14 LGA 2011 Coolers For Your Core i7-3000 CPU

[siopao1984]

---

1. Akasa Venom Voodoo


Akasa adds dual fans to its Venom Voodoo to increase air velocity and cooling capacity. The speed of both fans can be controlled from a single motherboard header thanks to the included PWM-capable splitter.


The installation kit welcomes users of earlier platforms as well, though it installs the wrong way on most AMD boards, facing either up or down rather than left/right.



A Mesh Top
How does mesh help the Venom Voodoo keep its cool? This is probably a matter of looking cool, as the aluminum sink sparkles through the yellow material shown in the image.



Voodoo Pipes
The magic of Akasa’s design is actually found in its simple, yet effective design. Six heat pipes with staggered spacing transfer heat quickly away from the CPU, while a direct-contact design reduces the amount of latent heat that resides in its base.

[siopao1984]

2. Arctic Cooling Freezer i30

AC usually targets the value market, and narrowing support to fewer processor interfaces certainly helps keep costs down. Two sets of mounting holes on the Freezer i30’s top bracket fit LGA 2011 and LGA 1155/1156 spacing. A revised set of mounting screws allows the top bracket to connect directly to the LGA 2011 interface's integrated threads, while a separate base plate provides screw threads for LGA 1155 and 1156.



Four Pipes And A Single Fan
Other cost-savings measures include Arctic Cooling’s use of only four heat pipes and a single fan on oversized cooling fins. All of these budget-oriented nods target high-value pricing, which we’ll evaluate in our upcoming performance analysis.



A Flatter Base
Arctic Cooling is one of several manufacturers now stacking direct-contact heat pipes edge-to-edge across the base for increased contact area and fewer air gaps. Its extremely smooth finish appears to be milled rather than sanded.

Though the Freezer i30 makes no bold proclamations about its squished-together pipes, one of its competitors claims this as an exclusive, proprietary technology.

[siopao1984]

3. Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

The next step beyond its popular Hyper 212 Plus, Cooler Master took the bold step of sending us only the updated parts. Chief among these is a foldable LGA 2011 bracket, though the fan and sink also underwent minor revisions.



Another Value Play
Sticking with the value theme of its previous “Plus” version, the Hyper 212 Evo includes only a single fan and four heat pipes. We expect the retail pack to include a second set of fan brackets—as found in the previous version—to enable push-pull configuration upgrades.



Continuous Direct Contact
Cooler Master claims a patent for the Hyper 212 Evo’s smashed-together direct-contact heat pipes, which it refers to as Continuous Direct Contact. Pushing the pipes together increases contact area by decreasing the number of air gaps.

The base is sanded smooth for a flat, though somewhat rough finish.

[siopao1984]

4. Coolink Corator DS

Primarily a fan brand in the U.S., Coolink has been turning its European customers into fans (pardon the pun) for a few years by providing lower-cost versions of top-brand solutions. The Corator DS cuts cost by including only LGA 2011 mounting screws in this LGA 2011-edition cooler, though the brackets have three mounting holes corresponding to the smaller processor interfaces supported by other versions of the same cooler.



Hide And Seek
A single, centrally-mounted fan on the Corator DS brings back memories of the competing Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme, though the remainder of the sink design appears unique.



The Base Of Both
Though many manufacturers promise increased cooling from their direct-contact heat pipe designs, we’ve only found these designs to lower the amount of time it takes to heat up and cool down (latent heat). We’ve even seen places where otherwise-similar coolers with solid bases have lower peak temperature under identical test conditions.

[siopao1984]

5. Corsair A70

Famous for its LGA 2011-compatible sealed liquid coolers, Corsair didn't update its family of air coolers for the new interface. The company instead relies on a rarely-discussed feature of LGA 2011 that allows certain coolers originally intended for LGA 1366 to fit.

Two fans are factory-installed to brackets for push-pull cooling, and Corsair even adds a fan splitter to allow a single motherboard connection. Unfortunately, the fans aren't of the PWM variety often required for firmware-based speed control. Silence-seekers who lack any other options may want to try the in-line resistors that Corsair bundles.



Bridging The Gap
Like the previously-discussed Akasa model, Corsair’s A70 sink is concave on one side to direct a larger volume of air down its center. A black top cover gives the A70 a subtler appears than most competing products.



