Prolimatech Samuel 17 CPU Cooler Review

[siopao1984]

---

CPU coolers come in all shapes and sizes. For the obvious reasons, here in VR-Zone we usually review cooler capable of delivering very high thermal performance and/or excellent acoustics. Today however we will have a look at the Samuel 17, a product from Prolimatech designed with a different purpose in mind; to be capable of delivering the highest possible overall performance while being only 45mm tall. How does Prolimatech’s David compare against the numerous Goliaths currently available? We will find out in this review.Manufacturer features and specifications

• Unique 6-high quality-heatpipe-down-draft style CPU heatsink.
• Super compact heatpiped CPU cooler at 45mm tall, perfect for HTPC system.
• No installation interference issue.
• Supports low RPM 120mm fans on a relatively smaller heatsink body.
• Decreases temperature on surrounding PC components.
• Supports ATX, microATX and mini-ITX form factors.
• Supports Intel LGA775/1156/1366 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+.

Suggest Fan	120mm X 25mm ,120mm X 12mm
Suggest Fan Speed	1000~2000rpm
Suggest Noise Level (dBA)	Below 26dBA
CPU Platform	Intel Socket LGA 775/1366/1156/1155 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+.
Heatsink Dimension	(L)121.2mm X (W)120mmX (H)45mm
Heatsink Weight	410 g
Heatpipe	Ø 6mm X 6pcs

Read more: Prolimatech Samuel 17 CPU Cooler Review by VR-Zone.com

[siopao1984]

The Samuel 17 is supplied inside a very small cardboard box featuring a blue/white theme. A full schematic of the cooler covers most of the front side while information regarding the cooler’s compatibility and features can be found at the rear side of the box.



Inside the box we found the cooler well secured with the aid of polystyrene foam pieces and cardboard blocks. The cooler is also wrapped inside a nylon bag. The bundled items can be found inside a secondary rectangular cardboard box.



With a cooler of this class, we expected the bundle to be limited down to the basics. Prolimatech surprised us by including a large tube of high quality thermal grease along with the mounting hardware and the basic installation black and white manual.

[siopao1984]

Prolimatech’s Samuel 17 truly is very short and slim. One could very well describe the Samuel 17 as a Lynx placed horizontally; however, the fins of the Samuel are significantly smaller and slightly deeper than those of the Lynx, leaving about 15% of the 120mm fan uncovered and blowing right over the CPU power supply components.



The fins of the Samuel 17 are well made and Prolimatech connected them to each other, granting them high mechanical strength. It is almost impossible for the fins to be bent through everyday handling as that would require a significant amount of force. The fins may be very thin but the space between them is approximately 4 times wider than each single fin width, minimizing noise due to air turbulence.



Six thick 6mm ID heatpipes are moving through the base of the cooler and transfer the heat generated by the CPU to the array of heat dissipation fins floating above the base. The company nickel plated the heatpipes, enhancing the aesthetics of their design but also protecting the soft copper from long term oxidation/corrosion damage.



Prolimatech nickel plated the copper base of the Samuel 17 as well. While the base of the Samuel 17 is smooth, it is not polished down to a true mirror finish.

[siopao1984]

The installation of the Samuel 17 is neither difficult nor time consuming. However, the size and design of the cooler requires a certain level of precision, therefore we recommend removing your motherboard from the case even if the motherboard tray is cut open behind the CPU. To begin with, the retention braces for the correct CPU socket need to be secured on the base of the cooler with the aid of the supplied screws and a standard Philips PH2 screwdriver.



Once the retention braces are installed, a thin layer of thermal compound needs to be placed on the CPU and the Samuel 17 on it. Here the user has the choice where the uncovered area of the 120mm CPU fan will be, allowing it to cool either the RAM modules (if they are of normal height and the slots are close enough to the CPU socket), the northbridge or the CPU power supply MOSFETs.



With the Samuel 17 resting on the CPU, the user needs to secure it by inserting four screws from the rear side of the motherboard while holding the cooler into place. You should not forget the nylon washers at this point.



Finally, the fan needs to be secured with the wire clips. Note that Prolimatech does NOT supply any fans with the purchase of this cooler by default. We installed a Blue Vortex 12 LED 120mm 1600RPM fan as they were supplied to us by the company for illustration and testing purposes. The end user may freely choose any 120mm fan, including short profile fans if keeping the overall height of the cooler below 60mm is necessary.

[siopao1984]

In order to provide you with the most professional and accurate reviews, we are using the following equipment to test the performance of coolers. The system automatically calculates the Delta T temperature, which is the difference between the ambient temperature and the temperature at the top of the thermal core. We test each cooler with the included thermal grease.

• Custom copper thermal core with automatic power controls
• Watlow heat generation rods
• PT100 temperature sensors
• Lutron DW-6091 Power Analyzer
• SL-5868P digital sound level meter
• CompuLAB interface
• MyPClab thermal interface
• Custom calibration box
• Custom software

More information about our testing equipment and methodology can be found in this article.



Much to our surprise, the thermal performance of the Samuel 17 is very similar to that of the Lynx, despite the reduced size of the fins. The low-profile Samuel 17 from Prolimatech manages to offer much better thermal and acoustics performance than a stock cooler. When compared to other products of the same category, the performance of the Samuel 17 is reasonable.

[siopao1984]

Quality (30% of the total score)

It may be one of the cheapest coolers Prolimatech currently offers but the company has certainly not been cheap when it comes to quality. The Samuel 17 is a carefully designed and very well made product, without any significant flaws to point out. On the contrary, Prolimatech did a fine job enhancing the quality of their product to the best possible extent, as for example by nickel plating the copper parts and by interconnecting the thin aluminum fins.

Quality Score 9.5/10





Performance (40% of the total score)

We certainly did not expect the Samuel 17 to be able to compare with a massive tower cooler, such as the Megahalems, as it is a product clearly designed for a specific purpose; to be able to fit inside low profile and HTPC systems, that is. Although the performance of the Samuel 17 is much better than that of a stock cooler, an enthusiast would not find it more than simply satisfactory. Of course, when building a low-profile or slim PC the use of a massive cooler is no longer an option. The Samuel 17 is designed to offer a competitive alternative to stock coolers for low-profile systems; with that in mind, we believe that the Samuel 17 will be a very interesting product for enthusiasts who require good cooling in confined spaces.

Performance Score 8.0/10





Aesthetics (20% of the total score)

Aesthetics inside low profile and HTPC cases rarely are a priority, since such enclosures rarely ever have windowed panels. Nevertheless, Prolimatech did a fine job with the finish of their cooler by simply nickel plating the copper parts and the high quality design. However, due to the horizontal design of the cooler, the fan which will be installed on the Samuel 17 however will take all the credit for the cooler’s overall appearance.

Aesthetics Score 9.0 /10





Value (10% of the total score)

When it comes to this cooler’s value, things are a little complex. The Samuel 17 currently retails for 50 USD (about 70 SGD at the time of this review) which is a very steep price considering the performance of the cooler and the fact that no fan is included. However, we need to consider that the Samuel 17 is aiming towards a specific group of users, those who do not have the choice of going with a large tower cooler due to space restrictions. If there is enough space to install a large tower cooler, the Samuel 17 simply has no chance against any cooler anywhere near the price range it retails for, which is a shame since the Samuel 17 could be a very interesting product for all users and systems.

Value Score 7.0/10