OCZ Vendetta HSF review
Installation
The installation of the Vendetta shouldn't take long as it's not necessary to remove your motherboard.
The Vendetta features the same mounting system as the stock Intel cooler - four pins that lock into place by pushing. This makes the installation pretty simple and fast but to be honest I don't really like this design as there's always a chance that one of the plastic parts breaks during the installation.
Additionally, there's also a small risk that the heatsink may just break off as these aftermarket cooling solutions have another weight distribution and are usually lots heavier than the stock cooler. Removing your motherboard to install a more robust mounting system takes more time but in my opinion, it's well worth it.
Test system
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 processor with Noctua NH-U12F HSF and OCZ Vendetta HSF
- Asus Commando motherboard
- ASUS EN7300GS/HTD 256MB
- 2GB OCZ Flex XLC PC2-6400 CL3 memory
- Seagate 320GB HDD
- CoolerMaster Cosmos case
- PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 PSU
- Dell 2407WFP LCD display
- Operating system: Windows XP SP2
The Vendetta will be compared to the stock Intel HSF that ships with the Core 2 Duo E6400 processor and the Noctua NH-U12F HSF. The thermal compound use during the installation of all these coolers was Arctic Ceramique. Testing will be done by measuring the temperature of the processor in idle and load mode and to see how well the heatsink scales the processor will also be overclocked.
The temperature of the processor is measured with the Intel Thermal Analysis Tool (TAT). To get the idle temperatures I just boot into Windows XP and wait 15 minutes before taking the temperatures. To get the load temperatures I ran Prime 95's Torture test while simulating a workload level of 100% for both cores in the Intel Temperature Analysis Tool. This combination really stresses the processor to a maximum workload and creates lots of heat. Under normal heavy load conditions like games or benchmarks the system will almost never reach such high temperatures but this test gives us a good idea of how well the heatsink can handle extreme temperatures. For the overclocking test, I boost the FSB of the E6400 processor from 266MHz to 333MHz, which brings it from 2.13GHz to 2.67GHz.
First the temperatures at standard clockspeed:
As I expected the Vendetta wasn't able to beat the much bigger Noctua NH-U12F heatsink and it will definitely not be able to compete against high-end air cooling products like the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme. But that's not really a fair comparison as the Vendetta cooler is much smaller and a lot cheaper too. The Vendetta cools a lot better than the stock heatsink and the performance looks pretty decent for a mid-range cooler.
Next are the results from the overclocking test:
Just like in the other test the Vendetta scored significantly better than the stock Intel cooler, in the load tests the overclocked processor gets 9°C less hot. The performance of the Vendetta isn't too bad - the biggest problem of this HSF is the included fan. When it's running at 1200RPM it's pretty quiet but when it goes to 2800RPM it's not exactly silent. At full speed the OCZ Vendetta is definitely louder than the stock HSF but it's always possible to adjust the fan speed of the Vendetta to less noisy levels with software like SpeedFan. Lowering the speed of the fan will decrease the cooling performance a bit but even then it will perform much better than the stock heatsink.
Conclusion
This new cooler from OCZ features an interesting design with big heatpipes that make direct contact with the processor, V-shaped fins to increase the surface area, and dimples in the fins which should cooling efficiency. I think all these special features definitely help this relatively small and light-weight heatsink to deliver a pretty decent performance.
Few shops have it in stock but once availability improves you should be able to find the Vendetta for about $35. At this price the Vendetta delivers pretty decent performance for a mid-range cooler. It's a nice cooler in case you're on a limited budget or don't have enough room in your case for a larger cooler.
The Vendetta is also a great choice if you're looking for a cooler that's easy to install. The push pins make the installation pretty quick but I believe that's also a negative as most enthusiasts won't mind taking their motherboard out of their case to install a more robust mounting system. One of the things I did like a lot about the installation are the rubber fan connectors - the installation of the fan is very easy and quick. Another advantage of these connectors is that they also dampen vibrational noise.
The biggest problem of the Vendetta is the noise level. OCZ advertises the cooler as "ultra-quiet" but that's definitely not the case when the fan is running at max speed. The value of this HSF would be higher if OCZ shipped a more quiet 92mm fan with the heatsink or provided a way to mount a 120mm fan onto the heatsink.
The Good Stuff
- Decent cooling performance
- Pretty compact
- Not too expensive
- Fast installation
- Fan is connected to the heatsink with rubber connectors
The Bad Stuff
- Noisy fan
- Uses push pins. This speeds up the installation but many users prefer a more secure mounting system.
I give the OCZ Vendetta a 8/10.
Previous Page (2/3)Added: October 7th 2007
Product reviewed: OCZ Vendetta HSF
Reviewer: Thomas De Maesschalck
Score: 8/10
Page: 3/3
