Author: Ľubomír Samák

More metal, no push-pins; Intel’s upcoming Core i9 coolers

Cooling, CPU coolers, News | | Ľubomír Samák

Shortly after the leak of a detailed photo of the box cooler for Core i7, Core i5 and Core i3 Alder Lake CPUs, the most powerful model is revealed in all its glory. This one is naturally more robust and the tall fins are no longer plastic, but made of aluminium. It uses fixed mounting via screws, which is good news as well. The cooler also includes a backplate, which is handy since this cooler is significantly taller and heavier than the current stock coolers. Read more “More metal, no push-pins; Intel’s upcoming Core i9 coolers” »

Two heatsinks, a heatpipe and a fan; the new ElecGear SSD cooler

Cooling, News, SSD coolers | | Ľubomír Samák

More complex, tall coolers for SSD always attract attention. However, their fin area tends to be significantly oversized, at least for current semiconductor storage models. No extremes are needed for cooling ten watts at most. However, higher cooling performance might be warranted later, for PCI Express 5.0 SSDs. From this perspective, the ElecGear active cooler is a rather timeless novelty. Read more “Two heatsinks, a heatpipe and a fan; the new ElecGear SSD cooler” »

The design of new coolers for 65-watt Intel CPUs is now clearer

Cooling, CPU coolers, News | | Ľubomír Samák

Intel’s box coolers have been stagnant for a long time. Since the first models on the LGA 775 platform (which is already quite historic), not much has changed with their coolers. However, a significant shift away from the usual shape will come at the beginning of the year with the more economical Alder Lake processors. We wrote about this in September, but the latest visualizations reveal some striking details. Read more “The design of new coolers for 65-watt Intel CPUs is now clearer” »

Intel Core i3-10105F is a rarity: Cheap processor for cheap mobos

Extra tests, Processors | | Ľubomír Samák

The choice of CPUs for low budget builds is getting weaker and less economical – the current prices of Pentiums are reminiscent of a bad joke. Core i3-1010x(F) are the only ones in sufficient numbers at the moment, and still for reasonable money. It’s just a shame that AMD has no competition here. But the comparison of Core i3 Comet Lake with Core i5-10400(F) is also attractive. You might find that it’s worth the savings. Read more “Intel Core i3-10105F is a rarity: Cheap processor for cheap mobos” »

Fortis 5 coolers are out, SilentiumPC released them in three ways

CPU coolers, News | | Ľubomír Samák

After a very long time, the Polish company SilentiumPC is pushing the numbering of the Fortis series coolers as well. These are slightly larger than the successful Fera coolers, but they are still single-tower designs. The new Fortis 5s have a lot in common with the excellent Fera 5, so I guess it finally worked out for SilentiumPC with this line as well. Because in the past Fortis coolers have always fallen short of expectations, and quite significantly. Read more “Fortis 5 coolers are out, SilentiumPC released them in three ways” »

We tried a DIY silon dust filter instead of traditional nylon. Result?

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

Socks, stockings or tights made of silon also attract uses other than on our legs. Enthusiasts can use the material to make, for example, a dust filter for a PC fan. It’s effectiveness then depends on the thickness of the silon fibre. However, tests show that whatever type you use, it is a rather unsuitable solution. And it’s also difficult for robbers who don’t worry too much about the mask and just need a visit to the drugstore before the job. Read more “We tried a DIY silon dust filter instead of traditional nylon. Result?” »

Raven 4 ARGB, AeroCool cooling novelty with conical fan

Cooling, CPU coolers, News | | Ľubomír Samák

AeroCool has come up with an inspiring design that will increase the efficiency of smaller tower coolers. These always use small fans, but the 135mm tall new addition in the form of the Raven 4 ARGB has a full-sized “hundred and twenty” on the fins. To make sense of such a design, the fan bezel tapers smoothly from intake to exhaust, thus having a conical shape. Look at the details. Read more “Raven 4 ARGB, AeroCool cooling novelty with conical fan” »

