Intel Core i7 / LGA1366 CPU Cooler Roundup

Low Speed Fan Performance Results

2.6GHz

Since the stock Zalman fan can not go as low as 900rpms we were not be able to compare it to the ULNA equipped NF-P12s numbers. However, when equipped with the P12, its results are surprising and impressive as it ties the ProlimaTech brothers for a three way second place finish.

It seems the party is still going strong in the basement as the Cogage, Tuniq, Spire and Kingwin all post somewhat poor results when compared to products which have been out for far longer. However, on the plus side all of these budget coolers are still better than the stocker cooler Intel provides.

3.4GHz

Interestingly the Mega Shadow does pull slightly ahead of its older brother the Megahalems to secure first place here. Also of note is the Zalman CNPS10X does fall off the pace a bit since it seems to be nearing its thermal limits with a low speed fan installed. Besides these small differences the other four coolers are still going strong closer to the bottom of the charts, though to be completely fair and balanced the Tuniq and Kingwin do post much better results than the other two coolers.

Unfortunately, the final set of results at 3.8Ghz won't be posted for the simple reason that every one of the coolers failed to meet our minimum criteria for temperatures as outlined in our Methodology section.

Dual Fan Performance Results

As expected, the ProlimaTech Mega Shadow kicks some major butt. It is simply the best air based, dual fan cooling solution we have had the privilege to review. What is actually more interesting to us is the numbers the Cogage True Spirit posted. It really is almost as good as its bigger brother and that is impressive. Of course, it would have been a heck of a lot more impressive if this was back when the TRUE cooler reigned supreme.