Make Mine An Old-Fashioned
Because it centers on an older design, Corsair’s A70 doesn't follow the latest trend of smashing together heat pipes. The A70 instead has aluminum separating the pipes on its direct-contact base.

[toweweng]

wala pa cguro nahuman og copy paste.. 5 paman.. ingon sa title 14

[siopao1984]

6. Deepcool (Gamerstorm) Assassin

The fanciest of today’s coolers came inside the simplest of boxes, along with an overwhelmingly-elaborate installation kit.

The package is somewhat of a conundrum, mixing 140 mm, four-pin header (PWM) and 120 mm, three-pin (non-PWM) fans. Deepcool includes enough clips to add a third fan in push-pass-pull configuration, if you want.



3D Air Traps
Various manufacturers use different techniques to minimize the hot spot in the center of most heat sinks, which is caused by air leaking out the sides. Deepcool’s combination of 3D air pockets on the Assassin’s outer faces and tooth-shaped diverters on its inner faces is so unusual that it could be a unique solution.

Dual-tower coolers usually feel flimsy, but we firmed this one up by applying clips to both sides of its center fan.



Octopipes
The Assassin incorporates eight heat pipes within a heat spreader. Deepcool polishes the mating surface to a near-mirror finish before plating the pipe and plate assembly, which is shown reflecting the Assassin’s box.

[siopao1984]

7. Enermax ETS-T40

Enermax makes its ETS-T40 stand out from several value-oriented competitors by adding an aluminum band to its fan. That could give it an advantage over parts that perform similarly, especially amongst enthusiasts with windowed cases.

The installation kit covers both Intel and AMD platforms, and AMD users will even find that this unit fits in a proper cross-flow arrangement with most boards. A separate set of screws eliminates the need for LGA 2011's socket support plate.



Directional Pipe Design
A closer look at the ETS-T40’s heat sink reveals heat pipes arranged to force a larger portion of the fan’s air down the center. The fins are also designed to support dual-fan configurations in a push-pull arrangement, for which Enermax includes a second set of clips.



Smooth…Or Not
The ETS-T40's base follows the direct-contact heat pipe philosophy that’s now several years old, but improves it slightly with an ultra-smooth satin finish. Air gaps between the heat pipes and base still interrupt continuous contact, however.

[siopao1984]

8. Gelid GX-7

The makers of the famous Tranquillo are deemphasizing previous products in order to focus on their new GX-7, which supports dual fans. Similarities to its previous products lead us to expect similar performance when the unit is only equipped with the one included fan.

Our sample arrived with optional LGA 2011 installation screws that we would hope become part of the updated packaging. Previous-generation Intel interfaces are supported in the original kit, along with AMD’s Socket’s AM2 through AM3+. You can rotate the GX-7 in 90° increments for proper orientation.



Automotive Influence?
The concave face of the GX-7 directs air down the center of the heat sink’s fins, but the decorative top makes less sense to us. It appears to draw inspiration from a Daewoo automobile’s emblem and side grills.

Gelid adds LED lighting for the GX-7’s fan blades, while the fan frame is opaque.



More Pipe, Less Fin
The GX-7’s dual-fan capability required Gelid to either extend the sides or reduce the center compared to its previous flagship model. Though the compromise seen here results in less surface area, Gelid hopes to recapture some of the lost cooling capacity by adding a fifth heat pipe. The copper mating block is given a finely-machined surface to provide optimal CPU contact.

[siopao1984]

9. Noctua NH-D14 SE2011
The performance leader from our previous review returns with this Special Edition LGA 2011 package, differentiated by its extremely narrowly-focused installation kit. Owners of other motherboard types should instead consider the package from our original review.



Teeth And Bumpers
The NH-D14 uses toothed fins to channel air across the entire width of its cooling towers. Nylon noise-dampening strips on each tower fit deeply within side grooves to also act as partial fan shrouds.



Dual Fans Only
While the NH-D14’s design could support three fans in push-pass-pull configuration, Noctua includes only enough vibration dampeners and clips to support a pair of fans in one orientation. Symmetrical design would allow the cooler to be reversed, but removing the installation screws to flip the entire assembly is easier.

A finely machined copper mating surface spreads heat quickly to six heat pipes.