jpg enjoy and good luck! we do plumb the boreas in this too - sorry for no proof rading~! [IMG]http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l373/warpedsystems/WSZWC-cms-i7-1.jpg[/IMG]



You should be banned, not for your shameless plugs, but for your idiotic posts and worse proofreading performance than THG

dragonsprayer 05/08/2009 2:42 PM
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hustler539 05/08/2009 3:04 PM
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^not banned, shot.....As for the article, I too would have liked a bit more info on the Spirit, like base material and smoothness?

chjade84 05/08/2009 3:14 PM
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Wow, lots of messages rated as useless here.

A decameter, Crashman? I'm not sure many people read from 10 meters away but I bet someone has, lol. SPL is a difficult thing to rate objectively.

I am a little surprised the HSF beat that little water cooler by so much.

morpheas768 05/08/2009 3:16 PM
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dragonsprayer :
can i delete that? looks like i was sleep typing again! worst part is the system above i was mubbling about in my sleep runs 60-70c in prime 95, even after running 3dmark06 3 times in row. That is at 4.2ghz. I make you a deal you find a better systme for under $4k, that is single loop that can match those specs and i quit! lol!i am central time, i wrote that at 4am after i woke up and then went to bed! lol! ya i should be banned! again!


kschoche :
You should be banned, not for your shameless plugs, but for your idiotic posts and worse proofreading performance than THG



I agree with kschoche, You should be banned for your 'no-proof claims' and stupid adv. posts dragonsprayer.

Crashman 05/08/2009 3:31 PM
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chjade84 :
Wow, lots of messages rated as useless here. A decameter, Crashman? I'm not sure many people read from 10 meters away but I bet someone has, lol. SPL is a difficult thing to rate objectively.I am a little surprised the HSF beat that little water cooler by so much.



Yeh, it's a shame that the liquid cooler was both noisier and less effective at cooling.

sublifer 05/08/2009 4:21 PM
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Be nice to see the results next to a nicer liquid cooling system. But was a good review. I've seen results like this many times and am always surprised by people claiming that liquid is so much greater than air cooling.

hardwarekid9756 05/08/2009 4:34 PM
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Very great article. I miss such great detail and compelling reviews!

chjade84 05/08/2009 4:36 PM
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sublifer :
Be nice to see the results next to a nicer liquid cooling system. But was a good review. I've seen results like this many times and am always surprised by people claiming that liquid is so much greater than air cooling.



Real, QUALITY, liquid cooling is much greater than air. The problem is this is not quality liquid cooling and neither are the cheap water-coolers on the market. Tom's did a review of 3 REAL liquid coolers and (granted it was a quad core but not an i7) full load was around 43-45c. In this test they were around 77c. i7's run hotter but you should still see around a 20c drop if you use QUALITY liquid cooling.


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