FSP Windale 4 – Don’t trust the first impression

Key features

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.

Key features of the cooler

The design of the FSP Windale 4 is very similar to most coolers at this price level. One dense bundle of fifty-four aluminum fins is intersected by four six-millimeter copper heatpipes. These use direct contact with the processor’s integrated heat spreader (IHS) and are densely fit side by side on the cooler’s base without unnecessary gaps. This design should ensure maximum efficiency in heat transfer from the heat spreader to the heatsink. You won’t find a single RGB element on the cooler or fan that would unnecessarily increase the total price. Neither the fins nor the heatpipes have any surface treatment on them. Only in the middle of the upper fin is the manufacturer’s logo inconspicuously embossed.

The bundle of fins is cooled by one fan with a diameter of 120 millimeters. Instead of metal clips, however, soft rubber spikes are used here. The purpose of this mounting method of the fan is to eliminate vibrations and thus reduce the overall noise of the cooler. The spikes can also be shortened with scissors after installation, but the whole solution appeals a bit cheap.

The contents of the package do not differ in any way from usual standards. The mounting system for both Intel and AMD sockets is complemented by a multilingual user manual with schematic mounting instructions. You will also find a small package of thermal paste here. And as mentioned above, this cooler uses soft rubber spikes instead of more conventional metal clips for attaching the fan. You will find two sets here, so you can also use the push-pull configuration of two fans, although this usually makes no sense with these cheaper coolers.

The cooler is easy to install. I did not encounter any major problem except for the fan mounting. Finally, I found that the easiest way is to pre-attach the rubber spikes on the cooler before you start mounting it on the processor. There is not much space left for fingers to attach the lower spikes, and in addition, the used material is too flexible. Overall, I wasn’t too passionate about this way of mounting the fan.

Specs of the cooler and fan

The dimensions of this cooler are very similar to the dimensions of its competitors. Its total height of 158 millimeters should also not be a major obstacle to compatibility with most conventional cases. However, unlike its competitors, the FSP Windale 4 does not offer an asymmetrical design. You may encounter a problem with the height of the RAM module in the first DIMM slot closest to the socket. All modern processors from Intel and AMD are supported, except Threadripper.

The fan of this cooler has a boring designation CF12P02 and its appearance will probably not impress you too much. The bearing used is also quite below average. However, the airflow specs look solid. So hopefully it won’t be too noisy.

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.

Testing methodology

The test methodology is still the same for comparability of results. The heat generator is the Intel Core i7-5820K processor in the ASRock X99 Taichi motherboard. The whole build is placed on a Streacom BC1 benchtable without fans that would provide airflow. Stress tests are performed using the Aida64 Extreme application with a duration of 45–60 minutes. The coolers are tested at three speed levels (800, 1200 and the maximum) at a processor frequency of 4200 MHz with a voltage of 1.150 V. This is followed by another set of tests at 4500 MHz with a voltage of 1.350 V. The processor’s power draw at these clock speeds is about 150 W or approx. 200 W. The second set of tests is already a really big burden for most coolers. Therefore, it cannot be expected that all tested coolers will be able to cool the processor at all speed levels.

Noise is measured using a calibrated Voltcraft SL-100 sound level meter in fast measurement mode (125 ms) with a sensitivity range of 30–100 dBA approx. 50 cm from the heatsink. Measurements take place at three fan speed levels, namely 800, 1200 and maximum. Speed control is provided by the Noctua NA-FC1 controller. The ambient noise level is below 33.0 dBA. At the end of the test, the highest temperature reached is always recorded. All data regarding temperatures and power draw of the processor are obtained from the HWiNFO64 application. The results are then corrected against ambient temperature as the final Delta T value. The test success limit is set at 80 °C. Any higher value means a processor temperature above 100 °C and a risk of thermal throttling. Therefore, if the cooler does not pass a load with a Delta T value below 80 °C, such a test is marked as failed.

Test results

It can already be seen here that the high amount of waste heat in combination with the low speed means that most coolers are not able to prevent the processor from overheating and subsequent throttling. This is not unexpected, it is simply the physical limit of the given cooler and does not mean that the cooler is of poor quality.

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.

Conclusion and rating

I’m going to be completely honest. The FSP Windale 4 did not impress me very much after unboxing. In my mind, however, I deeply apologized to it right after the end of the stress tests. The FSP Windale 4 boldly competes with both the SilentiumPC Fera 3 and the Arctic Freezer 34 in terms of efficiency, noise and price. It practically offers only the good from both coolers.

It is as quiet as the Freezer, but at the same time it cools as well as the Fera 3. I would quite like to see some refresh of this cooler with an asymmetrical design and a better fan mounting design in the future. On the functional side, however, it has practically nothing to be blamed for. So if you don’t mind the look and just want an efficient and quiet cooler for a good price, then the FSP Windale 4 is a good choice. And that’s why it earns our Smart Buy! award for excellent price/performance ratio.

English translation and edit by Lukáš Terényi

• Contents
• Key features
• Testing methodology and test results
• Conclusion and rating