Passive processor cooling system. How to properly organize cooling in a gaming computer
High temperatures, in addition to malware and mechanical damage, are one of the most serious threats to your computer.
There are several effective methods of cooling your computer to keep your computer from overheating.
To solve cooling problems, you first need to determine the heat source on your computer.
The effectiveness of computer components
Computer components such as the processor or graphics card generate the most heat.
Manufacturers are trying to maximize efficiency. One of the main methods for reducing the size of components.
The required supply voltage is then reduced. The energy consumption is reduced and thus the heat transfer is reduced.
Despite tremendous progress in this area in recent years, computer components still require cooling.
Active and passive cooling
Modern electronic technology (including computers) usually uses an active or passive cooling mode.
Active mode is well known to most computer owners. Includes a fan that forces air to cool the radiator.
The heat sink is connected to the component with a layer of paste, which further improves thermal conductivity. It efficiently collects heat from computer components.
Modern PWM fans run faster and quieter, which gives the user better comfort.
Passive - works on the basis of natural convection. It doesn't have a fan. The radiator has to do it all alone. They are found in smartphones and tablets.
Water cooling
Water cooled is a type of cooling that combines the advantages of passive and active methods.
In the past, this was considered too extravagant. It is becoming more and more popular today.
This system consists of plastic tubes installed inside the housing. The block, in turn, consists of a copper or aluminum plate that is in contact with the heating elements.
The second part of the block acts as a water reservoir. The liquid cooling system also includes a radiator, which is an element for cooling the water.
In addition, there is also a pump that circulates the liquid and acts as a reservoir for the expansion tank.
The disadvantage is the cost. A complete system to install can cost up to several hundred dollars.
Cooling for laptops
Laptops gradually began to replace stationary models over the years.
In the past, cooling was very simple - a heatsink and a fan were installed in the right places to maintain the correct operating parameters.
Overheating problems have appeared in the generation of netbooks and ultrabooks.
Even the giant air vents (usually located on the side of the case) didn't help.
New generations of processors have led to improved cooling performance. They use other types of materials that have significantly higher thermal conductivity.
The modern enclosure uses these elements to reduce heat build-up.
Cooling system care
To ensure maximum cooling performance, you must first remember to clean.
In the case of a desktop computer, the essence is simple - remove the side panel and clean the dust with compressed air
Dust is problematic for several reasons. First, it enters the bearings of the fan and thus interferes with its operation.
Second, it acts as a thermal insulator, reducing the efficiency of the radiators.
Cleaning your laptop is more difficult - removing the cover will void your warranty.
Thus, it is often necessary to clean laptops in services. This is the case for a year or two after the date of purchase, depending on how much the manufacturer has given the warranty.
Hopelessly dirty or worn bearings may necessitate a fan replacement.
In the case of laptops, this can be expensive. Stubborn dust clumps can be removed first with plastic tweezers and then blown up with compressed air.
Thermal diagnostics of the PC can be performed using a program called SpeedFan.
It gains access to built-in components and temperature sensors that are used for emergency shutdown when overheating is detected.
SpeedFan will help you see how the system is performing as it should.
Replacing thermal paste
Every 2-3 years, you will need to replace the thermal paste between the GPU and the heatsink. To do this, you must unscrew the fan, pull out the block, and then carefully remove the old paste.
Then apply a new coat according to the instructions on the package. Then install the fan correctly.
An alternative to paste is heat transfer tapes. They are used mainly where we are dealing with small details.
Correct behavior
Even the best cooling does not relieve you of the obligation to apply some good practices in eliminating excess heat.
Among the most important rules is to ensure proper air flow.
Avoid desks with dedicated computer shelves - their sides are often too close to the chassis, which has openings for cool air.
Do not place the laptop on a blanket or other soft surface that is firmly in contact with the bottom of the chassis.
Alternatively, you can buy a dedicated stand. It not only improves cooling but also improves ergonomics.
On hot days, you can use a small USB fan and direct airflow to the keyboard.
Some effect in the fight against high temperatures can be obtained by updating the BIOS and parts of the software. Good luck.
