LGA 2011: No Boxed Solution, Pick Your Own Instead
It seems strange to us that Intel no longer includes a cooler with its fastest retail CPUs. This is, after all, the same company that seems to insist that we include our original boxed cooler any time we send in one of our purchased processors in for a warranty exchange. Instead, it now suggests that enthusiasts spend extra money on something that resembles Antec’s Kühler H20 620, but actually costs as much as the larger Kühler H20 920: Intel's own BXRTS2011LQ sealed liquid CPU cooling system.
The rationale behind this move does make sense in that the Core i7-3960X and Core i7-3930K are multiplier-unlocked products that specifically target overclocking enthusiasts. Enthusiasts typically won’t settle for anything as underpowered as its RTS2011AC downdraft cooler, and Intel doesn’t think hanging two pounds of copper and aluminum up to six inches from the surface of a motherboard is a great idea. And while that kind of leverage tugging on your expensive motherboard is probably ill-advised under the harsh conditions of shipping a machine cross-country, systems that are handled gently and don't get moved often tolerate the weight of big, heavy coolers without a problem.
We invited every major CPU cooler manufacturer (that's right, all of them) to show off their LGA 2011-compatible heat sinks, and fourteen responded with products ranging from $30 to $99. That takes either a great deal of confidence or a great leap of faith from the budget cooler companies, since everyone participating in this piece knew that we'd be basing our evaluation on overclocking. The wide price range allows us to really test how much we need to spend on cooling, and how much we can benefit from spending more money than necessary.
Following up on our earlier picture story, here’s a brief overview of each cooler’s basic features, grouped by price first and arranged alphabetically. Please pay special attention to each cooler’s base height, which is measured with the intake fan at its highest position, along with thickness and offset. If the fan overhangs your DIMM slots, its base height (plus around 0.3" for the CPU/LGA package) represents your maximum supported DIMM height.
| LGA 2011 CPU Cooler Features, Sub-$50 Models | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Arctic Cooling Freezer i30 | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo | Corsair A70 | Enermax ETS-T40 | SilenX EFZ-120HA5 |
| Height | 6.3" | 6.3" | 6.3" | 6.3" | 6.2" |
| Width | 5.5" | 4.7" | 4.9" | 5.5" | 4.9" |
| Rad. Thickness | 2.6" | 2.0" | 2.8" | 2.8" | 2.3" |
| Total Thickness | 3.8" | 3.1" | 5.1" | 3.6" | 3.4" |
| Base Height | 1.2" | 1.4" | 1.5" | 1.5" | 1.4" |
| Assy. Offset | 0.5" Forward | 1.1" Forward | Centered | 1.0" Forward | 1.1" Forward |
| Cooling Fans | 1 x 120 x 25 mm | 1 x 120 x 25 mm | 2 x 120 x 25 mm | 1 x 120 x 25 mm | 1 x 120 x 25 mm |
| Connectors | 1 x PWM | 1 x PWM | 2 x Three-Pin | 1 x PWM | 1 x Three-Pin |
| Weight | 32 Ounces | 22 Ounces | 41 Ounces | 23 Ounces | 23 Ounces |
| Web Price | $40 | $35 | $35 | $30 | $33 |
| LGA 2011 CPU Cooler Features, $50-79 Models | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Akasa Venom Voodoo | Coolink Corator DS | Gelid GX-7 Rev. 2 | Xigmatek Venus SD1266 |
| Height | 6.5" | 6.2" | 6.3" | 6.4" |
| Width | 5.1" | 5.5" | 5.1" | 5.2" |
| Rad. Thickness | 2.8" | 2x 1.8" | 2.5" | 2.8" |
| Total Thickness | 5.1" | 4.7" | 3.5" | 3.9" |
| Base Height | 1.3" | 1.5" | 1.4" | 1.5" |
| Assy. Offset | Centered | Centered | 0.4" Forward | 1.1" Forward |
| Cooling Fans | 2 x 120 x 25 mm | 1 x 120 x 25 mm | 1 x 120 x 25 mm | 1 x 120 x 25 mm |
| Connectors | 2 x PWM | 1 x PWM | 1 x PWM | 1 x PWM |
| Weight | 37 Ounces | 35 Ounces | 23 Ounces | 33 Ounces |
| Web Price | $55 | $50 | $65 | $65 |
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| LGA 2011 CPU Cooler Features, $80-100 Models | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Deepcool Assassin | Noctua NH-D14 | Phanteks PH-TC14PE | Thermalright Archon SB-E | Zalman CNPS12X |
| Height | 6.4" | 6.4" | 6.5" | 7.0" | 6.2" |
| Width | 5.8" | 5.9" | 5.8" | 6.7" | 6.0" |
| Rad. Thickness | 2x 2.0" | 2x 2.0" | 2x 2.1" | 2.1" | 2x 2.2" |
| Total Thickness | 6.0" | 6.2" | 6.3" | 3.1" | 5.2" |
| Base Height | 1.7" | 1.8" | 1.6" | 1.3" | 1.2" |
| Assy. Offset | 1.0" Forward | 1.0" Forward | 1.0" Forward | 1.0" Forward | 0.25" Left |
| Cooling Fans | 1 x 140 x 25 mm 1 x 120 x 25 mm | 1 x 140 x 25 mm 1 x 120 x 25 mm | 2 x 140 x 25 mm | 1 x 150 x 25 mm | 3 x 140 x 25 mm |
| Connectors | 1 x PWM 1 x Three-Pin | 2 x PWM | 2 x Three-Pin | 1 x PWM | 1 x Three-Pin |
| Weight | 37 Ounces | 45 Ounces | 47 Ounces | 36 Ounces | 36 Ounces |
| Web Price | $80 | $85 | $90 | $85 | $99 |
Since higher fan speeds typically increase cooling capacity at low cost, some of the more expensive models attempt to provide the best balance of cooling and noise. Today’s tests includes both heat and noise measurements, and we’ll even compare heat to noise, heat to price, and heat/noise to price!
