Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler Review Comment Thread

[AkG]

Its been awhile in coming but our long look at this most extraordinary cooler is now live! We walked away very impressed, and think you will too!

To read our take on the Prolimatech Megahalems click here: PtM

Hope you enjoy the review,
AkG

[bojangles]

Wow very nice! I just find it odd though how this thing performs better when the fins are separated in half. I thought havign them together lowers the thermal resistance, much like an electrical circuit? Perhaps that air gap is acting like an air duct and minimizing the amount of air resistance. I dunno, but it's awesome that it performs much better than others!

Great review AkG. I like all the detail you put into it.

[Lithotech]

Great review, seems an outstanding product. Knocking the Vendetta off the pedestal is no small thing!

Neither our slightly above standard height ram nor our motherboard's components ever came into actual contact with it; no matter which way we oriented the cooler itself.

Looking at the picture of the mounting bracket displayed above the quoted text, I see that the bracket cannot be orientated in any other way, as the caps around the cpu socket appear to block it. Unless the two main brackets somehow clear the caps?

I would have liked to see this cooler mounted in an east west orientation (if it is even possible), as well as with two fans and your modded clips. I personally like the cooler to blast air into the exhaust fan of the case, rather than upward toward the top of the case. It isn't a big issue if your case has a top mounted fan, or perhaps a top mounted PSU. But in the end, it is a compatibility limitation that many folks will run into depending on thier case, and perhaps, motherboard. The modified clips would have been interesting to see, and helpful for those that may look to find such a thing before or after purchasing one of these units. Perhaps they will include more clips in future packaging, or at the very least sell them separate. Considering the huge difference in temperatures with two fans opposed to one, I think there will be a lot of demand for clips! To outperform the Vendetta with a single fan is one thing... to outperform itself with two fans and with such a large margin, is simply stellar!

It would have been worthwhile to test this on some other motherboards, to verify compatibility in oreintations, but I understand there are limits to the scope of the article. So we will just have to wait and see what others do with this cooler, in user threads of this and other forums. It'll be intriguing, for sure!

.

[sswilson]

As always, nothing but the best from you AkG!!!

Quite frankly I was surprised at how well the mounting mechanism worked, especially considering that the face wasn't perfectly flat. When I first saw the mounting design I thought it looked great, but wondered if the "single line" 2 point pressure bar would be as effective as a typical 4 point mount. From the results, it's obvious that the mounting bar is wide enough to provide even pressure across the whole mounting surface, with the bonus of easier access to the mounting points that having two points in the fin "void" offers.

I know you're a busy man, but now that you've got the stock testing done, I'm sure that everybody is wondering if you've got somebody close by who can do a good job of lapping that puppy to see if there are any benefits to flattening out the surface..... :)

[Soultribunal]

AkG, I think they did an amazing job of making this Cooler Perform.
The Dead space is forgotten about in most coolers, but I think theses guys have it setup in the right way for a change.
I bet you'd get an even bigger boost with a Shroud for the one fan.
The mounting system, really caught my eye for sure. I think its different, and in all honesty...better.

Good Review AkG,

Regards,
ST

[CTA]

impressive heatsink... but for 85cdn? hard to say...

i really like 2-point bracket design... i dont like thermalright's X style... not easy to install during doing inside the med-size case... i also dont understand why is it (not 2 point accross inside the heatsink... one bolt to one bolt from mobo) very bold and thick?


Q6600 is old... and i want to see result of Q94xx or above >;[


anyway nice review... i will compare it to other reviews...

[Soultribunal]

Originally Posted by CTA

impressive heatsink... but for 85cdn? hard to say...

i really like 2-point bracket design... i dont like thermalright's X style... not easy to install during doing inside the med-size case... i also dont understand why is it (not 2 point accross inside the heatsink... one bolt to one bolt from mobo) very bold and thick?


Q6600 is old... and i want to see result of Q94xx or above >;[


anyway nice review... i will compare it to other reviews...

The Q6600 Might be Old, but its a really good Quad to Use for these types of Reviews.
Its hotter than the newer Quads (65nm vs 45nm) , so whatever you see this cooler post of a 6600, your performance should scale nicely on the newer quads.

Regards,
ST

[AkG]

Thanks guys and I'm glad you all enjoyed the review. Its been awhile since I looked at this cooler and it really, REALLY impressed the hell out of me. I don't use Air coolers myself BUT if I was doing some serious Air OC'ing and money was no object this is the one I would grab. :)

As for your questions,
- I used it on two different GByte mobos and never once noticed it touching any caps. There wasn't a lot of clearance but I never felt the need to get out the old electrical tape and tape the bottom of em either.

- The slight ripple is so small that you need a razor blade to see it. I'm not kidding its that close. One of these days I might try lapping it with a 2000, then 4000 then 8000 grit Japanese water stones I have. :)

- I used the photos of the N/S orientation vs E/W orientation as that is the worst case scenario when it comes to mobo/ram compatibility. This wee beastie is much wider than it is deep and the ram really was only in danger w/ N/S orientation.

- INHO the secret to this double point mounting setup is the thickness (both width and depth) of the bars. They are wide enough they probably cover all 4 CPU cores (or at least some of each of the 4 cores) and because they are so thick they will never warp, bend, twist or torque on you. This 1-2 punch = evenly distributed pressure which will be as constant in said pressure for darn near ever! Or to put it another way: Bigger is BETTER! :)

- I agree the price is the sore point w/ this cooler. Rumors state that the original price was going to place it in the $40 range. BUT free market economics (great demand....little inventory) have colluded against it. I'm sure its as big a surprise to Prolimtech as it is to me...though on the birght side all the extra income = more RnD. So god only knows what they will come up with next with such an increased budget!

- Maybe next year we'll upgrade the 775 testbed. More than likely the 775 will be "put out to pasture" and a newer CPU will take the high end place of the 920 (bumping the 920 down to the "low end"). In the mean time....if you have a Q9650 to donate to the cause...I guarantee it would be put to good use :)~

[CTA]

i see... i thought lightweight frame is better... i mean my case is very heavy than my mother's computer (and my old sold computer)

i agreed... 40cdn would be very good deal, i will take it when its on the sale...


65nm and 45nm are different... different temperature (from two types of cpu) has possibly uniformly same... but most of newer technology heatsink is different than old... CM v10 or v8 for example...

[AkG]

Honestly, there are pros and cons to lightweight vs heavy weight frames. There are ways to design a light weight frame which can be as rigid in all 3 dimensions as a big one...but that takes $$$ (and a lot more work and skill in mfg'er it). Where as big always works and is cheap and fast to design and build. :)