X-bit labs

Battle of the Titans: Super Coolers from Scythe, Thermaltake and Zalman Face to Face

Category: Coolers

by Doors4ever

[ 10/21/2005 | 11:44 AM ]

We would like to offer you a detailed roundup of five today’s best CPU coolers with heatpipe technology. This ultimate test session will help you make the best choice the health of your system depends on.

Table of contents:

• Testbed and Methods
  
• Zalman CNPS9500 LED
  
• Scythe Shogun
  
• Scythe Ninja (SCNJ-1000)
  
• Thermaltake Big Typhoon (CL-P0114)
  
• Thermaltake Sonic Tower (CL-P0071)
  
• More Tests in a System Case
  
• Conclusion
  

The revolution has been accomplished even though many people are not aware of it. Most of us have been confident that liquid-cooling systems are going to become an indispensable component of any future computer considering the rapid growth rate of heat dissipation of modern central processors.

Yet it seems that water-based cooling which has been trying to find its way into our system cases for a few years will still remain a choice of some isolated enthusiasts rather than a widespread solution. Why? Because of the quiet revolutionaries – coolers with heat pipes!

They are comparable with liquid cooling systems in noise and efficiency but are much better in terms of installation and maintenance. As for the price factor, they will cost you two times less than a do-it-yourself system and two to five times less than an off-the-shelf water-cooling system from a respectable brand. So, liquid cooling is done with while the future belongs to heat-pipes-based coolers, if nothing more efficient comes up.

The problem of choice, however, is still persistent. What model is better out of the variety of coolers from numerous manufacturers?

We want to clarify the issue right here and now by performing a comparative test of several coolers on heat pipes: Scythe Shogun and Ninja, Thermaltake Big Typhoon and Sonic Tower, and a Zalman CNPS9500 LED.