How to properly organize cooling in a gaming computer
The use of even the most efficient coolers may turn out to be useless if the air ventilation system is poorly thought out in the computer case. Therefore, the correct installation of fans and accessories is a mandatory requirement when assembling a system unit. Let's explore this question using the example of one productive gaming PC.
⇣ Contents
This article is a continuation of a series of introductory materials on assembling system units. If you remember, last year there was a step-by-step instruction "", which describes in detail all the main points for creating and testing a PC. However, as is often the case, when assembling a system unit, nuances play an important role. In particular, properly installing the fans in the chassis will increase the efficiency of all cooling systems, as well as reduce the heating of the main components of the computer. It is this question that is discussed in the article below.
I warn you right away that the experiment was carried out on the basis of one typical assembly using an ATX motherboard and a Midi-Tower case. The option presented in the article is considered the most common, although we all know perfectly well that computers are different, and therefore systems with the same level of performance can be assembled in dozens (if not hundreds) of different ways. That is why the above results are relevant exclusively for the considered configuration. Judge for yourself: computer cases, even within the same form factor, have different volumes and number of seats for installing fans, and video cards, even using the same GPU, are assembled on printed circuit boards of different lengths and equipped with coolers with different numbers of heat pipes and fans. Nevertheless, our small experiment will allow us to draw certain conclusions.
An important "detail" of the system unit is the central processor Core i7-8700K. A detailed review of this six-core is located, so I will not repeat myself once again. Let me just note that cooling the flagship for the LGA1151-v2 platform is not an easy task even for the most efficient coolers and liquid cooling systems.
The system was installed 16 GB of DDR4-2666 RAM. The Windows 10 operating system was written to a Western Digital WDS100T1B0A solid state drive. You can get acquainted with the review of this SSD.
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MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GAMING X TRIO |
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The MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GAMING X TRIO graphics card, as the name suggests, features a TRI-FROZR cooler with three TORX 2.0 fans. According to the manufacturer, these impellers create 22% more airflow while remaining virtually silent. Low volume, as stated on the official MSI website, is ensured, among other things, through the use of double-row bearings. Note that the radiator of the cooling system, and its ribs are made in the form of waves. According to the manufacturer, this design increases the total dissipation area by 10%. The radiator also comes into contact with the elements of the power subsystem. MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GAMING X TRIO memory chips are additionally cooled with a special plate.
The accelerator fans start rotating only when the chip temperature reaches 60 degrees Celsius. On an open stand, the maximum GPU temperature was only 67 degrees Celsius. At the same time, the fans of the cooling system spun up by a maximum of 47% - this is about 1250 rpm. The real GPU frequency in the default mode was stable at 1962 MHz. As you can see, the MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GAMING X TRIO has a decent factory overclock.
The adapter is equipped with a massive backplate that increases the rigidity of the structure. The back of the graphics card has an L-shaped strip with built-in Mystic Light LED backlighting. The user, using the application of the same name, can separately configure three zones of the glow. In addition, the fans are framed by two rows of symmetrical dragon claw lights.
According to the technical specifications, MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GAMING X TRIO has three operating modes: Silent Mode - 1480 (1582) MHz for the core and 11016 MHz for memory; Gaming Mode - 1544 (1657) for the core and 11016 MHz for memory; OC Mode - 1569 (1683) MHz core and 11124 MHz memory. By default, the video card has game mode enabled.
You can familiarize yourself with the performance level of the reference GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. Also, MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Lightning Z was released on our website. This graphics adapter is also equipped with a TRI-FROZR cooling system.
The assembly is based on the MSI Z370 GAMING M5 ATX form factor motherboard. This is a slightly modified version of the MSI Z270 GAMING M5 board, which was released on our website last spring. The device is perfect for overclocked Coffee Lake K-processors, as the digital power converter Digitall Power consists of five dual phases, implemented in a 4 + 1 scheme. Four channels are directly responsible for the operation of the CPU, another one for the integrated graphics.
