Sandy Bridge-E Processors: Cooler Sold Separately

Subject: Processors | August 15, 2011 - 10:45 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: sandy bridge-e, Intel, hsf, cooling

We reported a few days ago that AMD is considering bunding a sealed loop water cooling solution with it's high end FX processors.  In an interesting development, VR-Zone today stated that Intel will not be including any cooler at all with it's Sandy Bridge-E parts.

Specifically, Intel will not be bundling any processor cooler with its Core i7 Sandy Bridge-E 3820, 3930, or 3960X CPUs.  These processors are rated at a 130 watt TDP; however, VR-Zone reports that the processors may in fact be drawing as much as 180 watts at stock speeds.  This massive jump in power compared to previous models, if true, would make Intel's move to not include a cooler a good thing, as enthusiasts will almost certainly want a quality third part air cooler at least, and a proper water loop if any overclocking is involved.  Enthusiasts especially have always opted to use an aftermarket cooler instead of the included Intel one as they have been notoriously noisy and mediocre in the performance department.  While they are decent for stock speeds, overclockers have always demanded more than the Intel coolers could provide.

The situation is made all the more interested when paired against AMD's announcement; Intel has opted to not include any heatsink at all while AMD has opted to ratchet up the cooling performance with a sealed water loop.  Personally, I find the two companies' reactions- because they are almost direct opposite solutions- very intersting and telling about the company mindset.  Which solution do you like more, would you like the chip makers to ratchet up their stock cooling performance, or do you prefer the hands-off approach where they allow you to grab the cooler of your choice by not bundling anything in the processor box?  Let us know in the comments!

Image Credit: Tim Verry.  Used With Permission.

The Corsair Hydro H80 Sealed Loop Water Cooler

Subject: Cases and Cooling | July 21, 2011 - 08:05 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: water cooling, hsf, h80, corsair, cooling

We talked about the Corsair H80 (and H100) all in one water coolers in a previous post as they were announced a few months ago; however, it seems that they are finally out in the wild and ready for review.  Neoseeker has the review ball today and has posted a concise five page review of the device. Forunately, from their testing it seems to stack up well compared to its predecessors, though the review does note that the fan noise can become rather loud.

"...the H80 also includes the same easy to use mounting system as the H60. This was one of the aspects we liked the most about the H60, so we are more than pleased to see it return with this new unit. The low-profile block and 120mm radiator will allow the Corsair H80 to fit into nearly any chassis, with the only exceptions being some of the smaller HTPC cases."

You can read more about the sealed loop water cooler here.

And in other case and cooling news:

Cases & Cooling

• Thermaltake Frio OCK Review @ Motherboards.org
• Thermaltake A30 Armor Case Review @ Motherboards.org
• Evercool Transformer 4 HSF Review @ Hardware Secrets
• Corsair Hydro H80 Review @ eTeknix
• SilverStone Raven RV03 @ Anandtech

PCCooler OC3 Shows Off a Tower Air Cooler Also Ready To Add To Existing Water Cooling Loop

Subject: Cases and Cooling | June 11, 2011 - 01:35 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: water cooling, PCCooler OC3, hsf, cooling

PCCooler OC3, a company not widely known of outside of China due to limited worldwide distribution, had its fair showing at Computex 2011 where the company showed off a new CPU cooler.

The new W120 cooler at first glance appears to be another modern tower style air cooler; however, it has a feature that the other cooler lack. Namely, the W120 supports both air and water cooling. When used as an air cooler, the W120 acts as one would expect, and a 120mm fan moves air across aluminum fins that are connected via (six) heat pipes to a copper base plate that transfers heat away from the processor.

When hooked into an existing water cooling loop; however, the tower cooler acts as a water block as well as assisting in dispersing heat via the fins and 120mm fan. The company claims that when the cooler is used in this fashion, it is capable of dissipating up to 500 watts of power-- much more than any current CPU can deliver even when heavily overclocked.

It’s certainly an interesting design, and if the company’s claim hold merit, this cooler is likely to be popular among overclockers if the price is right. Unfortunately, enthusiasts in the US are not likely to see this any time soon.  You can see more pictures of the cooler; however, over at EXPreview.

Image copyright 2011 EXPreview.  Used under fair usage guidelines for purposes of commentary and reporting.