Cogage TRUE Spirit Rev.2 Cooler Review

Manufacture Page: COGAGE::COMPUTER AND GAMING GEAR
Part Number: True Spirit
Price: under $39 USD
Tekwiki: Cogage True Spirit CPU Cooler - Specs & Reviews



Not all that long ago we looked at the first revision of the Cogage True Spirit and while we found it to be a decent unit -one that was almost as good as the venerable Thermalright TRUE- it never did live up to our expectations. As me made clear in that review, the fact the TRUE Spirit relied on a less than optimal mounting solution was the major reason for it not reaching its (pardon the pun) "TRUE" potential. It is for this reason we are so excited about today’s review, as we are looking at the new and revised Cogage TRUE Spirit.

Believe it or not, the mounting system really is the only thing that was really changed from the previous generation’s design. This should suit everyone just fine considering the “older” version had all the hallmarks of a great value-oriented heatsink that could properly cool anything from an overclocked i7 to lower-end processors as well. As we said, the only issue was its decidedly lackluster push-pin mounting setup that didn’t apply adequate pressure and lacked a backplatefor additional stability as well. To see this fixed is definitely a huge step forward but we still have one concern: there are very few ways for a consumer to tell the new TRUE Spirit from the old one if they are buying online. The two coolers carry the same product number and description (the “Rev.2” we have in the title of this review isn’t part of the actual product title) but the packaging is different. However, be aware that many retailers will be using stock photography for their product pages and there could be old stock still bumming around in some locations. Indeed, even Cogage's website shows the old installation process and mounting hardware.

Even though the True Spirit has been on the market for awhile, neither the old nor the new version are widely available in Canada. However, at the time of this review you can find it at Newegg.ca for under $40. This is exceptional considering there was basically no increase in price over the original version even though we now have a proper backplate-based mounting system.

Has Cogage really fixed what needed to be fixing, while not messing with what was a good overall design? Recently, Zalman with their CNPS10X Flex proved it is possible to tweak a design to make an ordinary cooler extraordinary, so we do have high hopes for the Spirit.