Value / Motherboard Temperatures
Value
The term “Value” is such an amorphous term that it truly has different meanings for different people. For some a CPU cooler is only as good as it overclocking potential, for others its is how quiet it does its job; for others still its how effective it is for its cost. We here at HWC try to provide as many answers as possible for the term “Value”. Hopefully by this point in the review people looking at OC potential or loudness levels will have a fairly good idea of what it’s Value is. For the “best bang for the buck” crowd we have included a chart below showing how much each 1*c less costs when compared to Intel’s FREE stock cooler. No consideration has been made for noise levels, “looks” or any other extraneous factors; this is just raw performance vs. monetary cost. For any cooler that performs worse than the Intel stock cooler a rating of “FAIL” will be given. For any cooler that has a “Value” of more than $10 per 1*C a rating of “FAIL” will be used in the graph but the chart will list its actual “value”.
All prices are based on either their MSRP (if no e-tailer prices were available at review time) or the online price they sold for at the time of their review. IF a CPU cooler does not include a fan the price of a Scythe F has been included ($12).
To make it as easy as possible for you to modify this ratio we have also included the various coolers temperature difference so that if you do come across one of them on sale you can easily modify its “Value” rating. We here at HWC are in no way saying that this is the definitive answer to “Value”, rather it should be considered another tool to help you make your final decision. After all something is only as “valuable” as what you consider it to be.
E4600 VALUE
Please note: This chart has be calculated based upon the differences between Intel stock cooler’s average load at its highest OC on a e4600 @3.2GHz versus that of the various after market coolers average load temperatures (in their stock configuration with MX-2 TIM) also on a e4600 @ 3.2GHz.
Wow, the Triton 77 is a good cooler for dual core cooling and is in fact a great value for your hard earned dollar. I guess when they say silence is golden they weren’t kidding about the GOLD part!
Q6600 VALUE
Please note: This chart has be calculated based upon the differences between Intel stock cooler’s average load at its highest OC on a q6600 @3.0GHz versus that of the various after market coolers average load temperatures (in their stock configuration with stock TIM) also on a q6600 @ 3.0GHz.
Even though this is a very quiet cooler its numbers were worse than stock when it came to cooling. This means that unless you prize low noise above everything else (one could even say to the detriment of everything else) this cooler is not a great choice for quads. Even with a moderate price point it is hard to call results like it gave a good value. To bad too as it sure it one quiet son of a gun.
Effects on Motherboard Temperatures
To get a feel for what this unit's true "real world" cooling potential is, we set it up in a closed case environment; namely a Coolermaster CM690 in two different configurations. In the first configuration it has 6 Scythe E fans set up in a push pull cooling setup. In the second configuration only 2 of the 6 fans were used (basically one in and one out).
In the second configuration the Gigabyte p35 ds4 motherboard had temperatures averaging about 45*C, when a stock Intel cooler was used. When the Triton 77 was used these temperatures fell to about 37*C. However, when in the first configuration, the DS4 showed temperatures of about 35*C for both the Intel stock cooler and the Triton 77.
To put all this into, perspective ASUS is bang-on with their claim about the Triton offering increased motherboard cooling when there is a lack of active cooling in the case (e.g. on a second configuration with poor air movement). Yet, when the motherboard is being cooled by proper case air flow this design has very little to no impact on motherboard temperatures. This was to be expected as we have proven many times in the past that proper air movement inside your pc case trumps anything that a CPU cooler can possibly do. After all, the main job of the CPU cooler is just that: to cool the CPU and not the motherboard. In the end ASUS claims are a bit of marketing hyperbole, but it can help if your motherboard if it is not adequately cooled in the first place.
Value
The term “Value” is such an amorphous term that it truly has different meanings for different people. For some a CPU cooler is only as good as it overclocking potential, for others its is how quiet it does its job; for others still its how effective it is for its cost. We here at HWC try to provide as many answers as possible for the term “Value”. Hopefully by this point in the review people looking at OC potential or loudness levels will have a fairly good idea of what it’s Value is. For the “best bang for the buck” crowd we have included a chart below showing how much each 1*c less costs when compared to Intel’s FREE stock cooler. No consideration has been made for noise levels, “looks” or any other extraneous factors; this is just raw performance vs. monetary cost. For any cooler that performs worse than the Intel stock cooler a rating of “FAIL” will be given. For any cooler that has a “Value” of more than $10 per 1*C a rating of “FAIL” will be used in the graph but the chart will list its actual “value”.
All prices are based on either their MSRP (if no e-tailer prices were available at review time) or the online price they sold for at the time of their review. IF a CPU cooler does not include a fan the price of a Scythe F has been included ($12).
To make it as easy as possible for you to modify this ratio we have also included the various coolers temperature difference so that if you do come across one of them on sale you can easily modify its “Value” rating. We here at HWC are in no way saying that this is the definitive answer to “Value”, rather it should be considered another tool to help you make your final decision. After all something is only as “valuable” as what you consider it to be.
E4600 VALUE
Please note: This chart has be calculated based upon the differences between Intel stock cooler’s average load at its highest OC on a e4600 @3.2GHz versus that of the various after market coolers average load temperatures (in their stock configuration with MX-2 TIM) also on a e4600 @ 3.2GHz.
Wow, the Triton 77 is a good cooler for dual core cooling and is in fact a great value for your hard earned dollar. I guess when they say silence is golden they weren’t kidding about the GOLD part!
Q6600 VALUE
Please note: This chart has be calculated based upon the differences between Intel stock cooler’s average load at its highest OC on a q6600 @3.0GHz versus that of the various after market coolers average load temperatures (in their stock configuration with stock TIM) also on a q6600 @ 3.0GHz.
Even though this is a very quiet cooler its numbers were worse than stock when it came to cooling. This means that unless you prize low noise above everything else (one could even say to the detriment of everything else) this cooler is not a great choice for quads. Even with a moderate price point it is hard to call results like it gave a good value. To bad too as it sure it one quiet son of a gun.
Effects on Motherboard Temperatures
To get a feel for what this unit's true "real world" cooling potential is, we set it up in a closed case environment; namely a Coolermaster CM690 in two different configurations. In the first configuration it has 6 Scythe E fans set up in a push pull cooling setup. In the second configuration only 2 of the 6 fans were used (basically one in and one out).
In the second configuration the Gigabyte p35 ds4 motherboard had temperatures averaging about 45*C, when a stock Intel cooler was used. When the Triton 77 was used these temperatures fell to about 37*C. However, when in the first configuration, the DS4 showed temperatures of about 35*C for both the Intel stock cooler and the Triton 77.
To put all this into, perspective ASUS is bang-on with their claim about the Triton offering increased motherboard cooling when there is a lack of active cooling in the case (e.g. on a second configuration with poor air movement). Yet, when the motherboard is being cooled by proper case air flow this design has very little to no impact on motherboard temperatures. This was to be expected as we have proven many times in the past that proper air movement inside your pc case trumps anything that a CPU cooler can possibly do. After all, the main job of the CPU cooler is just that: to cool the CPU and not the motherboard. In the end ASUS claims are a bit of marketing hyperbole, but it can help if your motherboard if it is not adequately cooled in the first place.