All components of the power circuits comply with the Military Class 6 standard - this applies to both titanium core chokes and Dark CAP capacitors with at least ten years of service life, as well as energy efficient Dark Choke coils. And DIMM slots for installing RAM and PEG ports for installing video cards are clad in a metallized Steel Armor case, and also have additional soldering points on the back of the board. For the RAM, additional isolation of the tracks is applied, and each memory channel is wired in its own layer of PCB, which, according to the manufacturer, allows achieving a "cleaner" signal and increasing the stability of the overclocking of DDR4 modules.
Of the useful things, I note the presence of two M.2 connectors at once, which support the installation of PCI Express and SATA 6 Gb / s drives. The top port can accommodate SSDs up to 110mm in length, and the bottom port up to 80mm. The second port is additionally equipped with a metal heatsink M.2 Shield, which is in contact with the drive using a thermal pad.
The Killer E2500 gigabit controller is responsible for the wired connection in the MSI Z370 GAMING M5, and the Realtek 1220 chip is responsible for the sound. The Audio Boost 4 sound path received Chemi-Con capacitors, a dual headphone amplifier with an impedance of up to 600 ohms, a front dedicated audio output and gold-plated audio connectors. All components of the sound zone are isolated from the rest of the board with a non-conductive backlit strip.
Mystic Light motherboard backlight supports 16.8 million colors and works in 17 modes. An RGB strip can be connected to the motherboard, the corresponding 4-pin connector is soldered at the bottom of the board. By the way, the device comes with an 800 mm extension cord with a splitter for connecting an additional LED strip.
The board is equipped with six 4-pin connectors for connecting fans. The total number is selected optimally, the location is also. The PUMP_FAN port, soldered next to the DIMM, supports the connection of impellers or a pump with a current of up to 2 A. The location is again very good, since it is easy to connect a pump to this connector from both an unattended LSS and a custom system assembled by hand. The system cleverly manages including "Carlsons" with a 3-pin connector. The frequency is regulated both by the number of revolutions per minute and by the voltage. It is possible to completely stop the fans.
Finally, I would like to note two more very useful features of the MSI Z370 GAMING M5. The first is the presence of the POST indicator. The second is the EZ Debug LED block located next to the PUMP_FAN connector. It clearly demonstrates at what stage the system is booted: at the stage of initializing the processor, RAM, video card or drive.
The choice for Thermaltake Core X31 was not accidental. Here is a Tower case that meets all modern trends. The power supply is installed from below and is isolated with a metal shutter. There is a basket for installing three drives of 2.5 '' and 3.5 '' form factors, but HDD and SSD can be mounted on the barrier wall. There is a basket for two 5.25 "devices. Without them, nine 120mm or 140mm fans can be installed in the case. As you can see, Thermaltake Core X31 allows you to fully customize your system. For example, on the basis of this case, it is quite possible to assemble a PC with two 360-mm LSS radiators.
The device turned out to be very spacious. There is plenty of room behind the chassis for cable routing. Even with careless assembly, the side cover will close easily. The space for the hardware allows you to use processor coolers up to 180 mm in height, video cards up to 420 mm in length, and power supplies up to 220 mm in length.
The bottom and front panel are equipped with dust filters. The top cover is equipped with a mesh mat, which also keeps dust out and makes it easier to install case fans and water cooling systems.
In today's article, we will talk about what is - proper computer cooling and analyze the types of all cooling. In the life of a modern person, everything is connected with technology. One of the most widespread types of technology in the world is a computer. I would call it "the best of all technology." It helps to make life easier for a person. But, like any other technique, a computer needs careful care. Care is needed both virtual (protecting it from viruses "antivirus programs") and external (as you probably already understood - this is wiping, protection from water and not to hit or beat him if he suddenly starts to "blunt").
But there is one more important point that must be observed first of all, and this proper cooling of the computer. It is no longer a secret for everyone that a computer needs good cooling of its microchips, video cards, processor, hard drive and power supply. It is about the types of computer cooling that my story will go.
