Performance FMB2 RCFH-4 – Loudest. Cooler. Ever.
When Intel unveiled the dual-core processors belonging to the Pentium D 80 series, the thermal power loss of its processors jumped dramatically once more. Suddenly, there were two 90 nm CPU cores on a single socket that needed to be cooled. Intel’s specifications stated a thermal design power of 130 W, pushing the coolers of the time to their limits – and sometimes even past them. In many cases, users were unable to benefit from the processors full performance potential because it had to throttle its clock speed and thus its performance to keep from overheating.
This development did not stop there, though, and Intel launched the Pentium Extreme Edition 840, running at 3.20 GHz. Intel’s flagship CPU got even hotter than its siblings, which is unsurprising considering it, too, was a dual-core part. It also sported Hyper-Threading technology in addition for a total of four virtual cores.
In order to adequately cool this CPU, Intel began bundling its press samples with the famous, or rather infamous, “Performance FMB”. This was the first version of the box cooler to feature cooling fins pointing in the opposite direction of the fan. It also sported a small protective grid above the fan. Hearing this fan in operation is anything but an enjoyable experience. Running at 61 dB(A), it can easily be made out even from a few rooms away. Cooling performance is also not really in line with today’s requirements. Even when spinning its fan at full blast, which translates to almost 5000 rpm, the Performance FMB can only cool the CPU to 76°C.
| CPU | 100% load | idle |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature PWM | 76.5 °C | 40.5 °C |
| Noise | 61.1 dB(A) | 43.9 dB(A) |
| Fan speed | 4900 rpm | 2300 rpm |
| Weight | 534 grams | |
| Intel socket | 775 |
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You slip into German on page 7 around half way up.
You slip into German on page 7 around half way up.
I thought hes got to be kidding then I looked down page 7 and lmao. Its a whole paragraph in German.
Question to the article creator; Is this the last in the cpu cooler charts 2008?
lol @ the German
How come the Arctic Freezer Pro 7 was not covered in this series? It's quite a popular cooler and I would be interested in seeing how it compares (as that's what I'm using).
that german has got to be the best typo ever. you tested stock coolers but didnt test an arctic cooler 7? the articles all say that arctic cooling is represented in this test but I fail to see where?das ist nicht los!!
You slip into German on page 7 around half way up.
My apologies.
Thanks for the heads-up...
We translators also have our off days. Consider me awake now
I think box coolers have to compromise between price and performance, so it's pretty much a foregone conclusion as to one's expectation.
However I have had some pleasant surprises; a lot of the boxed AMD processors I have bought (S393 and AM2 in medium speed ranges), have had pretty good coolers. Granted they run on cool processors so they aren't really pushed to the limit, but they do perform excellent: low-noise, good cooling, good MTBF, and decent overclocking results.
Something else I've also noticed - price doesn't buy a good cooler. Some of the more expensive devices are very noisy, bulky and (as I did), you end up wondering where you went wrong. I've bought expensive coolers with copper fins and small fans and had to remove them..they're simply too noisy. I replaced them with devices from Cooler Master etc (some of which were the cheapest I could find i.e. bargain basement), and have had no problems whatsoever. I don't work for Cooler Master but credit is where credit's due - they do their job and they generally do it well.
I think you can get a good boxed cooler, but it's the luck of the draw depending on the platform and particular processor model. If you have an overtly noisy cooler you can always alter your BIOS settings to only spin the fan up when a critical point is reached. Most CPU's just run idle a lot of the time so there's no point suffering or wasting electricity.
p.s. Please..please..manufacturers, you know the LED fans? Please put a switch on them will ya?