What is fascinating about the Arctic P14 is the particularly high contrast of price to (cooling) efficiency. These fans are among the cheapest, while at the same time achieving top results with respect to all 140 mm fans in terms of airflow per unit of noise. And that’s even through obstacles. Arctic has made almost the maximum out of the funds available to produce the fan, and it is definitely worth it. Read more “Arctic P14 PWM PST: Unbeatable in its segment”
There is something appealing about the possibility of taking the fastest hardware that exists in the PC world and putting it in the smallest case possible rather than using conventional tower case. We have seen this with X299E-ITX/ac mini-ITX board for Skylake-X processors. We probably won’t witness a similar scenario for Ryzen Threadripper, because of the size of the socket, but there is a new MicroATX model at least. Read more “There is no Mini-ITX for Threadripper, but there is MicroATX already”
We have finally acquired samples of the current models of Scythe processor coolers which have ambitions to be crowned in the upper middle class. They proved their dominance several times in this segment. We always pay special attention to exceptional components and we gladly do some extra tests outside our classic procedures. In this “preview”, you can let us know what exactly it should be. Read more “We have new precious guests: Fuma rev. B and Mugen 5 rev. B”
Here are the results. And this time without any testing of hardware. We have analysed your effort and chosen the winner whose contribution was the best. Also, there are three lucky persons that were randomly selected. Others who participated will have another chance to win something very soon, we promise. A big thanks to everybody for the support (also to people that did not participate in the competition)! Read more “Competition – Winter 2017: The winners + thanks!”
Fractal Design cases are very popular, so the release of the new type is in some way an event. Computer case is a passive component and it is not that much of a concern for some, but if you consider low noise and extra comfort main priorities, this might interest you. The Swedish company is now releasing a new improved version of the Define case that will offer new features. Read more “Fractal Design Define R6: New generation of superpopular cases”
We already know that the biggest weakness of the cooler are fans. So, we replaced them with reference models and observed the difference. This led to a remarkable comparison of Okeanos and Noctua NH-D15 heatsinks. And there are few surprises even in modes without the same fans. Let’s take a look at how Okreanos manages to cool the area around the socket, and what it really can do in passive mode. Read more “Reeven Okeanos: effective “slim” dual tower”
Reeven seems like a smaller manufacturer, but it does not matter at all in the case of Okeanos. This cooler can definitely stand its ground. It could be used as a good example in many ways. There are some drawbacks for sure, but you get really decent cooling performance for the money. Read more “Excellent cooling performance for 70 euros? Reeven Okeanos”
Scythe coolers are one of the best in their category and, except for Ninja 3, they are holding their position firmly. It is difficult to find anything more effective than Scythe Fuma under 50 euros. And it looks like that things are about to get even more interesting. The latest model is named after the warships used in the 17th century by the Shimazu family. So, perhaps we will meet the new champion soon. Read more “Will Sengoku Bune eliminate everything in its path? We’ll see…”
Thanks to the support of Gigabyte, Akasa, Noctua, and EKWB, you have the opportunity to compete for prizes at HWC for the first time. To make things interesting, we chose atypical components from various “worlds“. Mini-STX motherboard, the large liquid cooling kit, Noctua NH-D15 with the unconventional colour coating Chromax… or would you prefer a passive case? Read more “Competition – Winter 2017: Chance to win some interesting pieces!”
Reviews of PC cases will be one of the main pillars of HWCooling. Significant part of the tests will be dedicated to airflow, of course. We would like to present you our initial concept of the test procedures. Our goal is to bring you information that you are really interested in, so let us think aloud together and improve what we can. Read more “We are preparing procedures for tests of PC cases, feel free to join!”
For LGA 2066, liquid cooling is more beneficial than for any other platform before. Especially for Core i9-7980XE. Compared to EKWB full cover monoblock with a decent engine and evaporator, even NH-D15 looks like a dwarf. Not only does the liquid cooler open up for higher frequencies, but it also significantly improves the operating features with settings that can be barely handled by conventional coolers. Read more “EKWB EK-FB MSI X299 + X360: more than 500 W, VRM below 60 °C”
Efficient and quiet cooling in combination with small fans is usually just a utopic wish. But it looks like that they don’t give up easy. We just discussed Evga board with two 30mm fans which are supposed to cool the power supply circuit, and here appears another similar case – M.2 SSD active cooling. Read more “Fans that are even smaller and faster: 16 500 rpm for M.2 SSD”
Several years ago, small coolers with 40mm fans were quite common for chipsets instead of heatsinks. Often so noisy that modding was practically necessary. After a couple of years, this trend was fortunately defeated, but recently, rotors with blades are back on high-end boards. Evga presented X299 Dark which even stands out: it has three fans. Read more “A high-end board from Evga has three fans”
The ideal CPU cooler should not be bigger than a matchbox, and it should handle 500 W processor without making a sound. However, this is a sci-fi, so we will have to rely on conventional solutions. Although Noctua NH-D15 is in many ways unusual, it is remarkable to see how its original elements affect the effectiveness. Read more “D15 is elite, but there’s a room for improvement”
We extended our database of processor coolers with the notorious NH-D15. It will serve as a key reference point for every upcoming test because it represents some kind of a standard for air coolers. In this review, we analyzed the functional features of the most popular product in its category. How does Noctua do it? Read more “Noctua NH-D15: Austrian dual tower”
Active cooling – commonly known as fans – is the eternal enemy of silence, but still a necessity if your computer is to perform properly. It looks like fans, and literally cooling, moved from hardware to a furniture area. Companies producing various game accessories have already started to sell gaming chairs (formerly called office chairs), and one of them now even has its “active cooling”. Read more “Fans have conquered the land of users”
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