The Akasa GRM120-30 foam filter works better than it seems

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

After analyzing the nylon and plastic dust filter, we now add a test of the “foam” dust filter. The latter has a slightly more complex construction. It consists of several parts and is kind of like a jigsaw puzzle, the elements of which even improve the aerodynamics in some ways. We go through everything in detail, and although we approached this type of filter with a bit of a bias, it comes out in a good light in the end. Is a foam dust filter better than a nylon one? Read more “The Akasa GRM120-30 foam filter works better than it seems” »

Analysis: a hexagonal grille is no match for a circular one, in any way

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

Why do cases and PSUs almost always have impractical cut-outs in the grille in front of fans for air passage? Whether this is due to indifference to an all-round honest product or ignorance of how inefficient a solution it is, remains a mystery. But we have devised a comparative test which refers to drawbacks of the hexagonal grille. Compared to the non-restrictive circular ones made of wires, the differences are significant. Read more “Analysis: a hexagonal grille is no match for a circular one, in any way” »

Test: Nylon vs. plastic dust filter. Which restricts fans less?

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

The vast majority of computers use two types of dust filters – a fine nylon one and a coarser plastic one. The fact that the plastic filter lets more through and is less efficient in this respect is already apparent from the eye, as it has a coarser mesh. But do you know which one degrades the performance of the fan more and by how much? One even “wheezes”, which is nicely indicated by a detailed noise analysis at 240 sound frequencies. Read more “Test: Nylon vs. plastic dust filter. Which restricts fans less?” »

Zero RPM illuminated Arctic fans are now also available in 140 mm

Cooling, Fans, News | | Ľubomír Samák

Arctic released the P12 fans with (A)RGB first in a more widespread 120 mm format. Now, however, the range is also expanding to include 140 mm models, which should achieve higher airflow compared to the smaller variants. The Swiss manufacturer claims that the rotor is also well suited for operation on liquid cooler radiators. In addition, the P12 PWM PST (A-)RGB fans are also characterised by a passive mode. Read more “Zero RPM illuminated Arctic fans are now also available in 140 mm” »

Complete analysis of the final wind tunnel for fan testing

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

The introduction to this article has been rewritten several times. The original versions resorted to describing the adverse events that caused the long-announced fan testing to be so dramatically delayed. But the text was always dreadfully boring… the important thing is that everything managed to make it to the start. But before the starting gun, come take a thorough walk around the track where the measurements will take place. Read more “Complete analysis of the final wind tunnel for fan testing” »

News from Noctua: A cooling enhancing tunel and NH-L9i-17xx

Cooling, CPU coolers, News | | Ľubomír Samák

Wind tunnels in the case above the cooler have formerly been rather common, but have gradually disappeared over time, however this does not mean that they are useless. Noctua now introduces such a tunnel. It is installed on the cooler and should increase its effectivity. This can be of benefit to small coolers on big CPUs. Simultaneously with this tunnel the 37mm high top-flow NH-L9i-17xx, which aims to take on the Alder Lake processors. Read more “News from Noctua: A cooling enhancing tunel and NH-L9i-17xx” »

Test: Disabling small (E) and big (P) cores of the Core i9-12900K

Extra tests, Processors | | Ľubomír Samák

The big.LITTLE concept in Intel Alder Lake processors encourages various “re-configurations” of the cores. Especially in the context of inferior scaling or priority settings that are not good for some applications. However, user interventions in this direction will more often lead to a disservice than to a benefit. Does it make sense to bypass E cores in games? It doesn’t. Such intervention drives processors into severe inefficiency. Read more “Test: Disabling small (E) and big (P) cores of the Core i9-12900K” »

Intel Core i9-12900K megatest: AMD in 2nd place again

Extra tests, Processors | | Ľubomír Samák

The 12th generation Intel Core processors – Alder Lake is now out and we already have the full-fledged tests for you. These processors are significantly different from the previous ones in many aspects and many things are used “for the first time”. Among them are DDR5 memory support, PCI Express 5.0, 7 nm manufacturing process or hybrid concept of small and large cores. It’s time for a detailed analysis! Read more “Intel Core i9-12900K megatest: AMD in 2nd place again” »

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