CPU Cooler Charts 2008, Part 2

3R System Ice Age - A Perfect Mount

3R System Ice Age

The Ice Age cooler by 3R Systems is one of those rare products that made a good impression on us literally straight out of the box; this is because the box and everything in it was very tidy, allowing buyers to see all the parts at a glance. 3R System also found an excellent solution for the installation procedure. Although the cooler comes with its own retention module for Socket 775, it can be installed without having to remove the motherboard first - in our opinion, some of the other companies would do well to follow this example. Mounting the cooler itself is accomplished in a matter of seconds, using a metal clip that is very easy to attach.

The Ice Age cooler also uses Direct Touch heatpipes

The parts of the Ice Age cooler.

From a technology and design perspective, the cooler has a lot going for it, as it uses four heatpipes that are in direct contact with the CPU. So does this really result in an "Ice Age" for the CPU, as the cooler's name would suggest? The answer is "No", since the cooling performance is only average. At its highest fan speed, it can cool the CPU to 72.5°C, albeit very noisily. Happily, even the slower speeds provide sufficient cooling as well, allowing users to turn the fan down a few levels.

The 120 mm fan

Retail package of the 3R System Ice Age

The Ice Age on testing platform