A Cool Bunch: How To Put A Lid On The Die Temperature Of Your Athlon

The Eye-Catcher: Titan TTC-MT1AB

This corrugated aluminum cooler looks quite unconventional, albeit appealing. Despite its two fans, its operating noise level is fairly low.

Its cooling capacity will definitely be enough for an AMD Duron. We don't believe, though, that the TTC-MT1AB has enough safety reserves to operate Thunderbirds or Palominos at high clock speeds.

The underside: small contact area and unusual spring clip.

The installation can be a problem on certain boards. If capacitors are stacked high next to the socket, as is the case on our candidate, the EP-8KHA, angling the cooler is rather difficult, and the installation requires steady hands. The spring clip requires a lot of elbow grease.