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RESULTS
The included Coolwave fan controller is adjustable from a low of 6.5 volts
to a high of 11.5 volts so I initially tested it at both extremes. Afterwards
I removed the controller and install a Zalman Fanmate1 so I
could test the fan at 5 volts as well. Both other heatsinks were also tested
at 5V, 6.5V and 11.5V with the help of the Fanmate1.
For °C/W - TDP calculations, Intel's TDP of 66W was used. For °C/W - MP calculations, CPUHeat & CPUMSR Projects' estimate of 75W was used.
At 11.5V the Coolwave certainly cooled well but was very noisy. The fan
made a rather loud whine and there was a lot of wind noise as well. It's
sonic characteristics reminded me of a slightly toned down 80mm Delta screamer.
There's no way this could be used in a quiet system at it's full speed setting.
At 11.5V the Intel fan was also fairly noisy, but not nearly as bad as the
Coolwave fan. The Intel fan also had a noticeable whine and lots of air
noise. Both of these fans are 70mm, that may help explain their similar
noise traits. The Zalman at 11.5V was certainly audible, but not nearly
so objectionable as the two other fans. It's had only a very slight whine
and a lower pitched type of wind noise. It uses a 92mm fan which probably
helps.
|
11.5 Volt Results
|
| Heatsink |
idle
|
load
|
°C rise
|
°C/W MP
|
°C/W TDP
|
| >>Coolwave<< |
24°C
|
40°C
|
18
|
0.26
|
0.27
|
| Zalman 7000 |
24°C
|
40°C
|
18
|
0.26
|
0.27
|
| Stock Intel HSF |
25°C
|
46°C
|
24
|
0.34
|
0.36
|
°C rise refers to the rise in
temperature over the ambient at load.
At 6.5 volts, the Coolwave fan was much quieter. The whine was still noticeable but
was at a much lower level. The air noise was also quieter but was still
easy to hear from one meter away. A new noise started to show up at 6.5
volts, the dreaded "clicking" sound so common when fans are undervolted. It was pretty easy to hear
and was made even more annoying because it changed frequency and level
regularly. It still cooled pretty decent though. If it wasn't for the
bad clicking sound, this could almost be acceptable in a system that was
running around 30-35dBA. The Zalman worked well at 6.5V and it's noise
was pretty unobtrusive. It consisted of a slight bit of air noise and
a quiet clicking. The Intel HSF was already starting to run out of gas
at this voltage and still had a bit of whine and air noise.
|
 6.5 Volt Results
|
| Heatsink |
idle
|
load
|
°C rise
|
°C/W MP
|
°C/W TDP
|
| Zalman 7000 |
24°C
|
41°C
|
19
|
0.27
|
0.29
|
| >>Coolwave<< |
26°C
|
47°C
|
25
|
0.36
|
0.38
|
| Stock Intel HSF |
28°C
|
55°C
|
33
|
0.47
|
0.50
|
At 5V the Coolwave's whine diminished to more like a low
hum. Its wind noise was pretty low but the "clicking" noise
still persisted. All things considered, 50°C max for a 5V 70mm fan
is pretty good. This small heatsink and 70mm fan combo does a better job
than I would have expected, but the noise of the fan is barely tolerable
at 5V. As I expected, the Zalman was still working just fine down at 5V.
It's cooling performance was still very good and it's noise level was
very, very quiet. I could barely hear any wind noise and just the slightest
bit of very quiet clicking from about .5-1 meter away. The Intel HSF was
basically worthless at 5V. Load temps were pretty high and it's whine
and hum were a little quieter than the Coolwave's.
|
5 Volt Results
|
| Heatsink |
idle
|
load
|
°C rise
|
°C/W MP
|
°C/W TDP
|
| Zalman 7000 |
26°C
|
45°C
|
23
|
0.33
|
0.35
|
| >>Coolwave<< |
27°C
|
50°C
|
28
|
0.40
|
0.42
|
| Stock Intel HSF |
28°C
|
64°C
|
42
|
0.60
|
0.63
|
Extrapolated Performance with Prescott 3.4
Spire is claims "we have designed our CoolWave™
cooler to meet the extreme cooling demands of Intel's 3.4 GHz+ Pentium 4™
Prescott™ processors", but I've only tested it with a 2.4GHz,
66 watt CPU. I did this so the Coolwave could be directly compared to all
the other high performance P4 coolers that have been tested here at SPCR
over the past year. We can however, use the "°C/W" numbers
to extrapolate the theoretical performance of the Coolwave to any other
P4 processor, including the 100+ watt P4 3.4GHz Prescott.
According to Intel's
TDP, the 3.4 Prescott puts
out 103W. The estimated Maximum Power is 115W.
Let's look
at a chart of the theoretical temperatures of the Coolwave heatsink in a
P4 3.4GHz Prescott system, running the cooling fan at 11.5V, 6.5V and 5V,
based on the same ambient temperature (22°C) that I tested the 2.4C
CPU at:
|
1) Coolwave temps for a 3.4GHz Prescott TDP
|
| Fan Voltage |
°C/W TDP
|
°C rise
|
load
|
| 11.5V |
0.27
|
28
|
50°C
|
| 6.5V |
0.38
|
39
|
61°C
|
| 5V |
0.42
|
43
|
65°C
|
*
|
2) Coolwave temps for a 3.4GHz Prescott -MP
|
| Fan Voltage |
°C/W MP
|
°C rise
|
load
|
| 11.5V |
0.26
|
30
|
52°C
|
| 6.5V |
0.36
|
41
|
62°C
|
| 5V |
0.40
|
46
|
68°C
|
As expected, the predictions based on Maximum Power provide slightly worse results. So, depending on how much faith you have on the accuracy of either set of calculations,
it looks like the Coolwave is capable of performing as Spire claims. Of course the fan noise issue is what will make or break this
HSF in the eyes of most SilentPCReview readers.
FINAL THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSIONS
The typical DIY builder would probably consider a heatsink to be acceptable
if it cools the processor to a decent level. Using only cooling performance
as a guideline, it looks like the Spire Coolwave would indeed be a suitable
cooler for the hot running Prescott's. At $26 MSRP, it's also priced in the
low to mid range of aftermarket P4 coolers.
However, here at SPCR, we also factor noise into the equation
and when you do this to the Coolwave, it skews the results,
not in a good way. Yes, the HSF works well but the little 70mm fan is its
Achilles Heel. The fan is quite loud at it's full voltage and is fairly objectionable
even at it's lower voltages. I could marginally recommend it at 5 volts, if
there was a way to get rid of the clicking/rattling noise, but otherwise it's
probably too loud for the majority of SPCR readers, even though it cools rather
well.
It might be a possible solution in a small HPTC
or SFF case where space its at a premium and the user was willing to give
up a little noise for fairly good cooling
|
PROS
* Rather inexpensive
* Very easy to install
* Fairly low profile
* Good performance
* User adjustable fan speed
|
CONS
* Little 70mm fan is too loud
* No room on fan bracket to install a larger fan
|
Much thanks to Spire
for the opportunity to review this HSF.
* * *
Discuss this this article in the SPCR Forums.
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