Thermaltake CL-P0401 V1 CPU Cooler Reviews

• Excellent CPU Cooler

  
  By A12KGTNP0I3ANC on 2008-05-04
  With this CPU cooler installed, I get a maximum under load (Prime95 run for 4 hours) CPU temperature of 50 to 55 degree Celsius with an Intel Q6600 over clocked to 3.2 GHz. During the summer, because of an approximately 10F increase in room temperature, this will probably be about 5C higher. The maximum CPU temperature for most processors is around 70C. The results you get with this CPU cooler may vary, with the computer case, number of fans, fan speeds, ambient temperature and ventilation surrounding the computer case.
  
  As the cooling fins on this CPU cooler are huge, you might what to check the dimensions of your case to make sure it will fit. The cooler should be oriented to a position that has fan's air flow going toward where air is exiting the case.
  
  The cooler comes with clip type brackets for both Intel and AMD processors. It is not necessary to remove the motherboard to install this cooler. Many people feel coolers utilizing a back plate (requiring the removal of the motherboard for installation), obtain a more uniform pressure between the cooler and the CPU, thus getting better cooling.
  
  This cooler's variable speed fan is controlled by a potentiometer. The reason one star was deducted from this product's rating was because the cord for the fan control is only about four to six inches long. This means you must open the case in order to change the fan speed. The Antec 900 case I have did the same thing with the fan controls, go figure. It should be noted this fan uses a 3 pin connector, meaning the motherboard will not have any control over the fan speed, as a 4 pin connector would. At low speeds the fan can hardly be heard even with the case open. At the highest speed the fan noise is noticeable but not what I would call loud.
  
  One measure of a cooler's effectiveness is its rated air flow and this cooler's rating of 86.5 CFM is on the high end of what you are going to see. Based upon the previous reviewers and my experience I would give this cooler's heat exchange capacity an excellent rating.
  
  Whether or not this CPU cooler is for you is going to depend on several of the items discussed above. In addition unless you are going to be over clocking, the stock CPU cooler should be adequate. If you are looking at this product because your CPU is running too hot and you are not over clocking, you should first be looking at improving the air flow thru and around the computer case before purchasing this product.
  
  Since there are several other CPU coolers in this price range, and the experience I have is limited to this one cooler, it would be a good idea to take a look at them and the associated reviews. There are also several computer forums dealing with CPU over clocking and cooling you might also want to explore. Believing what you see rather than what you hear is especially true with these forums. In other words look for specific examples of performance with various components discussed and give careful thought to any theory presented.
  
  All the Best,
  
  Rich
  
  

• wow!

  
  By A2AUGDZVCVQ9J7 on 2008-02-21
  seriously best heatsink I've ever had. unusual clips are a little confusing but no matter, it keeps my quad-core overclocked rig at 42 C.... *_*
  
  

• VisionTek V24P256OCAGP Radeon HD 256MB OverClock 2400 Pro AGP Video Card

• Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound, 3.5grams
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core Processor, 2.40 GHz, 8M L2 Cache, LGA 775
• Western Digital WD5000KSRTL Caviar 500 GB SATA Hard Drive
• Corsair Dominator 2 GB (2 X 1 GB) 240-pin DDR2 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit
• ArctiClean kit 60ml Kit includes 30ml ArctiClean 1 and 30ml ArctiClean 2