Corsair is once again expanding their lineup of CPU cooling solutions. This time with the Hydro Series H90, pairing good cooling and low noise levels up in one attractive package. At less than $100 it is also priced competitively to go head-to-head with high-end air coolers.
Currently tower-type coolers are known offer the best cooling performance, so it surprised us a bit to see a new top-flow CPU cooler from Noctua. We were even more surprised by the performance delivered which is better than any other cooler we tested before, including tower-type models.
Evercool sent us a cute little heatsink to toy around with. But as we unpacked it, the low-profile HPK-1002EA heatsink looked bigger than we imagined. We strapped it on to our LGA1366 test-bed right away. Do small-sized "LGA1366 compatible" heatsinks cut it?
Zaward drew inspiration from the golf ball to enhance air-flow using a "heatsink breathing design", as well as heat dissipation with its Vapor 120 CPU cooler. In the process, it came up with a rather slim-looking 120 mm tower-type heatsink. Will Zaward's golf ball-inspired CPU cooler click?
Akasa made an attempt to spice up product design by giving one of its latest CPU coolers a mean toxic-yellow color scheme, backed by a well-equipped heatsink design. Can the Akasa Venom strike a sweet-spot between looks and performance?
Zalman and its unique fin-ring type heatsinks ruled the roost once upon a time, but things changed with the advent of tower-type coolers. Zalman continued to innovate with a redesigned CNPS9900 MAX, even after going tower-design with the CNPS 10 series. Exactly what made Zalman go back to its traditional design?
Xigmatek makes sure each new product has a little something new to look out for, often these turn out to be as revolutionary as the "Heatpipe Direct Touch" (HDT) itself. With the Aegir SD128264, Xigmatek claims to have taken HDT to the next level (quite literally), and added a second level of heatpipes that draw heat from the CPU. Will this innovation bear fruit?
Falling next in line in the footsteps of its predecessors such as the V8 and V10 coolers, the V6GT aims high to be the cooler everyone wants. With unique features such as "tilted asymmetrical fin design", "DynaLoop bearing technology" and unique "Double-V" heat-pipe setup will the V6GT live up to its expectations?
Its been over a year since Thermaltake came out with their last CPU cooler offering. The Frio is their first dual fan cooler targeted at cooling high performance multi-core processors with high heat output. The Frio incorporates some very promising new features, will they offer any significant benefit?
Noctua has taken their NH-U9B cooler, which already offers great performance, added a second 92 mm fan and upgraded its mounting kit. Noise levels are still at a minimum and push the envelope in silent high performance cooling for modern processors. Today we see if these improvements have made the NH-U9B SE2 even more worthy of your hard earned cash.
Noctua has taken the high performance NH-C12P, which already offers excellent performance, and added a 140 mm fan. Noise level are still at a minimum and push the envelope in silent high performance cooling for modern processors. They all say size matters - let's see if that holds true with the NH-C12P SE14 as well.
Noctua is well known for their line of excellent CPU coolers and silent fans. With the ever growing heat levels of modern processors, the company created the new "twin towers" design. Today we see if the NH-D14 can handle the heat while still living up to Noctua's promise of quiet CPU cooling.
Thermaltake has been around for many years, creating heatsinks for nearly every market imaginable. Thermaltake's first claim to fame was the Golden Orb, a unique cooler that set the computing world on its ear. Thermaltake has not stopped there, and they are still inventing challenging new designs. Today we take a look at highly awarded SpinQ and see what it has to offer.
The CNPS9900 NT is the most recent update to the 9900 series of CPU coolers from Zalman. It features a shiny dark grey look with a sweet green LED fan and a silent adapter. Even with the low noise level the cooler manages to impress at many levels.
The Zalman CNPS10X Quiet takes the CNPS10X Extreme and pairs it with a silent fan for all those users who want the cooling performance of a tower cooler in combination with silence. We crank up the heat to see if the CNPS10X Quiet can stay cool when it counts.
Spire's TherMax II is a new DHT CPU cooler for AMD and Intel CPUs. Its four heatpipes make direct contact with the processor for optimum cooling. Also included in the package is a fan controller which allows you to control the UV reactive fan in any way you want.
The CoolIT Domino A.L.C. CPU cooler is a water cooling unit at the price of an air cooler. It has three fan speed modes and features a blue backlit LCD screen. Installation is simple for a water cooling unit and its performance is exceptional considering its low price of $79.99.
Zalman's CNPS9900 LED is their newest all copper model in the CNPS series. A silent 120 mm blue LED fan has been placed between two arrays of pure copper fins. With exceptional performance and amazing looks, the CNPS9900 LED is a great CPU cooler if you can justify spending $79 for a CPU cooler.
Gelid Solutions’ Silent Spirit CPU cooler is a small, lightweight, high performing heatsink for both AMD and Intel CPUs (including Intel Socket LGA1366). Its four heatpipes connect to a pure copper base and an angled block of fins to cool surrounding motherboard components. The cooler is also extremely silent with Gelid's silent 9 2mm PWM fan attached.
The Evercool Transformer 6 is a cooler made to look good and perform well. The included fan controller allows it to remain very quiet for day to day usage but then give added performance and brighter LED lights for the overclocking enthusiast. With a large 120 mm bright blue LED fan, six heat pipes, a stainless steel coating and performance coming close to the newer HDT coolers, the Transformer 6 is certainly one to please!
Sunbeam's Core Contact Freezer is a cost effective CPU cooler for AMD and Intel CPUs. Its four heatpipes make direct contact with the processor for optimum cooling. Also included in the package is a fan controller which allows you to optimize the acoustics to your usage scenario.
The Zaward Gyre looks quite interesting with the black shroud. Its unique design shows us that it is a competitor to more "known" heatsinks. Featuring a nice finish with blue LED lights, being very easy to install and having great performance, the Gyre lives up to all of its expectations.
The Chipchilla from Coolink manages to decrease chipset temperatures while maintaining a low noise level. It is extremely light-weight being constructed of copper and aluminum all for an decent price. Limited availability and some installation issues are all that hold this cooler back.
The Xigmatek Achilles S1284 heatsink has many improvements over the famous HDT-S1283 cooler. There are now four U-shaped heatpipes, and they are nickel-plated. The fan design is new and unique as well, with its white LEDs that light up the fan's smoke frame and orange blades.
The GlacialTech Igloo 5750 is a price effective alternative to the Intel or AMD stock retail cooler, which is a lot quieter and still offers sufficient cooling performance. Its silver finish and three heatpipes give it a nice look, the dual fan configuration can easily be changed to single for even less noise.
