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MP3 SOUND RECORDINGS
These recordings were made with a high
resolution, lab quality, digital recording system inside SPCR's
own 11 dBA ambient anechoic chamber, then converted to LAME 128kbps
encoded MP3s. We've listened long and hard to ensure there is no audible degradation
from the original WAV files to these MP3s. They represent a quick snapshot of
what we heard during the review.
These recordings are intended to give you an idea of how the product sounds
in actual use — one meter is a reasonable typical distance between a computer
or computer component and your ear. The recording contains stretches of ambient
noise that you can use to judge the relative loudness of the subject. Be aware
that very quiet subjects may not be audible — if we couldn't hear it from
one meter, chances are we couldn't record it either!
The recording starts with 10 second segments of room ambiance, then the fan
at various levels. For the most realistic results, set the volume so that
the starting ambient level is just barely audible, then don't change the volume
setting again.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Prolimatech Megahalems delivered a championship performance, no matter
how much airflow was supplied by the fan. It performed similarly to the Thermalright
HR-01 Plus in a low airflow environment, but did 3°C better with high
airflow, making it an all-around superior cooler.
We were unsure whether a heatsink with tight fin spacing would do as well with
low airflow, but the Megahalems had just the right design to make it work. There's little
doubt that the extremely secure mounting system also plays a big role in its
success. We appreciate its simplicity as well — most of the process is
tool-less except for the final step which requires a screwdriver. The mounting
components are also rather large making them harder to misplace. Only the lack of support for AMD processors is a bit disappointing, though this may come in the future.
The Megahalems is a first class heatsink, but availability and
price seem a bit problematic at the moment. The Prolimatech site refers us
to two retailers currently selling the Megahalems, with only the German site
actually having the cooler listed, priced at just under 60 Euros which is about
$77 USD at today's exhange rate. While that's fine if you want the latest and
greatest, it really needs to be at most, about $60 (without fan) to truly make it competitive
with a similar performing cooler like the Thermalright HR-01 Plus. That may
not happen until more resellers get their hands on some stock.
Perhaps its part of their marketing strategy to drum up excitement and anticipation.
In any case, the Megahalems joins the Thermalright HR-01 Plus at the very top of our quiet, high performance heatsink list.
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Prolimatech Megahalems
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PROS
* Top-notch performance with both low and high airflow
* Easy, secure mounting system
* LGA1366 compatibility |
CONS
* Price, availability
* Lack of AMD compatibility |
Our thanks to Prolimatech
for the Megahalems heatsink sample.
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