A Roundup of Coolers for Pentium 4: Q4'2003
The emergence of first Prescott processors once again revealed that the problem of heat emission is increasingly hampering the rise of clock speeds. To put it right, the major problem is the increased of leakage currents, and the increased heat emission is the consequence of this phenomenon. However, that does not change the fact of the matter: everyone who buys computers in 2004 will face the need for effective cooling.
While the PC enthusiast can afford a cooler at $30-$40, the common user at best puts aside $10 of the budget for a cooler. At the same time, for this money the user would want to get an absolutely noiseless cooling (which is a sensible decision).
Snatching these trends, cooler manufacturers are increasingly focusing on coolers with the variable fan rotational speed. In particular, today we'll be looking into three coolers like these: FSP, Igloo Diamond 4200 and a new version of the "boxed" cooler.
Then - to improve the cooling efficiency, the manufacturers are increasingly using copper and copper alloys. However, don't forget that Pentium 4 already has a copper heat spreader, so it's unlikely to give any essential boost in the cooling efficiency.
FSP CPU Cooler
This cooler is part of the proprietary "FSP Silent-Solution Kit".
On the face of it, the cooler leaves a good impression: the fan and the radiator frame are painted in the same color.
A tub of thermal paste, a limit frame for the processor socket and a strengthening plate are enclosed to the cooler. The latter plate is necessary to prevent the motherboard from bending.
The numerous radiator fins are fully made of aluminum, and the base is made of copper.
The processing quality of the base is pretty middling; even poor. For Pentium4 coolers, this is not the most important factor.
To prevent copper oxidation, the base is coated with a thin layer of nickel. You can easily find that out through using a drill :).
As regards the fan, it features one peculiarity: the unusual bend of the fins which, by the conception of engineers, should reduce the noise level.
Besides, the fan offers a variable rotational speed which depends on the air temperature inside the PC housing. A respective thermal sensor is fitted near the rotor.
Therefore, the fan offers a ~3500 rpm rotational speed, and the maximum airflow equals 29.8CFM. The noise level does not exceed 30 dBa. We were unable to get precise characteristics, since the company's website gives only the brief specifications of the cooler. This is no wonder, though: the core produce of FSP includes only various power supply units.
During the tests, we detected a distinct rotor noise which is audible even at the minimum rotational speed.
There aren't any problems with fitting and removing the cooler: the metal fasteners are flexible enough. All in all, this is a classical cooler for Pentium4, which offers some advantages over the "boxed" version (copper base and more convenient fasteners).
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