14 DAY TRIAL // If you're one of the lucky few to have finally met one of those Wolfdale-based ultra-fast quad core CPUs from Intel, you must be pretty disappointed with the stock cooler that's mocking at you inside the box. I for one could not stop wondering how on Earth can you cool down a 3 GHz powerhorse with a one centimeter tall CPU fan. So, of course, I tossed it away and pulled out the big guns instead.
Intel 2 Quad CPUs are becoming really common, given the fact that they have successfully penetrated the market at more than decent prices. They may be manufactured using the 45-nanometer production node, yet the extra computing power brings more heat you'd rather kick out of your computer case.
The stock cooler might be enough for a quad running at its default core clock speed, but overclockers will surely get some serious cooling. What's the avail of having the latest sports car if you don't add at least some nitrous dioxide?
Scythe has come with a perfect solution that will save us from the watercooling monster (I for one, hate it) while keeping the core temperature to a minimum. The Zipang cooler comes with a 140mm low speed fan that won't be much of a rocket. On the contrary, the innovative ball-bearing system and its low spinning speed allows it to keep a low profile inside the case; you'll barely notice the sound.
The cooler is rigged with 6 heatpipes emerging from the cooler base and crossing the low-profile heatsink with aluminum fins. In fact, its surface can dissipate heat extremely well even at zero fan speed, which is quite a performance, given the fact that we are talking about a quad-core.
The cooler measures 145 x 148 x 112 millimeter and weighs 816 grams. It is far from being the largest cooler on the market, but it's really close to that performance, so you might have a hard time trying to fit it inside your case. The fan is fastened on top of the finned heatsink and can reach 10000 RPM at 21 decibels.
The cooler is available for $59, but if you insist that your 45-nanometer quad-core is not hot enough for such a monolith, you might want to give the cooler a try with this 170-watt Intel behemoth.
