Coolink ChipChilla Chipset Cooler Review

Testing Methodology:

All comparison testing was done in a closed cased with an ambient temperature of 20c. Average load temps were taken after 60 minutes of running Prime95 v25.4 “Large fft” and are taken directly from the hottest part of the heatsink using a Digital Infrared Thermometer. The infrared thermometer used has a 9 to 1 ratio, meaning that at 9cm it takes it reading from a 1 square cm. To obtain the numbers used in this review the thermometer was held approximately 3cm away from the heatsink and only the hottest number obtained was used. Idle temps were taken 30 minutes after Load testing ceased. NB voltage was left at stock.

Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal paste was used for all NB coolers during these tests unless otherwise noted. Application of all thermal paste was according to the manufacturer’s instructions. All tests were run 4 times and only best results are represented.

Complete Test System:
Processor: Q6600 @ 3.0GHZ
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P965-DS3
Memory: 4GB G.Skill PC2-6400
Graphics card: XFX 7200gt 128mb
Hard Drives: 1x Western Digital Se16 320GB (single platter)
Power Supply: Seasonic S12 600W
Thermometer: Micro Temp Digital Infrared Thermometer MT-Pro model

Notes on the motherboard used:
In the beginning an ASrock p31 motherboard was planned on being used for this review, however it is a very cool running motherboard and would not have done justice to this cooling solution. In an effort to bring you our readers the best review possible a Gigabyte p965 (and a laser infrared thermometer) were obtained for testing. Due to the fact that this motherboard had to A) be returned the next day and more importantly B) had to be in working condition we have left all NB voltage as stock. When this motherboard was originally used in an Antec SLK3000B case with only two 120mm fans for cooling, its average temperature was in the mid 60°C range. Approximately 4 months ago, on my recommendation this motherboard was moved to a CoolerMaster CM690 case with six 120mm Scythe E fans to cool it (sounds familiar? It should as this is the same setup I use for most of my reviews). This markedly increased case airflow in combination with the TIM being replaced with MX-2 lowered average temperature to the mid to high 40s when the system was maxed out. Needless to say this motherboard requires a lot of air flow to stay cool. Due to the time limitations all pictures used in this review will be those of the ASRock p31 motherboard.