If you purchase a "factory" system unit, you do not have to worry about the correct cooling of your computer installed on it. After all, all the necessary types of cooling are provided in the already "finished" block. And if you are an amazing supertechnician and decided to assemble your own system unit, then this article is just for you.
Proper cooling of a computer is, as such, a very difficult system. I will try to tell you about all types of cooling, and you, in turn, will be able to choose which type you prefer. I'll tell you about them in more detail.
There are three types of system cooling: passive, active, and water.
Passive cooling
This cooling system does not contain moving parts and includes a radiator with a large number of fins, which increase its total usable area and, as a result, heat exchange. The radiator fits tightly to the cooled microcircuit and "takes" heat from it. In order to improve heat transfer, a special thermal paste is placed between the processor and the heatsink. The good thing about a passive system is that it is completely silent and does not consume a lot of power. Its disadvantages are low efficiency, and, consequently, passive cooling. Therefore, this type of cooling is used for low-power computers.
Active cooling
This type speaks for itself and differs significantly from the passive one. The main difference is the fan, which helps to equalize the temperature inside the processor with the temperature of the external environment due to the powerful air flow and heat exchange. This is the basis of its main advantage - there is a very fast and correct cooling of the computer. The main disadvantages of this type of cooling are fan noise and energy consumption.
Water cooling
This type of cooling system is very good, but it will cost a lot of money. In this cooling system, the process of heat exchange takes place, which is carried out by water, which moves through a special system. The water system cools very well and is almost silent. There are no drawbacks, but there are some difficulties during the work: very painstaking installation of the system, prevention and maintenance. And yet this system can confidently be given a name - proper cooling of the computer!
Here, I briefly talked about the existing types of cooling. Remember, each species is unique in its own way. Therefore, I can say - make your personal choice based on your personal preferences and financial wealth.
I would like to pay more attention to active cooling as the most frequently used one.
As a rule, factory system units have an active cooling system. But it happens that she does not manage to cool the computer as quickly as necessary. Therefore, you can supply additional fans yourself. The number of fans does not mean that your computer has been cooled successfully. The main thing here is to correctly arrange them. It is worth talking about this in more detail.
First, get to know your computer better, see if the motherboard can handle the additional load. After making sure of this, it will be possible to buy a new fan.
Secondly, choose a fan with large blades, and also, pay attention to the icons near the screws - the sound level emanating from the running fan is indicated there. Pay attention to the installation of the fan, because another drawback is that the heated air flows through the power supply when it leaves, thereby heating it even more. And, on the contrary, when cold air is sucked in, a lot of dust accumulates inside the computer, which greatly harms it.
No matter how confident you are in your abilities and professionalism, it is still better to consult a specialist when installing the fan or after it (but not turning on the computer). This will be the best solution. And then you never know what ...
I hope my advice will help you when choosing cooling systems.
Health to you and your computer and choose proper cooling of the computer.
A typical representative of passive cooling is a video card of the Palit GeForce GTX 750 KalmX family (photo 1).
The use of a passive cooling system in modern video cards inevitably leads to an increase in the size of the heat sink. Indeed, since the circulation of heated air is less active (in a natural way), for efficient heat dissipation and cooling of the graphics chip, video card manufacturers increase the surface area of the radiator.
However, radiators with an active cooling system have no smaller dimensions due to the presence of additional coolers, as well as a casing, which is responsible for quick heat dissipation and proper air circulation. So the representative of active cooling is the model of the GeForce GTX 970 card (photo 2). The three rotating fans are quite noisy during intensive work, but this is compensated by the increased performance.
And yet, the undoubted advantage of passively cooled video cards is that an absent cooler cannot fail. But the lack of sufficient air circulation in the system unit also leads to overheating of video cards with passive cooling.
Cooling efficiency of video card systems and performance
In 2013 in Hong Kong, representatives of InnoVISION Multimedia Limited tested a new line of passively cooled video cards.
According to the company's specialists, passive cooling of video cards is the optimal solution both for budget models of computers and for systems used by professional graphic designers.
The main advantage for a passive cooling system is that it does not generate noise when the graphics card is continuously cooled. At the same time, although such a video card is inferior in performance to analogs with an active cooling system by an average of about 20%, this difference is noticeable only under load. Performance is the same under standard conditions.
