Thermaltake V1 CPU cooler
The problem with CPU cooler is not whether to find one that can cool your CPU down, but rather to find one that is quiet while doing so. In this respect, Thermaltake V1 is a failure. I also figure that, if Thermaltake V1 is fail, then probably 98% of the coolers on the shelf are also fail. Yes, I am anal about noise, and I just found that my ugly water cooling system is actually quietest solution.
From the first look, the contact surface of the heat sink is well polished. That's a good sign. However, the workmanship is overall not as good as it should be for a $60-MSRP cooler. That's general appearance of things made in China, as Taiwanese-owned companies all try to cut corners by ignoring details. Don't get me wrong, things they make do work, but there's a reason that they don't own brands like Porsche, Lexus or Lotus.
Nevertheless, V1 is good for what it is. It comes with a variable resistance, so you can choose which fan speed level it is running. The design of the variable resistance is ungainly, awkward but it works. At somewhat quiet mode (around 1500 RPM), it performs better than stock AMD cooler, which it should, since it costs $60. Maybe I'll test OC potential with this after I mod the fan controller to fit it. The "quiet" mode is not absolutely quiet, but rather a lowered noise level that I can tolerate.
Some of you might ask: why get a Noctua cooler for the same price? I thought about that, but I don't feel like taking off the motherboard to install a new cooler. Thermaltake has some smart design features so that the CPU cooler can use standard AM2 clip rather than requiring removal of the HSF mount and put a back plate behind motherboards. The contact surface is a bit too small for Phenoms, and probably too small for Core i7 as well. It doesn't effect the overall performance, though, if you use TX2 or Arctic Silver 5 rather than the thermal paste came with V1. Unfortunately, I didn't get LGA1366 mount, as I bought it from Best Buy (save shipping cost). Had I wanted to build LGA1366, I'll either go water or get a new Noctua 12P anyway.
Overall satisfaction: 6.5/10. Recommendation: OK to buy for under $40.
After thoughts: Should have bought the one from Sunbeam on newegg.com. Do not buy into 4-pin PWM hype. That's for dummies who know nothing about cooling. Get a 3-pin cooler with fan controller, and manage the power consumption of your rig manually.
From the first look, the contact surface of the heat sink is well polished. That's a good sign. However, the workmanship is overall not as good as it should be for a $60-MSRP cooler. That's general appearance of things made in China, as Taiwanese-owned companies all try to cut corners by ignoring details. Don't get me wrong, things they make do work, but there's a reason that they don't own brands like Porsche, Lexus or Lotus.
Nevertheless, V1 is good for what it is. It comes with a variable resistance, so you can choose which fan speed level it is running. The design of the variable resistance is ungainly, awkward but it works. At somewhat quiet mode (around 1500 RPM), it performs better than stock AMD cooler, which it should, since it costs $60. Maybe I'll test OC potential with this after I mod the fan controller to fit it. The "quiet" mode is not absolutely quiet, but rather a lowered noise level that I can tolerate.
Some of you might ask: why get a Noctua cooler for the same price? I thought about that, but I don't feel like taking off the motherboard to install a new cooler. Thermaltake has some smart design features so that the CPU cooler can use standard AM2 clip rather than requiring removal of the HSF mount and put a back plate behind motherboards. The contact surface is a bit too small for Phenoms, and probably too small for Core i7 as well. It doesn't effect the overall performance, though, if you use TX2 or Arctic Silver 5 rather than the thermal paste came with V1. Unfortunately, I didn't get LGA1366 mount, as I bought it from Best Buy (save shipping cost). Had I wanted to build LGA1366, I'll either go water or get a new Noctua 12P anyway.
Overall satisfaction: 6.5/10. Recommendation: OK to buy for under $40.
After thoughts: Should have bought the one from Sunbeam on newegg.com. Do not buy into 4-pin PWM hype. That's for dummies who know nothing about cooling. Get a 3-pin cooler with fan controller, and manage the power consumption of your rig manually.
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