Enzotech Ultra-X: If Looks Could Chill
by Wesley Fink on June 27, 2007 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Scaling of Cooling Performance
The Ultra-X performance was average at stock idle and below average among top coolers at stock load. As overclocks are raised, the Enzotech exhibits improved performance in the ability to cool the CPU under stress conditions. To be as fair as possible all overclocking tests were run with the Enzotech fan at the highest speed.
At 2.93GHz the retail HSF is running at 41C, compared to 32C with the Ultra-X. This is a delta of 9C. The delta becomes greater as the overclock increases. At 3.73GHz the idle with the retail fan is 56C compared to the Ultra-X at 39C - a delta of 17C. The cooling performance of the Enzotech is much better than the Intel retail cooler at idle, but the Ultra-X does not reach the same cooling levels measured with the Thermalrights (with a Scythe S-Flex SFF21F fan) or the stock Tuniq 120. The top Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme, for example is at 33C at the same 3.73GHz.
We also need to compare cooling efficiency of the Enzotech Ultra-X under load conditions to the retail HSF and other recently tested CPU coolers. Load testing can be very revealing of a cooler's efficiency. A basically flat line, particularly form 3.73GHz upward, indicates the cooler is still in its best cooling range. A line that is increasing rapidly indicates a cooler nearing the end of its ability to cool efficiently. Lines which parallel the best coolers over a range of values are indicate that the coolers have similar cooling efficiency.
The Ultra-X is very efficient in cooling in the 2.93 GHz to 3.73 GHz overclock range. As you can see in the chart the cooling is almost a horizontal line in this range. The Enzotech continues on to a highest overclock of 3.86GHz, which is short of the 3.90GHz to 3.94GHz most of the top coolers in our testing have achieved. These results are similar to other down-facing coolers. While the overclock is the best we have seen with a down-facing cooler, they are still below the top heatpipe towers. The slope of the Ultra-X in this range from 3.73GHz to 3.86GH is steeper than the heatpipe towers, indicating it is nearing the end of its range of efficient cooling.
Unfortunately, the Ultra-X is not in the same cooling category as the best heatpipe towers we have tested. We hoped this cooler might be the down-facing cooler to buck the trend, but that is not the case. Ultra-X is a decent cooler to the range just below the best, but cooling efficiency is similar to other down-facing heatpipe towers tested.
As stated many times, the overclocking abilities of the CPU will vary at the top, depending on the CPU. This particular CPU does higher FSB speeds than any X6800 we have tested, but the 3.90GHz top speed with the Tuniq is pretty average among the X6800 processors we have tested with Tuniq cooling. A few of the other processors tested with the best air coolers reach just over 4 GHz, but the range has been 3.8 to 4.0GHz. Stock cooling generally tops out 200 to 400 MHz lower, depending on the CPU, on the processors tested in our lab.
The Ultra-X performance was average at stock idle and below average among top coolers at stock load. As overclocks are raised, the Enzotech exhibits improved performance in the ability to cool the CPU under stress conditions. To be as fair as possible all overclocking tests were run with the Enzotech fan at the highest speed.
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| Click to enlarge |
At 2.93GHz the retail HSF is running at 41C, compared to 32C with the Ultra-X. This is a delta of 9C. The delta becomes greater as the overclock increases. At 3.73GHz the idle with the retail fan is 56C compared to the Ultra-X at 39C - a delta of 17C. The cooling performance of the Enzotech is much better than the Intel retail cooler at idle, but the Ultra-X does not reach the same cooling levels measured with the Thermalrights (with a Scythe S-Flex SFF21F fan) or the stock Tuniq 120. The top Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme, for example is at 33C at the same 3.73GHz.
We also need to compare cooling efficiency of the Enzotech Ultra-X under load conditions to the retail HSF and other recently tested CPU coolers. Load testing can be very revealing of a cooler's efficiency. A basically flat line, particularly form 3.73GHz upward, indicates the cooler is still in its best cooling range. A line that is increasing rapidly indicates a cooler nearing the end of its ability to cool efficiently. Lines which parallel the best coolers over a range of values are indicate that the coolers have similar cooling efficiency.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
The Ultra-X is very efficient in cooling in the 2.93 GHz to 3.73 GHz overclock range. As you can see in the chart the cooling is almost a horizontal line in this range. The Enzotech continues on to a highest overclock of 3.86GHz, which is short of the 3.90GHz to 3.94GHz most of the top coolers in our testing have achieved. These results are similar to other down-facing coolers. While the overclock is the best we have seen with a down-facing cooler, they are still below the top heatpipe towers. The slope of the Ultra-X in this range from 3.73GHz to 3.86GH is steeper than the heatpipe towers, indicating it is nearing the end of its range of efficient cooling.
