Socket-A & Socket-370 Cooler Roundup - November 2000
by Tillmann Steinbrecher on November 21, 2000 1:36 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Final Words
The cooler that performed the best is the Kanie Hedgehog equiped with Delta 7000rpm fan. But this unit is only recommended for no-compromise overclockers - it is expensive, heavy, and incredibly loud. With a less efficient YS Tech fan, the noise level is more bearable, and with this fan the Hedgehog still performs marginally better than its competitors (except for the Global WIN FOP38, which we don't recommend because of the high noise). Decide for yourself whether the small performance advantage is worth the extra cost.
There are several coolers in this roundup that provide identical (and very good) performance: The Alpha PAL6035 with YS Tech fan, the Global WIN FOP32-1, Thermaltake Super Orb, Agilent ArctiCooler, Taisol CGK742092. We especially liked the Taisol unit because it's quieter than its direct competitors (except for the Agilent ArctiCooler, which we don't recommend because of problems during (de-)installation). However, the Taisol cooler isn't very widely available on the retail market yet. If you can't get it - why not go with the Global WIN FOP32-1, it's widely available and inexpensive.
Those who find low noise very important have two choices: The Alpha PAL6035 with the quiet Sanyo Denki fan, or the JMC Arctic Breeze Plus with its temperature controlled fan. If you have overclocking ambitions, go with the Alpha, if you're sure you don't want to overclock, go with the JMC unit.
Budget-conscious customers should consider the Chrome Orb. It is inexpensive, yet its performance is ok, making it suitable even for moderate overclocking.
Where to buy / Manufacturer Links
| Cooler | Available from | Sample supplied by |
| Kanie 'Hedgehog' | AMK
Computers (Canada) azzo.com (USA) datorbutiken.com (Scandinavia) inflowdirect.com (USA) kylning.com (Scandinavia) nerdsbyte.com (USA) Overclockers UK (UK) PelTEC (USA) plycon.com (USA) NOTE: different retailers ship this cooler with different fans. |
plycon.com (USA) |
| Taisol CGK742092 | not yet available on the retail market | Taisol (Manufacturer, USA/Taiwan) |
| Global WIN FOP32-1 and FOP38 | various retailers all over the world | frozen-silicon.de (Germany) |
| Alpha PAL6035 | various retailers all over the world | thetatech.de (Germany) |
| Thermaltake Super Orb / Chrome Orb | various retailers all over the world | Super Orb: ThermalTake
(Manufacturer, Taiwan) Chrome Orb: frozen-silicon.de (Germany) |
| Agilent ArctiCooler | so far no retailer has had this cooler in stock for a long time | NEOKN Cyberspace Computer (Singapore) |
| JMC Arctic Breeze Plus | not yet available on the retail market | JMC (Manufacturer, USA/Taiwan) |
| Cooler Master DP5-5K11 | available from few retailers in selected countries | listan.de (Germany) |
A word about this table: Because readers of previous cooler roundups have often asked for places to buy, we now include such a table. This is not paid advertising, we are not getting any money from the mentioned retailers. We have the following policy: If a specific cooler is available only from very few retailers, we list all retailers we know. If a specific cooler is available from very many retailers, we don't list any of them, except for the retailer who has provided the sample for our test. This table represents the current situation at the time the article was written. Please do not ask us to be added afterwards.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
0 Comments
View All Comments