In turn, new technologies for using low-noise slide bearing coolers are trying to reduce the noise of active cooling systems. This increases the cost of such video cards.
So from the table below it can be seen that the efficiency of both active and passive cooling systems is stable and almost equal in temperature (Table 1).
This indicates that there is no fundamental difference in the efficiency of cooling systems. It is in efficiency. Another thing is that under extreme operating conditions the active system is more dynamic, i.e. more productive. Although such working conditions are contraindicated for video cards with both cooling systems, since both of them fail equally.
But if you play modern games (demanding on the GPU), make video editing or in any other way often and seriously load the video subsystem, but do not want to give up the quiet operation of the passive cooling system, then perhaps your choice should be stopped on representatives of the family of video cards, which are described below ...
Video cards with a semi-passive cooling system
Recently, video card manufacturers have begun to produce video cards with an active cooling system that support passive operation during system downtime (inactivity) or under low load (watching video or working with office applications). In such semi-passive video cards, for example, ASUS GeForce GTX 750 Ti (photo 3), the cooler starts rotating only when the GPU reaches a certain temperature. This implementation of combining the advantages of two cooling systems is very practical, but the cost of such video cards today is slightly higher than top-end cards with active cooling.
But no matter what cooling system you choose, the main thing is that video card manufacturers do not plan to give up the advantages of passive cooling systems in the future in the future, so the development of a line of so-called "hybrids" is the most optimal and promising solution.
The Taiwanese company Thermalright is one of the leaders in the production of air cooling systems. The products of this company have long been present on our market and are represented by a wide range of coolers for various purposes. One of the priority directions in the work of the company, of course, is the production of highly efficient processor coolers. Today, a not quite ordinary cooler got into our test laboratory. Its peculiarity lies in the ability to work in passive mode, that is, without blowing by fans. At least, according to the manufacturer's assurances, this product is designed precisely as a passive cooler. How well the heatsink cope with cooling a modern processor in the absence of airflow is up to us to find out. So, the hero of our testing was the Thermalright HR-02 processor cooler.
In general, the idea of assembling the quietest computer is not new. Many users don't want prohibitive performance at the cost of noise and exorbitant power consumption. A home computer can handle multimedia tasks and not too resource-intensive games without overclocking at all. But a completely silent PC has a number of advantages. For example, you can queue up downloads from the Internet at night and your computer will not disturb your sleep with its noise. In addition, the quiet operation of the system unit will be appreciated by connoisseurs of high-quality sound and owners of professional speaker systems. There are many more such examples, but let's go directly to the review.
Packaging and equipment
The cooler comes in a medium-sized cardboard box. The style of packaging design is familiar to Thermalright products - a strict appearance of the box, no unnecessary pictures, windows and other marketing "tricks".
The radiator itself is in a bag and is tightly packed in a protective polyurethane foam form. The likelihood of damage in transit is minimal. The accessories are in a separate white cardboard box.
A pleasant surprise for the buyer will be a fairly high-quality screwdriver supplied with the cooler.
The scope of delivery is as follows:
- user guide;
- sticker with the manufacturer's logo;
- a set of mounts for LGA 775/1155/1156/1366;
- brackets for attaching a 120 mm fan;
- brackets for mounting a 140 mm fan;
- crosshead screwdriver;
- a key to hold down the cooler;
- anti-vibration corners for the fan;
Radiator design
The Thermalright HR-02 Cooler was originally designed to remove up to 130 watts of heat from the CPU without the need for fans. Of course, such a mode of operation requires a large heat dissipation area. The heatsink is a structure made up of a copper base and six copper heat pipes piercing 32 perforated aluminum fins. The diameter of the tubes is 6 mm. The rib thickness is 0.5 mm and the intercostal distance is 3 mm. The radiator is completely nickel plated.
The total calculated area of the radiator is about 9770 sq. cm. For comparison, the area of the heat dissipator Noctua NH-D14 is equal to 12020 sq. see The thickness of the plates, the large intercostal spacing and the perforation in the plates indicate that the radiator is designed to work in a passive mode.
