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CPU Cooler Charts 2008, Part 1

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MSI / Watercool HydroGen (Cont'd)

The water cooler draws its power from a Molex connector via a 9-pin cable (2 meters long) that enters the case through a faceplate on the back of the PC case. The fan speed signal is sent to the motherboard using the standard fan-header connectors.

Mounting components

The radiator's fans can be set to three different speeds: 5 volts, 7 volts and 12 volts.

MSI X38 Diamond HydroGen

MSI X38 Diamond HydroGen

At the lowest fan speed, the processor runs at 72.5°C, while the medium speed cools it down to 66°C, and the fastest mode drops the CPU's temperature down to 63.5°C. When operating at one of the lower two settings, the cooler is barely audible, while we were able to make out a dull hiss. This water cooler will never distract you from work if it is mounted under your desk.

The inherent advantage of a water cooling solution is that it can always maintain these temperatures, regardless of the airflow inside the tower and the choice of components. As a result, the entire system is quieter, since the CPU cooler also doesn't bleed heat into the tower, forcing other components' fans to compensate.

The CPU cooler dissipates heat very well, and the system's radiator is very effective.

According to MSI, the bundle consisting of the motherboard and the water cooler will appear in stores soon, although we haven't heard any details on pricing. MSI will also be selling the board separately under the name X38 HydroGen, at a price of around €295. Obviously, this version will lack the water cooler.

Technical Data
CPU100% loadidle
Temperature 12V63.5°C33°C
Temperature 7V66°C33°C
Temperature 5V72.5°C33°C
Noise41.9 dB(A)36 dB(A)
Fan Speed1540 RPM560 RPM
Weight426 grams
Intel Socket775
AMD SocketAM2AM2+

If you're considering buying the water cooler separately, expect to pay somewhere around €300.

Components
ProductPrice
Heatkiller CPU LGA775 Rev2.5ca. €50
HT Fusion Dualca. €230
HT Fusion Tripleca. €270
Screw connection A. 90°C 10 mm (four pieces)ca. €11
PUR tube 10/8 clear (per meter)ca. €2.50
PVC tube 10/8 clear (per meter)ca. €1

Installation

26 Comments Comment from the forums
  • 17 May 2008 23:51
    Thank you, been wondering what cooler to buy for an OCed Quad, and high temps are good when dying :D
    Reply
  • sorrii 26 June 2008 20:33
    ... must be stupid ...! The fan is istalled at wrong side of the cooler ...
    Reply
  • 30 June 2008 05:34
    Thermalright FTW!! Every time.
    Reply
  • suspect 11 July 2008 14:32
    I cant believe that photo...sorrii I am with you only a nutjob would use or test it in that configuration!!!
    Noctua clearly state orientation of their coolers and that is ass about.
    Every other review I have read rates the NH-U12F much more highly... always near best in class
    Reply
  • wkornf 11 July 2008 15:32
    your numbers of near 70C on every cooler is outrageous, if those numbers are true not a single one of these coolers would keep a computer stable in a closed case outside the northeast. and a couple minutes isnt a good measure of cpus final temp, if u look over a temp log after a long game session you know it creeps up. to many factors.
    Reply
  • dragunover 11 July 2008 19:48
    Bullshit article.I agree with wkornf.

    If my Artic silver 5 + Scythe Katana 2 cooler(for only a massive price of 25 USD! I can keep my outdated Pentium D under 100 degrees fahrenheit,infact around HALF of these tests,even under water cooling? Wow,according to this,I should actually worry about getting a quad core because of the heat.And no,I don't have any fans in my case,it's open,only fans are from my GPU,CPU,and my PSU.
    No extra 4 250mm performance fans.And an X38? That's just unbelievable.
    Reply
  • eaglestrike7339 12 July 2008 11:24
    Do you guys get the point? They maxed out everything, so the cooler could show off the best that it could do in the most extreme conditions.

    A good article, i especially like the tests for installation and sound, as those are what i would look into most when purchasing a cooler, and unlike CPUs, there are usually no charts to go along with.
    Reply
  • suspect 12 July 2008 11:48
    eaglestrike... do you see mounting the noctua fan in the wrong direction as good testing???
    They have it on the top side of the sink flowing in a downward direction!!!
    it goes against basic laws of physics and logic.
    Reply
  • cliffro 12 July 2008 14:25
    alot of the coolers listed of a particular design are installed all goofy like, Of course on their open setup it doesn't make much difference(i think)

    but when installed in a normal ATX case, would be detrimental to the coolers performance. Especially coolers designed similar to the Noctua and Scythe Ninja plus.

    I can't be certain about others but Arctic Cooling's Freezer 7 Pro is supposed to be installed like this(one would assume others of similar design would be the same)
    http://bigrockies.com/media/cooler.jpg
    Reply
  • suspect 12 July 2008 16:35
    cliffro I think to some degree you are correct but it still does not follow good practice when supposedly collecting data to represent consumer products.
    As these have published manufacturer recomended installations why would you reverse it.
    I recently read a review of the latest Noctua cooler at Legitreviews
    where Noctua actually contacted them on this very issue... as a result they retested and found some improvement in cooling.
    http://www.legitreviews.com/article/741/1/
    Reply