Intel Core i7 / LGA1366 CPU Cooler Roundup

Conclusions

Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme

We have to admit that we had high hopes for this cooler as the name Tuniq has an enviable reputation among heatsink manufacturers. Unfortunately, we feel that their 120 Extreme doesn’t live up to that reputation and is in fact trying to ride the coattails of that reputation for all its worth. It’s not a bad cooler per say at lower heat loads but considering its gargantuan size, we should be singing its praises from the rooftops rather than focusing on low thermal numbers. More importantly, you don’t buy a huge cooler like this one is unless you plan on some heavy weight overclocking and this is where the results of the Tuniq Tower are at their worst.

The key to its failure is twofold. First of all, the poor fan’s location between two thick fin arrays means it has to work extremely hard to suck in fresh air and then push it out so the fins are adequately cooled. It just can’t accomplish this due to its size and static pressure envelope. It was also horribly loud. The other issue is the folks at Tuniq tried to make use of an HDT base and used large 8mm and smaller 6mm heatpipes. The only problem is that the two of the three 8mm pipes are on the outer edge of the base and even on the rather larger i7 they were only half covered by the CPU. For all intents and purposes the main cooling comes from the smaller dual 6mm heatpipes and the centrally located 8mm. This means the few heatpipes in direct contact with the CPU IHS just can’t move away the heat fast enough and become a bottleneck.

As stands this cooler is trying to be too many things and doesn’t end up doing any of them particularly well. If the 120 Extreme had shipped with a slower fan which was dead silent you would have an excellent silent PC cooler on your hands (and also lowered expectations of its cooling abilities). Conversely, if it came equipped with a 120x120x38mmhigh performance fan, then we may have ended up loving its overall performance. Let’s be honest: Tuniq almost pulled it off and if the base had been properly set up they may just have done it. Unfortunately, we can talk all day about what this product could have done but that doesn’t hide the fact that there are simply better, smaller, quieter options out there for the same (or even less) monetary investment.


Pros:

- Interesting good looks
- Magnetic FDB fan included
- Fairly good value (at moderate heat loads)


Cons:

- Loud fan
- Price
- Less than stellar performance
- Ridiculous installation procedure
- Less than optimal base configuration

Zalman CNPS10X Extreme

To us the CNPS10X Extreme poses a bit of a quandary for us. On the one hand we really dislike the oddball mounting setup and find it be fit for the garbage at best. On the other hand it really does have efficiency to burn due to great engineering allowing it to overcome most of its handicaps. When push comes to shove, it really is an excellent cooler. Is it the best of the best? No, it isn’t but in nearly every test it was near the top of our charts while offering some really interesting features we quickly came to love.

Speaking of interesting features, this Zalman heatsink comes with a built-in fan controller that was a total joy to use and was actually user friendly. It was actually hard going back to a standard motherboard-controlled heatsink fan after tweaking the one included with the 10X. To make matters even better, the controller is hooked up to a multi-talented fan that can perform decently across a surprisingly large range of speeds. Is it the best fan at all its speeds? No, it isn’t. It can go down as far as 1000RPMs but even at 1300RPMs it is less than optimal at cooling this monster cooler but at least you have the ability to control it in the palm of your hand.

This may sound like a ringing endorsement but this is not a perfect world and the CNPS10X has one of the most backwards mounting setups we have seen in a long while. We wanted to see backplates for both Intel i7 and i5 systems but we only got one for the older 775 mount. Luckily, you only (hopefully) have to install it once and then enjoy all the other benefits it has to offer.

As it stands, the reason why we like this cooler so much is because it really does suit many people’s needs. While it may not be the best in all situations it is very good in nearly every situation we threw at it. This coupled with some great features allows us to award the Zalman CNPS10X Extreme our Damn Innovative award. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a new heatsink…assuming you can afford its price tag.


Pros:

- Impressive performance
- Very adaptable to numerous situations and noise levels
- Impressively versatile fan


Con:

- No backplate for i5 or i7 (but does have one for 775)
- Price
- Cannot mount a second fan
- Fan only at its best when going full throttle
- Very loud at maximum speed

ZeroTherm Nirvana

Out of all the coolers we have looked at recently this one really stands out as unique. We knew of ZeroTherm’s stellar reputation for not only making great cooling products but also making functional works of art and when we think back on this cooler the name “Nirvana” is very fitting.

Everything from its beautiful (in our opinion) yet highly functional good looks, to its easy installation procedure is a lot like watching a work of art in progress. If this was just another pretty face we would not be so kind right now but with its impressively low noise envelope which is backed up by good performance totally won us over. Considering it performed extremely well while not breaking the bank like some other products, we believe it packs just the right mix of all the elements we are looking for in a modern heatsink.

No matter how much we can laud the Nirvana, we would like to have seen a more conventional fan being used or at the very least a way to mount a conventional fan. As it stands this is a great cooler that will serve a variety of consumer niches very well. For this reason and the fact that it impressed us over and over again in not only the cooling department but the value arena we are proud to present the ZeroTherm Nirvana 120 with our highest accolades: the Dam Good and the Damn Good Value awards.


Pros:

- Beautiful looking
- Very good performance
- Quiet fan
- Good price for performance ratio


Cons:

- Fan is a proprietary design which cannot be easily swapped out
- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder