Remember when overclocking was all about getting more performance for less money? It's hard to do that when you're spending top dollar on premium heatsinks and fans. Today we round up six true value-oriented coolers that could help unleash hidden speed.
Test Settings
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Test System Configuration
CPU
Intel Core i7-870 (2.93 GHz, 8 MB Cache), O/C to 4 GHz (20 x 200 MHz), 1.388 V
Crucial CT2KIT25664BA1339 (4 GB), DDR3-1333 at DDR3-1600 CAS 8-8-8-24
Graphics
Diamond Radeon HD 5870 1 GB, 850 MHz GPU, GDDR5-4800
Hard Drive
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS, 300 GB, 10 000 RPM, SATA 3Gb/s, 16 MB cache
Sound
Integrated HD Audio
Network
Integrated Gigabit Networking
Power
Corsair CMPSU-850HX 850 W Modular, ATX12V v2.2, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold
Software
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Graphics
ATI Catalyst 9.11
Chipset
Intel INF 9.1.1.1015
We retained the configuration from January’s LGA 1156 cooler tests, so that readers could compare these new models to competing 2009 parts.
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Benchmark Configuration
Prime95 v25.8
64-bit executable, Small FFTs, 8-threads
RealTemp 3.00
Highest core reading at full CPU load (60 minutes) Highest core reading at 30 minutes idle
Acu-Rite thermal probe
Thermal probe on VRM chokes, touching MOSFET sink, Ambient temperature at 6" from motherboard front edge
Galaxy CM-140
dBA scale at 0.25 m, corrected to 1m values (-12 db)
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i wished you included a cooler such as the coolermaster hyper 212, that seems to be a highly recommended cooler and it would have been nice to see how it squared up against these ones.
amk09i wished you included a cooler such as the coolermaster hyper 212, that seems to be a highly recommended cooler and it would have been nice to see how it squared up against these ones.We did:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535-4.html
That's why the same system was used for both tests. It's all mentioned in the article, too.
^ Or water cooling. It was a great article but, How about comparing to Hydro cooling and add an AMD system too. Intel is great at generating heat, AMD is better thought!
duk3How did the Zalman CNPS10X Performa get into this review at $35?It was $35. It went up at Newegg about a week ago, but if you look around enough you might find the launch price elsewhere.
Just wanted to say thanks for the article. And I think it's extra awesome that you actually respond to the comments/questions (I just read through the other roundup from earlier this year).