X-bit labs

Originality or Efficiency? Cooler Master Mars, Eclipse and Hyper TX Cooling Solutions Reviewed (page 11)

Category: Coolers

by Sergey Lepilov

[ 12/15/2006 | 10:47 AM ]

Conclusion

As I have concluded from my tests, the originality of the new coolers from Cooler Master has had a negative effect on their efficiency because neither the Mars nor the Eclipse can boast cooling performance that would satisfy an overclocker. Yes, they look cool, and the Mars even has blue highlighting, which makes it appealing for modders, but that’s in fact their best advantage so far. They become more efficient at high fan speeds, but they produce too much noise then. You can try to use the PWM feature so that the coolers would adjust their speeds automatically, yet there are a number of more interesting and effective alternatives for that money (the recommended price of the coolers is $50-55).

The Cooler Master Hyper TX is quite a different story. You take and mix a thought-through design, well-soldered pipes in the base, a plastic casing, a soft suspension of the fan on rubber poles, and a simple and reliable fastening mechanism – and get an efficient, quiet and handy cooler as the result. This model is already selling for about $30, which is about 50% higher than its recommended price but considerably lower than the price of Cooler Master’s two new coolers. This model cannot challenge super-coolers, yet can match their efficiency on moderately overclocked processors. If the Hyper TX is going to sell at its recommended price, it may well become the best product in terms of price/efficiency ratio. The only downside is that this cooler is not universal and you have to buy its version suitable for your particular platform.