Undoubtedly, this is one of the largest (if not the largest) single-section tower coolers. The radiator looks massive even against the background of the two-piece Silver Arrow. It is also clearly noticeable how much greater the intercostal distance of the HR-02 is than that of the “arrow”.
The workmanship is at the highest level. Taking this radiator in hand gives the impression that it is a cast part, and not a construction of many segments. All connections of the heat pipes with the base and fins are high-quality soldered. No "snot" in the form of solder drips was found.
One of the features of Thermalright HR-02 is the non-standard arrangement of heat pipes. The entire radiator is, as it were, shifted to the side relative to the base. According to the manufacturer's idea, such a design should make operation more convenient and simplify the user's access to the case fans on the back of the case. We looked from a slightly different angle and noticed that such a design can allow installing memory modules with high heatsinks in all DIMM slots. Whether this is so remains to be seen.
This form should not harm productivity in the least. The heat pipes are well placed and should distribute heat fairly evenly across the fins. If we are talking about installing a fan, then the position of the heat pipes will just correspond to the highest air flow, bypassing the “dead zone” of the fan.
The base is not ideal, but it is flat enough to provide more or less uniform heat dissipation from the heat spreader cover. If we compare the workmanship with the Noctua NH-D14 cooler, then the Austrian company is still ahead.
The radiator sole is polished to a mirror shine. Of course, the traces of the cutter are visible on close inspection, but this is not critical for the cooling efficiency.
In order not to disappoint fans of active cooling, the engineers have provided for the possibility of installing fans. Assembled with a 140mm Thermalright TY-140 cooler looks like this.
The brackets are threaded through special holes in the radiator fins, then the fan is pressed. It should be noted that such a system for installing fans is typical for all coolers from this manufacturer and it has one noticeable drawback. Removing or installing fan brackets requires disassembling the cooler. Again, Taiwanese engineers should pay attention to the NH-D14, in which the fans are mounted more efficiently and conveniently.
Well, the looks and workmanship of the Thermalright HR-02 radiator is impressive. Let's take a look at the specifications and move on to testing. Installation and compatibility
The heat sink can be installed on all Intel platforms. The mounting system is exactly the same as on all modern Thermalright CPU coolers. First you need to attach the stiffening plate to the motherboard:
Then the mounting frame is installed, to which the radiator will be screwed. The frame allows you to install the radiator in any of four possible positions. This is very convenient as it makes the product more versatile. We have chosen a position where you can install memory modules with high "combs".
The radiator itself is screwed on with two union nuts and then clamped with a large bolt in the middle of the base.
There are special holes in the plates for mounting the radiator using a screwdriver. It's just not clear why it was necessary to make these holes so large, because smaller ones are enough for a screwdriver. Perhaps this was done for beauty, but the loss of working area is obvious.
The supplied brackets fit one 120mm and one 140mm fan. We used Thermalright Silver Arrow brackets and installed two TY-140 fans.
And then one more unpleasant feature of the fan mounting was discovered. Brackets prevent high scallop memory from being inserted into the first DIMM slot. Considering the design of the cooler, engineers could work hard to create new brackets (like Noctua or Prolimatech). Then the cooler would become even better, and the fan located immediately behind the RAM “combs” would also provide blowing.
