FSP Launches Windale CPU Coolers
FSP is mostly known for its PSUs, largely because it's one of the largest PSU manufacturers around. But the company also offers products that aren't PSUs or power adapters, including cases, energy storage products, and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) devices. Now the company has revealed its latest venture: a CPU cooling line called Windale.
These coolers are for AMD Ryzen and Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 processors and come in two flavors, the Windale 4 (AC401) and Windale 6 (AC601). Both promise good cooling performance combined with low noise, which seems to be the holy grail of all cooling products but unfortunately very few have thus far managed to efficiently combine those factors with a down-to-earth price tag.
Both Windale 4 and 6 use direct contact technology to remove the CPU's heat, which means their heatpipes are in close contact with the CPU. This technology offers very good results, however it also needs more thermal grease and a little more attention during the heat sink's installation, in order to achieve the best possible contact between the PSU and the cooler's base. As their names imply, the Windale 4 features four heatpipes while the Windale 6 has six. Moreover, the louver fins are assembled with a solder-less technique which enhances heat transfer. Both coolers use the same 120mm fan that is able to deliver up to 60CFM. Unfortunately this fan uses a sleeve bearing, which lasts much shorter compared to double ball-bearings or fluid dynamic type ones. Lastly, the fan's control is implemented through a PWM signal, which allows for a precise speed control and a minimum speed of 600RPM.
FSP claims the Windale 4 can handle up to 180W thermal loads and has a thermal resistance of 0.11° C/W, while the larger Windale 6 reaches a TDP of 240W and brings thermal resistance down to 0.09° C/W. Those TDP figures are indeed very high, however we need to review them under real life conditions.
The FSP Windale series is compatible with a large variety of sockets including Intel’s Socket LGA 775, 1150, 1155, 1156, 1366, and 2011, and AMD’s socket FM1, FM2, FM2+, AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, and AM4.
Both coolers are close to 16cm tall, so you will need a pretty large case to accommodate them. Besides the extra two heat pipes, the Windale 6 is 203g heavier than its little sister and also features a black plating. Both coolers use the same fan. We at least expected the high-end model to use a higher quality FDB fan or a double ball-bearing one, however, they would be noisier than the sleeve-bearing fan it has now. Finally, the top model features blue LED lighting.
A strong advantage of those coolers are the affordable prices, since the Windale 4 costs $33 and the Windale 6 has a price tag of $47. Unfortunately so far we don't have any information on when those products will hit the U.S.
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| Windale 4 | Windale 6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Thermal Resistance | 0.11℃/W | 0.09℃/W |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 122 x 83 x 158mm | 122 x 110 x 165 mm |
| Weight | 620g | 823g |
| Heatsink Material | Aluminum Alloy | Aluminum Alloy with black plating |
| Heat-pipes | 6mm x 4PCS | 6mm x 6PCS |
| Fan Speed | 600-1600RPM (PWM) ± 15% | |
| Bearing Type | Sleeve Bearing | |
| Fan Air Flow | 60CFM ± 10% | |
| Noise Level | 32dBA | |
| Rated Voltage | 12VDC | |
| LED | - | Blue LED |
Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.
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dstarr3 I do like the look of the black one, but I have to wonder if that plating reduces the thermal conductivity in any way. Has anyone done any testing on such a thing yet? I suppose that'd be pretty difficult to test for, until someone produces a cooler that's available in two versions, plated and not.Reply -
Antonio_34 if it's aluminium then it's likely powder coated, so i don't see how that would impeded it's cooling efficiency.Reply -
synphul If the 180w smaller windale 4 is priced at $33 it will have some stiff competition. There's already the 212 evo which is designed for 180w at $25-30 usd at a similar size. Cryorig's h7 is priced similarly as well and though I'm not sure of any stated tdp rating specifically several tests show it matches or exceeds the performance of the 212 evo in a smaller form factor as well as offset heatpipes for 0 ram conflict.Reply
No mention of features like the offset pipes for these coolers. If they didn't go that route it will make competition even stronger by comparison. I'm not sure how many more 212 evo type coolers the market really needs, seems fairly saturated already with coolermaster, cryorig, bequiet, noctua, reeven, scythe etc. You'd think with so many ~$30 single fan 4 pipe 160mm tall coolers a new entry to the market would try to employ something ground breaking to shake things up, even if it's a bit gimmicky.
At this late date there's really no reason for coolers that size that interfere with ram, some like the 212 evo you can give a bit of leeway because it's such an old design. Continuing to make the same mistakes is a bit of a glaring oversight imho. -
Pixdawg @Antonio_34: unlikely to be powdercoated--anodizing is a better process that wouldn't interfere with heat/air flow.Reply -
Fiqar_ I do appreciate the aesthetics of the black one but I prefer using liquid coolers purely because of their aesthetic too. It just looks way cooler. Also, liquid coolers are getting more and more mature by the day and leakage problems are becoming less of a thing. So why not get a liquid one instead? Oh well, to each their own.Reply -
dstarr3 Reply19624591 said:I do appreciate the aesthetics of the black one but I prefer using liquid coolers purely because of their aesthetic too. It just looks way cooler. Also, liquid coolers are getting more and more mature by the day and leakage problems are becoming less of a thing. So why not get a liquid one instead? Oh well, to each their own.
Overcomplication and expense. The fan on my Hyper 212 is just as quiet as the fan on anyone's radiators, and my CPU never breaks 50C, and it only cost me $30. Why would I spend three times that for no real gain?