Is It Worth Upgrading Your Stock CPU Cooler?
Table of contents
- 1. From The Boxed Cooler To Zalman’s CNPS 10X
- 2. Intel's Core i7-920 And A Replacement Cooler: Zalman's CNPS 10X Extreme
Many folks prefer building their own PC systems rather than purchasing pre-configured solutions, and most typically go for a retail processor, as the fancy boxes from AMD and Intel typically include a cooler that each respective vendor considers "good enough." While low-end retail processors tend to be bundled with the lightest, least-effecitve coolers for the sake of keeping cost low, upper-mainstream and high-end CPUs do generally include decent cooling devices. Even so, we found that an aftermarket cooler, such as the new Zalman CNPS 10X, can do a much better job of cooling an overclocked Core i7-920.
Cool(er) Investment
The so-called “boxed coolers” that come included with retail processors such as the Intel Core i7-920, may look nice thanks to copper cores and many really subtle fins that increase the cooling surface. But their intended use is regular PCs, making them a rather poor choice for enthusiasts, overclockers, or users looking to assemble a truly quiet system.
There are many vendors that cater to users in need of more efficient, more powerful or simply quieter processor cooling solutions. Companies such as Coolermaster, Glacialtech, In-Win, Noctua, Prolima, Scythe, Spire, Thermalright, Thermaltake, Titan, Xigmatek and others offer aftermarket cooling solutions for various needs. We decided to use the latest upper mainstream cooler by Zalman, the CNPS 10X, to replace Intel’s Core i7 boxed cooler.
This is the cooler that comes with Intel's Core i7-920 processor. Although it has a copper core and a large surface area, every decent upper-mainstream aftermarket cooler will outclass it.
Cooling, in Short
Coolers are all about conducting heat away from a hot spot (the processor, in this case) and dissipating that heat over a large surface area into the surrounding air. System and power supply fans then suck the heated air out of the PC. The larger the heat sink surface, the easier it is to dissipate air quickly and evenly. So-called heat pipes, which are fluid-filled tubes, assist in distributing heat onto a complex heat sink. You will find that most state-of-the-art coolers have rather massive dimensions in an effort to provide maximum surface area.
As for materials, while silver and copper have excellent heat conductivity, these materials are rather expensive—aluminum offers an acceptable compromise between cost and conductivity.
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Any chance you can redo the charts to list temps in Celcius as normal?
Agreed. I know SA used to be under British rule, but F went out with feet and pounds... ;-)
I've never used faranheit. I thought it was only the US still holding onto it in weather reports!
As it did in the UK too (still to get rid of those pesky miles though.) I think the USA has to be about the only country in the world using imperial measurements still.
Ah well... C = (F - 32) * 5/9
this Farenheit temps is so annoying.
I found that I was getting thousands of thermal-throttling interrupts on my i7/920 running under Linux with the stock cooler, and that these went away when I replaced it with a chunkier Zalman one; it started running significantly faster.
Linux seems to clock the i7/920 at 2.8GHz by default, which is perhaps an issue; though the Ubuntu 8.10 that I'm running reports different clock speeds for the two threads of the same core, so I'm not sure I should trust anything it says about clocking ...
"So-called heat pipes, which are fluid-filled tubes"
Actually, heat pipes are hollow pipes containing a low pressure gas (near vacuum) and a small amount of liquid, which evaporates easily in the low pressure at the hot part, taking the energy away, then condenses on one of the cooler surfaces, dumping it's energy before returning to the hot end (often by way of a wick, so it can operate in any direction). It is not filled with fluid (unless heatsink makers are incorrectly labelling fluid-filled tubes as heat pipes)
"So-called heat pipes, which are fluid-filled tubes"
Actually, the statement is technically correct: both gases and liquids are fluids. It is the common usage of the word "fluid" to mean just liquids that is incorrect.
I think you will find that the 'low pressure gas' is in fact the vapour of the liquid in the system, with the pressure being the saturated vapour pressure of the liquid at whatever temperature the system is at. The presence of any non-condensable gases such as air or nitrogen, even in small quantities, would seriously impair the heat transfer process. The key process driving the heat transfer is, as you suggest, the change in phase from liquid to vapour and back again.
Worst review I've ever read, it is organized, has typos, temperatures in fahrenheit..etc..
What is the reviewer thinking of? Just pathetic, I've lost hope in toms.
The title of this article could have been better thought out.
"Is it worth upgrading your stock CPU cooler ?"
First off, this article only relates to Core i7.
Not to mention that the answer is blatantly "no" unless you intend to overclock. Temps in Deg F is not useful either as other posters state. This continues the recent trend of shoddy journalism by THG
The title of this article could have been better thought out.
"Is it worth upgrading your stock CPU cooler ?"
First off, this article only relates to Core i7.
Not to mention that the answer is blatantly "no" unless you intend to overclock. Temps in Deg F is not useful either as other posters state. This continues the recent trend of shoddy journalism by THG
Agree, very disappointing these days, but the graphics articles are still good.
I had to check the address bar to make sure this is a ".uk" site. Who cares about Fahrenheit? You didn't even bother to change the temps to Celsius... what a shambles this site has become.
I'm getting a AMD 965, I'm not planning to overclock so I think I should be ok. If I need to overclock later I'll replace the cooler