Socket-A / Socket-370 Cooler Roundup - July 2000

If you buy an Intel "boxed" CPU, it will ship with a cooler. Depending on the CPU, the cooler model varies. We have tested the cooler that is included with the PPGA Celeron 533, which should probably be the most efficient among the "boxed" coolers, since the PPGA 533 has the highest cooling requirements of all Celeron CPUs.

Both heatsink and fan are relatively small. Since Intel, like any other CPU manufacturer, doesn't encourage overclocking, it is clear that they didn't design the included heatsink with overclocking in mind.
 

The fan
 
 

The Nidec fan, spinning at 3900 rpm, is very good quality. It isn't extremely loud; calling it "quiet" would be exaggerated though.
 
 

Conclusion
 
 

The performance of the "boxed" heatsink isn't convincing at all. Overclockers should definitely replace their boxed heatsink with a better cooler - or, even better, buy a non-boxed CPU and a good heatsink separately.

If you already own such a heatsink, then a good and cheap method to improve cooling is to scratch off the thermal pad and apply a thin layer of thermal compound instead.