Cooler Master Hyper 6+: Universal Heatpipe Tower
by Wesley Fink on February 14, 2007 12:02 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Overclocking
As cooling solutions do a better job of keeping the CPU at a lower temperature, it is reasonable to expect the overclocking capabilities of the CPU will increase. In each test of a cooler we measure the highest stable overclock of a standard X6800 processor under the following conditions:
CPU Multiplier: 14x (Stock 11x)
CPU voltage: 1.5875V
FSB Voltage: 1.30V
Memory Voltage: 2.20V
nForce SPP Voltage: 1.5V
nForce MCP Voltage: 1.7V
HT nForce SPP <-> MCP: Auto
Memory is set to Auto timings on the 680i and memory speed is linked to the FSB for the overclocking tests. This removes memory as any kind of impediment to the maximum stable overclock. Linked settings on the 680i are a 1066FSB to a DDR2 memory speed of DDR2-800. As FSB is raised the linked memory speed increases in proportion. The same processor is used in all cooling tests to ensure comparable results.
The Cooler Master Hyper 6+ reached 3.87 GHz, which is the second highest stable overclock yet reached on air cooling with this CPU. The CPU would boot at speeds of 3.9 GHz, but the system was not completely stable.
The Tuniq Tower 120 is still the fastest air CPU cooler we have tested so far, with the TEC/air hybrid Monsoon II at the top with this CPU at 3.96 GHz. The Hyper 6+did not outperform the Tuniq, but the performance was among the best measured with air coolers. The Cooler Master is clearly up to cooling and extending the overclock on your Core 2 Duo processor.
As cooling solutions do a better job of keeping the CPU at a lower temperature, it is reasonable to expect the overclocking capabilities of the CPU will increase. In each test of a cooler we measure the highest stable overclock of a standard X6800 processor under the following conditions:
CPU Multiplier: 14x (Stock 11x)
CPU voltage: 1.5875V
FSB Voltage: 1.30V
Memory Voltage: 2.20V
nForce SPP Voltage: 1.5V
nForce MCP Voltage: 1.7V
HT nForce SPP <-> MCP: Auto
Memory is set to Auto timings on the 680i and memory speed is linked to the FSB for the overclocking tests. This removes memory as any kind of impediment to the maximum stable overclock. Linked settings on the 680i are a 1066FSB to a DDR2 memory speed of DDR2-800. As FSB is raised the linked memory speed increases in proportion. The same processor is used in all cooling tests to ensure comparable results.
The Cooler Master Hyper 6+ reached 3.87 GHz, which is the second highest stable overclock yet reached on air cooling with this CPU. The CPU would boot at speeds of 3.9 GHz, but the system was not completely stable.
The Tuniq Tower 120 is still the fastest air CPU cooler we have tested so far, with the TEC/air hybrid Monsoon II at the top with this CPU at 3.96 GHz. The Hyper 6+did not outperform the Tuniq, but the performance was among the best measured with air coolers. The Cooler Master is clearly up to cooling and extending the overclock on your Core 2 Duo processor.
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Samus - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
What a waste of metal, what are the odd's that someone is going to buy this $50 cooler to overclock their AthlonXP. Do people even have AthlonXP's anymore? They've been discontinued for years.LoneWolf15 - Thursday, February 15, 2007 - link
If you've got an Athlon XP-M, it really might be fun to try this one out. My XP-M 2500+ made 2.4GHz on air (Thermalright cooler) when I had it, which is even now competetive for a lot of apps. The advantage is that an XP owner can buy this cooler, and then continue to use it when they step up to a new CPU/mainboard. It adds a selling point to this cooler that I'm sure some will appreciate.Shinei - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
To be honest, I would. I still run an Athlon XP, and it's cheaper to pay $50 for a new HSF that might buy me a couple extra MHz than $800 on a total refit (CPU, board, RAM, video card). Unless, of course, you're offering to buy me a new computer, in which case, I accept! B)Macuser89 - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
I wish you would compare a similar Zalmen cooler. Zalmen are pretty good, and i just wonder how they compare to others.Wesley Fink - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
We have the top-of-the-line Zalman 9700 in the lab for review.strikeback03 - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
Any chance of testing a 9500 as well? I don't think a 9700 will fit beneath my PSU.And I think it might have been mentioned in the Tuniq review, but was all temperature testing done with it at high speed? Would temps be affected if it were slowed down the same way the PWM-controlled fans slow down?
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
The Hyper 6+ has a 4-pin fan connection that can control fan speed. Temperature testing was done at default speed, although we did manually force highest speed to see if it made any difference in OC. It really did not improve OC performance. For noise testing we manually forced highest speed and reported both low speed (1800 RPM) and high speed (3600 RPM) results.Since the kit auto controls fan speed on a 4-pin header we thought this was the fairest way to test performance. For noise we were concerned with the loudest you could possibly encounter with this cooler, which is why we manually forced highest speed.
tuteja1986 - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
Can't someone make a much better air cooler than Tuniq Tower 120 for overclocking needs.LoneWolf15 - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - link
If you ever buy a Tuniq Tower, I think you'll find that it cools so well, that improving upon it without liquid or a TEC would be extremely difficult.Up until recently I was using a Swiftech MCX-64V that I thought was a pretty darn good cooler, albeit a little older, with a low-noise Delta 80mm fan.
The Tuniq beats it by 8-10C when idle, and by 10-15C under load in my system (Athlon 64 X2 4800+). And it isn't any louder (it may indeed be quieter, but my case fans overshadow the noise it makes anyway). About the only thing that I think Tuniq could try is lapping the contact surface better (on an IHS-based chip with AS5 goop I doubt this will help much) or adding additional heatpipes (i.e. going from six to eight), and I'm not sure that will do that much good either. The Tuniq is already amazing at how cool it can keep a CPU under load, a good indicator of its performance in overclocked situations (provided you have the right CPU/mainboard/ram/power supply to go with, of course). It also has the advantage of taking a 120mm fan, as opposed to the good, but proprietary Zalman, or the 100mm of the Coolermaster, allowing you to select from a wide range of fans to favor hardcore cooling, or near-silent operation.
I'm curious (no disrespect intended) --how do you think someone would go about making a better air cooler than the Tuniq?
flipmode - Thursday, February 15, 2007 - link
Start with the Tuniq and the make one that's lighter, with an even quieter fan, and not so large, with a better mounting system. That would be better in my book. Better doesn't always have to apply to cooling power - though I think that's probably what you were talking about.