Eight Low-Profile CPU Coolers For Your Compact PC, Reviewed

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A recent look at ASRock's M8 compact barebones PC saw us undervolting our CPU in order to run stably, overclocked. This forced us to ask the question: how much cooling can we fit inside a slim enclosure? Eight heat sink vendors helped us find the answer.

SilenX EFZ-100HA2

Does anyone remember flower-style coolers? Few of us would claim to be old enough, though some may have forgotten about this design. Fortunately, it still has some merit.

Low manufacturing cost of this sheet-aluminum design is probably the biggest benefit of SilenX’s EFZ-100HA2. After all, easier manufacturing leads to a supremely-attractive $15 retail price.

Smashing those fins tightly together allows SilenX to machine a smooth surface upon the EFZ-100HA2’s base. Aluminum rivets hold it all together.

Designed to clip onto AMD’s Socket 462, the manufacturer must have been thrilled when AMD decided to keep those clips for generation-after-generation of AM and FM interfaces. SilenX adds an adapter bracket for LGA 775 and LGA 1156, and must have been similarly thrilled when Intel decided to keep the 1156 hole spacing for LGA 1155 and 1150. Locking pins sit in oval holes to allow the builder to select between LGA 775 and LGA 115x compatibility.

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Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
56 Comments Comment from the forums
  • CommentariesAnd More
    Good article.
    Reply
  • laststop311
    I knew the noctua was going to win before I even looked at the results.
    Reply
  • lowguppy
    It is really nice to see a low profile round up when a year ago it was hard to find low profile coolers at all. I have to ask though, were these tested on an open bench or in an enclosure? I think to really judge them you have to put them in a box. Maybe not that silly ASRock chassis, but something a like a BitFenix.

    Also, every mini-ITX motherboard is a little different. It would take some work, but it would be nice to see coolers cross referenced with different motherboards for compatibility. Just reading reviews it is pretty common to find one or two "Didn't fit my board" comments while other reviewers found the coolers to fit perfectly.
    Reply
  • Someone Somewhere
    Several others asked us for a few additional millimeters of headroom, though that would have resulted in a viscous cycle

    Do you mean vicious? Because I'm fairly sure the cycle wouldn't be a thick liquid.
    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    I am surprised that the Cooler Master GeminII didn't make this list.
    Reply
  • GoliathPtXs
    i feel that only a few of them ( like 3 or 4 ) are really low profile coolers, rest are just normal size, bearing in mind that the big ones are labeled as tower coolers...
    Reply
  • cheesyboy
    Inches/Millimeters/Inches/Millimeters/Inches/Millimeters....

    It's good to see consistency ;)
    Reply
  • AJSB
    Those things are WAY TOO BIG for really compact mITX systems....

    I'm using one from Titan that is really small: 107x70x12.5mm (official dimensions are incorrect) for the skived copper heatsink and can use 60mm or 70mm fans...i'm using a Titan fan that is 70x70x10.

    Really compact....check my build at www overclock net:D

    I i will add soon more pics and you will see something that is really small.
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    i got here the cp 12 se14 on the lian li v 351 pushed the 3770k 4.6ghz... not bad at all now the noctua is cooling the 3470 no problems.
    Reply
  • -Fran-
    11933622 said:
    I am surprised that the Cooler Master GeminII didn't make this list.

    I was going to post precisely that.

    I have one for my A8 8350 (100W) and it does a wonderful job inside a TT SD200.

    And this is the CM cooler we're talking about: CM GeminII M4
    Cheers!
    Reply