Socket-A & Socket-370 Cooler Roundup - March 2001

Conclusion

A lot has happened since our last cooler roundup: Swiftech outperforms all their competitors with the MC462 monster cooler, Global WIN introduces a copper heatsink, and two previously not so well-known manufacturers - Thermosonic and TRIG / Adda - provided samples of new coolers with astonishing performance. And let's not forget Alpha: The new version of the PEP66, the PEP66T, was also very convincing.

Which model should you chose? If you're using a Socket A CPU, and money is not an issue, go with the MC462.

If you're using an Intel CPU, and are looking for the best performance and don't care about noise, the Alpha PEP66T with Delta fan is your best choice.

Unfortunately, the prices of most of the new coolers reviewed here are not yet known. The Global WIN CAK38, the Thermosonic ThermoEngine, and the TRIC / Adda T40-3 are also worth considering - their performance is good, whether the price/performance ratio will be good remains to be seen. In the case of the ThermoEngine and the T40-3, the stock fan should be replaced by a more efficient fan if you're into overclocking.

Users who are worried about noise, and still want good cooling performance, should consider the Alpha PAL35 with Sanyo Denki fan. The Agilent ArctiCooler also offers good performance at a low noise level - but it still isn't available on the retail market, and we don't recommend it for AMD CPUs because of installation problems.

Manufacturer links 

• Global WIN

• Swiftech (online ordering possible)

• Thermosonic

• Vantec

We do not provide information about where to buy the coolers tested here, since they are not yet available on the retail market