Unfortunately, the Ultra-X is not in the same cooling category as the best heatpipe towers we have tested. We hoped this cooler might be the down-facing cooler to buck the trend, but that is not the case. Ultra-X is a decent cooler to the range just below the best, but cooling efficiency is similar to other down-facing heatpipe towers tested.
As stated many times, the overclocking abilities of the CPU will vary at the top, depending on the CPU. This particular CPU does higher FSB speeds than any X6800 we have tested, but the 3.90GHz top speed with the Tuniq is pretty average among the X6800 processors we have tested with Tuniq cooling. A few of the other processors tested with the best air coolers reach just over 4 GHz, but the range has been 3.8 to 4.0GHz. Stock cooling generally tops out 200 to 400 MHz lower, depending on the CPU, on the processors tested in our lab.
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Wesley Fink - Thursday, June 28, 2007 - link
CorrectedBarkuti - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
Too much fuss with all of these new massive coolers. Back in 1995 I purchased a Thermaltake Sonic Tower, which proved to be an incredible performer, best passive cooler IMO. The one being currently available is "rev2", guess it's just a mounting accesories update.The cooler comes with a mounting plate for a 12 cm fan, which can be installed on either side. I myself drilled new screwholes on a inner side to be able to install the fan in the center, saving a bit of space. A bit cumbersome to install the fan this way tough. Achieves top performance in this configuration, even with an ultra-low noise fan.
An Anand's review of this cooler is still missing and I think it's really worth the pain, like a gem lost inside and old chest.
And with a bit of skill, a little mod and a lot of space you may be able to install three fans on it... Drools about the kind of performance and perf/noise you could get this way, even with just 2 fans...
Cheers
DrMrLordX - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
Is there a side intake duct or vent that can feed top-down HSFs in your test bed? I'm pretty sure top-downs just don't work well if they can't pull cool air directly in from outside the case (which is why they've done so well in open-air testbeds).vhx - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
Definitely nice, but there are a lot better alternatives according to the results. Anyways, does anyone know whats up with Anandtech's forums? They've been down for like a week.theprodigalrebel - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
The forums have been a little iffy of late but they most certainly haven't been down all week. They just had an update of the forum software and there were a few minor outages here and there - Opera users had some problems, so did IE users. Did you try deleting all forums.anandtech.com cookies? It should work.Wesley Fink - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
The LATEST NEWS at the top of our AT Forums Log-In page:"Clear your cookies... - 06/24/2007 01:17 PM
We recently updated our forum software to fix a number of issues. As a result, some users are having problems using FireFox on the forums.
The fix for this is to delete your forums.anandtech.com cookies.
We recommend that all members delete their forum cookies, though we haven't run into any technical issues with this in other browsers.
Thanks for your patience while we continue to improve the forums."
Pirks - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
I've got myself A cooler master geminII and run it in passive (fanless) mode, and no fan on my passive mobo chipset heatsink as well. finally I've got a silent PC! my wife thinks my computer stopped working now, hehe :) no overclocking of course but who needs it for games anyway. I'm getting high framerates with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. around 30-40 fps and I'm happy. who says you need a mac to get a silent computer? who says gaming PCs are noisy? just ignore those noobs, they know nothingdeadseasquirrel - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
but it seems, at least according to this review, that it is not worth the price for the performance you get. Can anyone else see a better price/performance cooler than the Scythe Mine Rev B? For $38, with fan, and pretty quiet, it seems like a good choice. Oh, and are the forums down or am I having browser problems?kmmatney - Thursday, June 28, 2007 - link
I have a Scythe mine and am happy with. It's a good combination of price, low noise (its nearly silent) and good cooling. I don't know if I'd recommend it for extreme overclocking, but for stabdard overclocks it is great.Goty - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
Based on the little knowledge I have about the inner workings of heatpipes, wouldn't the lower heatsink on the X-Ultra lower the efficiency of the heatpipes (where heat transfer to the main heatsink is concerned) and thus the whole cooler?