Specifications
| Cooler model | Thermalright Silver Arrow | Noctua NH-D14 | |
| Connector | LGA775 / 1155 / 1156/1366 AM2 (+) / AM3 |
LGA775 / 1155 / 1156/1366 AM2 (+) / AM3 |
LGA775 / 1155 / 1156/1366 AM2 (+) / AM3 |
| Radiator dimensions, mm | 102x140x163 | 147x123x165 | 140x130x160 |
| Radiator weight, g | 860 | 830 | 900 |
| Radiator material | Copper base and heat pipes, aluminum fins, all nickel plated |
Copper base and heat pipes, aluminum fins, all nickel plated |
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| Number of plates | 32 | 55x2 | 42x2 |
| Distance between plates, mm | 3 | 1,7 | 2,5 |
| Fan model (s) | - | Thermalright TY-140 | NF-P12 / NF-P14 |
| Fan (s) dimensions, mm | - | 160x140x26 | 120x120x25 140x140x25 |
| Weight of each fan, g | - | 140 | 170 |
| Fan speed (s), rpm | - | 900—1300 (PWM control) |
900—1300 900—1200 (using U.L.N.A. adapters) |
| Air flow, cubic meters f / min |
- | 56—73 | 37—54,1 48,8—64,7 |
| Declared noise level, dBA |
- | 19—21 | 12,6—19,8 13,2—19,8 |
| MTBF, thousand h | - | n / a | >150 |
| Estimated cost, $ | 80 | 90 | 80 |
Stand and testing methodology
The test bench configuration was as follows:
- motherboard: ASRock P67 Extreme4 (Intel P67 Express);
- central processor: Intel Core i7-2600K ES (3, [email protected], 0 GHz, VCore 1.45 V);
- RAM: Kingston KHX2333C9D3T1K2 / 4GX (2x2 GB);
- video card: HIS Radeon HD6950 2GB;
- hard drive: Western Digital WD6401AALS;
- power supply: Hiper Type RII 680W (680 W).
- thermal grease: Noctua NT-H1.
The processor operated at 4 GHz at 1.175 V with passive cooling and at 5 GHz at 1.45 V with a radiator fan. The Noctua NH-D14 cooler was also tested with Thermalright TY-140 fans, due to the fact that the latter are somewhat more efficient than its standard NF-P12 and NF-P14.
Test results
It should be noted right away that all the tested coolers were able to ensure the operation of the Intel Core i5-2600K processor at a frequency of 5.0 GHz at a voltage of 1.45 V.
Analysis of the diagrams shows that the performance of the coolers that have been in our laboratory is at a high level. Two-section "towers" Noctua NH-D14 and Thermalright Silver Arrow are comparable in efficiency, with
insignificant superiority of the latter. Thermalright HR-02 outperforms this tandem in fanless mode, but loses even more noticeably in active mode. Taking into account the peculiarities of its design, in particular the small number of radiator fins, this result is quite logical and logical. In the first case, a competent design of the cooler plays a decisive role, in the second - a smaller heat dissipation area.
Conclusion
The results of testing coolers in passive mode show a slight superiority of the HR-02 over its competitors, but the other two participants can also be operated without blowing. Therefore, we cannot say that only models specially designed for this are suitable for passive cooling. Almost any high-efficiency radiator with a large dissipation area can provide normal heat dissipation without the use of fans. However, do not forget that our test Intel Core i7-2600K processor is much colder than, for example, LGA1366 processors, and there are not so many powerful video cards with passive cooling on sale. That is, fans of a silent computer will have to take care of choosing the appropriate components in any case. Either way, the tested Thermalright HR-02 cooler is a great choice when building a silent PC. If we talk about active cooling, then this product, although it shows good results, is far from optimal in terms of price / performance ratio. The HR-02 fanless kit costs about $ 80. In total, the purchase of this radiator and an additional fan will cost significantly more than purchasing more efficient two-piece coolers.
Summing up, the Thermalright HR-02 can be unconditionally ranked among the cohort of high-end processor coolers. The product does not claim to be a leader, but at the same time possesses a set of rare qualities, thanks to which it will undoubtedly find its buyer.
The only serious drawback is its cost, but the Thermalright HR-02 Macho version has already entered the market, which is equipped with a fan and costs significantly less due to the lack of nickel plating. Perhaps, soon Macho will get into our test laboratory, and we will check how important the nickel plating is, or it serves a purely aesthetic role.
Testing equipment was provided by the following companies:
- ASRock - ASRock P67 Extreme4 motherboard;
- Intel - Intel Core i7-2600K processor;
- Noctua - Noctua NH-D14 cooler and NT-H1 thermal grease;
- Thermalright - Thermalright HR-02 and Silver Arrow coolers.