Huge CPU cooler roundup

Tom's Hardware brings us another huge roundup of CPU coolers. This time they've tested over 80 CPU coolers from 30 companies!

We tested all of the coolers in this roundup on an Intel quad-core Core 2 Extreme QX6850 CPU. When all four cores are under full load, this model has a power consumption of 113.87 watts. In order to achieve this load, we use a multi-core version of Prime95 (ver.25.5a). The CPU displayed this power consumption when combined with the best water cooler we tested, reaching 62°C. The worse the cooler performs, the more energy the CPU will consume, as it will be operating at a higher core temperature. We decided to conduct the cooler tests on a quad-core processor with a high thermal dissipation, since many users overclock their processors, and coolers need to be able to satisfy these more sophisticated needs.

You can check out the first part over here. The results are shocking, the reviewer unveils 45 percent of the coolers he tested failed the tests or weren't worth their price. One of the best air coolers was the Thermalright IFX-14 (with a Scythe SY1225SL12M fan) and he was also impressed by the HydroGen/Ht Fusion Dual watercooling system from MSI and Watercool.