Author: Pavel Sekerka

Noctua NH-P1 – First impression with some preliminary testing

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the prototype, but the first passive cooler from Noctua with the designation NH-P1 was finally introduced this week. Its design is rather different from usual coolers as the main priority is maximization of heat dissipation to its surroundings. And to increase its efficiency, a new A12x25 LS-PWM fan with very quiet operation was also introduced as complementary accessory for semi-passive cooling. Read more “Noctua NH-P1 – First impression with some preliminary testing” »

Fractal Design Celsius+ S36 Prisma – Scandinavian minimalism

CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

We have another flagship among all-in-one liquid coolers, this time from Fractal Design. We will focus in detail on the cooler Celsius+ S36 Prisma, which offers a pleasantly minimalist design with a pinch of ARGB lighting. And due to the size of the cooler, high cooling performance can be expected. The question remains, above all, whether it is not at the cost of too much noise, and also whether the cooler can defend its high price. Read more “Fractal Design Celsius+ S36 Prisma – Scandinavian minimalism” »

SilentiumPC Fera 5 – The king is dead, long live the king!

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

Fera 3 from SilentiumPC is certainly one of the most popular coolers. Recently, however, a new version called Fera 5 was launched, which brings a number of new features. The cooler has been redesigned from the ground up, including the fan, and the assembly system has also undergone major changes. In addition, the whole thing has a 6-year warranty. Let’s see, how Fera 5 performs in the tests and whether it is a worthy successor to the previous version. Read more “SilentiumPC Fera 5 – The king is dead, long live the king!” »

MSI MPG CoreLiquid K360 – Big cooler with big ambitions

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

The MPG Coreliquid K360 is the imaginary flagship among MSI’s coolers. Its interesting features include, for example, a fully customizable LCD display or a hidden fan for cooling the surroundings of the processor socket. Nowadays, of course, ARGB fan backlighting cannot be missing. But can this cooler also defend its high price? Today’s review will give you answers to not only this question. Read more “MSI MPG CoreLiquid K360 – Big cooler with big ambitions” »

Noctua NH-D15S chromax.black – Premium cooler in a new coat

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

Noctua NH-D15S has been at the forefront of coolers for many years. However, the typically beige color of Noctua fans is usually not very popular. But a new version of this cooler with the chromax.black attribute has recently been released. This version has a black finish from the fan to the last screw. In addition, it should not affect the efficiency of the heatsink, but all that remains is to verify it on a hot processor. Read more “Noctua NH-D15S chromax.black – Premium cooler in a new coat” »

SilentiumPC Fera 3 Evo ARGB – Third time’s a charm?

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

Today’s article concludes a review trilogy of SilentiumPC’s Fera coolers. After the good old Fera 3, we tested the colorful and quieter version – the Fera 3 RGB. And now it’s time for the Fera 3 Evo ARGB. This cooler is just a minor upgrade of the previous model and differs only in the fan used. However, this change can change the cooling efficiency and noise, which we will look at in today’s review. Read more “SilentiumPC Fera 3 Evo ARGB – Third time’s a charm?” »

Noctua NH-U9S chromax.black – Small, quiet and very expensive

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

The NH-U9S chromax.black cooler is a new addition to the Noctua Chromax series. Although the original version of the cooler has been on the market for several years, the typically brown-beige color design of the fan may not suit everyone’s liking. Chromax series coolers solve this problem with a matte black finish from the fan to the last screw. However, the question remains whether this surface treatment does not have a negative effect on the efficiency. Read more “Noctua NH-U9S chromax.black – Small, quiet and very expensive” »

FSP Windale 4 – Don’t trust the first impression

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

FSP Group is known in our region mainly for PC cases and power supplies under the Fortron brand. However, this manufacturer also offers coolers. And it is the Windale 4 that is a cost-effective middle-class cooler that we will look at today. Considering its specifications and price, it should compete in a very close battle with the SilentiumPC Fera 3 or Arctic Freezer 34 coolers, which we’ve also recently tested. Read more “FSP Windale 4 – Don’t trust the first impression” »

CM Hyper 212 Evo V2 – Evolution of the legend among coolers

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

At the end of 2020, I prepared another review of a middle-class cooler for you. The Hyper 212 Evo V2 from Cooler Master is the latest model from the popular Hyper 212 series. This latest upgrade offers a simplified mounting system, 100% compatibility with RAM modules and also a quiet fan. Its construction and specifications place it in the same group as the SPC Fera 3 or Arctic Freezer 34. So I’m expecting a very tight fight. Read more “CM Hyper 212 Evo V2 – Evolution of the legend among coolers” »

SilentiumPC Fera 3 RGB – Colorful evolution of a proven classic

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

The recently tested SilentiumPC Fera 3 cooler did not do badly in our tests, but it was a bit noisy. Today we will look at a cooler from the same family, i.e. SilentiumPC Fera 3 RGB. As the name suggests, this cooler offers RGB backlighting. In addition, the entire heatsink is a few millimeters lower and a different fan is also used. I just hope that these differences will not have a negative effect under stress tests. Read more “SilentiumPC Fera 3 RGB – Colorful evolution of a proven classic” »

SilentiumPC Fera 3 – A new test of an older classics

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

The SilentiumPC Fera 3 cooler probably doesn’t need to be introduced. This popular cooler is often installed in computer builds, where favorable price-performance ratio is a big deal. It also presents direct competition for the recently tested Freezer 34 from Arctic. In addition, I plan to supplement this pair soon with a test of the recently released 212 Evo V2 cooler from Cooler Master, and I will also add Windale 4 from FSP. Read more “SilentiumPC Fera 3 – A new test of an older classics” »

Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 – Quality does not have to cost a lot

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

I’ve recently tested the popular Arctic Freezer 34 air cooler, which eventually won an editorial award. Now I would like to give a liquid all-in-one cooler from the same manufacturer a hard time on a hot processor. We will see if Arctic can design an AIO cooler as well as it did with an air cooler. Liquid Freezer II 240 should offer a very interesting price to performance ratio without unnecessary decoration. Read more “Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 – Quality does not have to cost a lot” »

The flip side of water cooling

Coolers, Service | | Pavel Sekerka

Building water cooling loops for PC is fun and the results are almost always attractive. Today, however, I would like to focus on water loop maintenance and also on problems if you neglect maintenance. Maintenance is not a very popular topic though, so it is often not given enough attention. I was renovating a neglected water loop, where I would like to demonstrate the risks of insufficient maintenance. The following visuals may be drastic. 🙂 Read more “The flip side of water cooling” »

Cooler Master MasterBox NR200P – small dimensions, big features

Extra tests, PC cases | | Pavel Sekerka

SFF PCs are gaining popularity, so manufacturers are naturally expanding the range of cases in this category. But what if you want a small PC, that’s packed with powerful hardware and with a liquid cooling loop as well? MasterBox NR200P, quite interesting case from Cooler Master, recently appeared on the market. It appears to be well suited for this scenario. But is it really good idea to combine small case and a custom liquid cooling? Read more “Cooler Master MasterBox NR200P – small dimensions, big features” »

Arctic Freezer 34 – Effective, quiet and affordable

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

Arctic has long focused primarily on the production of affordable coolers. Freezer 34 should be just one such cooler. At an affordable price, it boasts of a solid TDP rating (150 W) and also promises quiet operation. I’ve had it in my wishlist for a long time, but only now have I managed to get one piece for testing. So I’m wondering if it really lives up to its reputation that precedes it. Read more “Arctic Freezer 34 – Effective, quiet and affordable” »

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