As AMD and Intel have decided to pump out chips that put out excessive amounts of heat, it has become necessary with better increasingly efficient cooling. Earlier on (years ago) CPUs didn’t have fans on them at all – a heatsink stuck on top was enough. Today there is no chance running without a fan on the heatsink (although that would be nice – and heatsink combos in all kinds of metal (silver, copper, aluminum etc.) are the norm these days.
Today we take a look at two top performers in the cooling department for the Socket A platform – the copper based OCZ Gladiator and the aluminum based ThermoSonic ThermoEngine V60-4210.
OCZ Gladiator
Manufacturer: OCZ Supplier: OCZ Price: $34.99 with 7000 rpm Delta Fan. $29.99 with 36 CFM fan from The Overclockerz Store.
The OCZ Gladiator is one of the newest coolers from OCZ and it's made entirely of copper. The unit we received came with the infamous(ly loud) 7000 rpm/38 CFM Delta fan - currently the most powerful 60mm fan for cooling CPUs. You can choose a version with a 6800 rpm/36CFM OEM fan instead (Dynaeon) - it will save you $5 - but probably cost you a couple of degrees as well.
Weighing 380 grams, this is no lightweight cooler. But it must be one of the shorter coolers you can get though, being only about 25 mm in height.
The clip on this cooler is excellent. Actually, this has got to be one of the best clips I have ever used - no screwdriver is necessary when attaching it (actually there is no hole for a screwdriver). At no point was I worried about my Thunderbird core - (which I have been otherwise), as I have crushed one Thunderbird AXIA core in the past :(...
It comes with a thermal interface pad at the bottom – which is a bit strange as anyone wanting the best performance will scrape it off immediately and apply some proper thermal paste – and this is what I did too.
Thermosonic ThermoEngine V60-4210
Manufacturer: Thermosonic Supplier: Thermosonic Price: $23-31 w./ regular fan. $31-43 w. Delta Fan (see pricelist).
Thermosonic have not only designed a high performing heatsink in the ThermoEngine - they have made the one of the best looking heatsinks that is currently available (IMHO) - beautifully designed. It comes in two different versions, a solid core and a hollow core version - mine being the solid core version. Tests have shown that the difference between the two versions to be hardly noticeable, at least according to [H]ard|OCP.
The ThermoEngine comes with a small 60x60x10 mm fan that is very quiet. It pushes about 16-19 CFM of air and does a decent job of cooling the heatsink. It is not until you put on a Delta fan that the ThermoEngine really shows what it goes for! So we did just that…
– and heatsink combos in all kinds of metal (silver, copper, aluminum etc.) are the norm these days.
