Good review! I've been wondering about the CoGage for a few weeks now since I first heard their name. When I saw their products they are clearly copies of several top end coolers, interestingly in this case it outperforms the TRUE!

One question... the CoGage ties the Mugen2 at #4 on the list of coolers. Of the three scores, the 9v and 7v scores are identical, but on the 12v score the CoGage scores 1C worse than the Mugen.

Looking at and comparing the different scores of these heatsinks, especially the Noctua line, but the others too, just makes me keep thinking that the fin arrays are not the most significant factor in the performance of these CPU heatsinks.

I have never noticed much heat to the touch on a CPU heat sink, regardless of how hot or cool the CPU is running. Nor even much heat as I touch even the base.

I think the key factor is getting the heat out of the silicon, through the chip's metal enclosure and to the tubes. That is the only way these and other benchmarks from other sources make sense to me.

Good job on the review but with a few amendments: the temps you guys are getting are really on the comfortable side so an increase in voltage wouldn't be such a bad idea and could help someone separate the products better. I mean its kinda hard to sway someone towards a Megahalems when something like the True spirit is only a couple of degrees hotter.

I'm glad you guys confirmed my assumption that the Quiet would be the best out of the 10x bunch. Too bad the retention system is not very good. Lets hope they bring a rev.b version with an improved one.

Differences in rankings between different CPUs and HDT vs. Solid Base coolers.

From Bench Mark Reviews

"Because of the slightly spread-out core placement on a Core 2 Quad or Duo processor, most triple-piped HDT cooler would make directly-aligned contact with the cores through the IHS. However, when it comes to the Core i7 series, the processor cores line-up better with four-piped HDT coolers (or at the outer edge of the center heat-pipe in the three-piped HDT cooler).

Conversely, coolers with a solid base are not effected by either platform, so long as they're big enough to saturate the contact surface.

Making matters a little more complicated is the orientation of the Core i7 processor series, which is restricted to comply with the Intel-designed horizontally-aligned rectangle shape (not square like LGA775 processors). The 32mm tall by 35mm wide Core i7 processor is more sensitive to how a cooler is mounted to it, and care must be take to ensure the IHS is fully covered."

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?o ... mitstart=7

Come on Zalman. Must try harder.



Don't agree at all. This is SPCR after all. Anyways, the reviews are very clear that a cooler like the Megahalems will be far better for heavy overclock. The results are realistic and accurate and explained afterward, so I would say they are just fine.

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We don't consider it our task to sway anyone like that. As a consumer advocacy site site, we tread a fine line -- we're less trying to help brands sell their wares than help consumers make the right choices for themselves. It may be a subtle distinction, but it's real.

Besides, if you read the PS on our 2010 HS Platform Test Platform, you'd know that obtaining consistent thermal/power results with the i7-1366 platform w/ an oc'd/ov'd CPU is a serious headache. We value consistency far too much.

I think its pretty cool you're trying to push a set of values but testing one heatsink at a different set of voltage values takes 10 minutes during every session. I think that's worth the extra relevance you get from that.

You can even write a disclaimer about the inconsistency and attach it to every test.

Whats also surprising is the fact that you don't publish fanless results.

Great review!

After that amazing resoults with TRUE Spirit, I hope you will review Arrow too, maybe it's a great (and cheaper) competitor to NH-D14..

what i like about the spcr cpu cooler tests is that they provide valuable information for two things:

1) you own the nexus reference fan.
2) you want to know what the noise signature of the included fan is, and how it compares to similar fans.

Is the MUX-120 the 1156 variant of the True Spirit? At least in spirit?

I think it is slightly different. My recollection is that it has one less heat pipe.

From Thermalright site:
http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/ ... x-120.html

Four high quality 6mm heatpipes
48 pieces of aluminum fins

Dimension: L133 x W58 x H160 mm

Seems almost identical, except the MUX has plated pipes...

I stand corrected. I was thinking about the TRUE as opposed to the True Spirit.

You know I don't think ThermalRight makes any bad heat sinks. If they aren't best in class, they are usually one of the best. You can say that about Noctua and Prolimatech. Scythe on the other hand is sort of spotty - some of their products are good, some not so good. But they are generally the best value.

What PWM fan would be a good replacement for the OEM on the Cogage True Spirit?

I believe scythe kama pwm would be a good choice, also heard kind words about AC F12 PWM