Cooler Master Hyper 6
Introduction
We recently reviewed the
TTIC NPH-2,
which utilized a giant heat pipe design to assist in the cooling of a
fin designed heatsink. As demonstrated by the TTIC heatsink, the
efficient use of a heat pipe design allows enthusiasts to enjoy maximum
cooling while keeping noise levels to a minimum. However, what if
a company decided to use even more heat pipes to ensure maximum cooling?
Well, it seems Cooler Master has already
answered this question by releasing their latest and greatest
Cooler Master Hyper 6 heatsink which utilizes six enormous heat pipes
through an all copper design, hence the name Hyper "6."
If there
was one company that immediately
comes to mind when thinking of any form of PC cooling, it would be
Cooler Master. They pretty much cover all aspects of PC cooling, from
simple fans to watercooling. They have been making heatsinks for
quite some time now and their presence in CPU cooling has been acknowledged by
most, if not all, PC
users. They experimented with heat pipes before
and were successful with coolers such as the HHC and IHC series. While these coolers
performed well, they achieved this at the
expense of high noise level. Now they focus on an important aspect of cooling CPUs:
quiet operation. We will see how the Hyper 6 can achieve maximum
cooling at minimal noise levels.
Heat Pipe design
While the TTIC NPH-2
review already described how a heat pipe works, Cooler Master has their
own version of how it works on their website. Here's an easy to
understand diagram taken directly from their site.
In case
you haven't noticed, there is actually liquid inside these heat pipes
to transfer heat. Poiuy described it best when
equating it to a
small radiator.
Hyper 6
The package was placed
in a nice, easy to carry, "lunchbox" style box. Cooler Master
probably figured that consumers in retail stores would
struggle carrying 2 pounds of pure copper, so they included a handle for
your convenience. The items itself were well
protected by foam material. The included
items in the package are: the Hyper
6 heatsink, an 80mm
Cooler Master fan with an attached rheostat for controlling fan speed and
noise, two brackets (a PCI slot cover and a 3.5" bay cover) for your
choice of a rheostat location, a backplate for your motherboard, a
retention bracket that attaches to the backplate, thermal paste, an
instruction manual, and all necessary mounting hardware. Cooler
Master
leaves nothing forgotten
for the consumer.
Notice how
the illustrations on the box insinuate an overall theme for the heatsink:
silence. We'll see if this actually plays out in the testing
results. Here is another picture taken from their website, illustrating
their dedication to silence.
The
heatsink is comprised of six giant heat pipes which, at the bottom,
are
sandwiched in between a large rectangular copper plate and a small
copper, 11-finned heatsink. The heat pipes then extend out to be cooled
by 27 ridged copper fins and are then protected by a stylish aluminum
covering. This covering can be considered a shroud which prevents air
from escaping and directs air towards the inside of the heatsink. Both
sides of the heatsink have mounting holes for an 80mm fan on the shroud,
which gives the user the option of one or two fans. At the top of the
shroud is a stylish engraved Cooler Master logo in addition
to the topsides of
the six heat pipes. This is the visible side of the heatsink, so
Cooler Master has not only catered to performance but also to looks.
The bottom
of the base was protected by a sticky blue film
which, when removed, revealed
an excellent lapping job by Cooler Master. The base seemed precisely flat,
evident in its mirror-like reflection. Normally a flat lap job
gives off a seamless, purely flat base, but the lap job on this heatsink
has a radial-like reflection with a point in the middle as if it were
lapped in a circular manner. I'll try contacting Cooler Master to find out how
they did it. Nonetheless, it is absolutely impressive.
Overall,
this heatsink was aesthetically brilliant in its design as well as its
lap job.
The Fan
The fan looks to be
Cooler Master's patented Rifle sleeve bearing fans, which have been proven
to give out quite a bit of air while keeping noise levels down. Attached to
the fan is a rheostat that can speed up or slow down the fan to adjust
noise levels. I have tested how this heatsink performs on both low and
high. The fan is attached to the PSU (at high
RPMs it
uses a maximum of 12v) via a Molex connector but also includes an rpm
sensor for monitoring fan speed.
The specifications:
Test Method
To test for ambient
temperatures I used a CompuNurse that detected 25 degrees Celsius. The
temperatures of the CPU were taken with MBM 5.3.7.0 on an Abit IS7. I
used Arctic Silver 5 and let each test settle for two hours (nearly not
enough time for it to settle, but good enough just for testing
purposes). Testing was done in a Chieftec Dragon all aluminum case
with 2 80mm intakes in the front, 2 80mm exhausts at the back, and all
side panels off. Prime95 was used for an hour to put the CPU at full
load.
Actual
installation can be quite cumbersome to the conventional user. While
the enthusiast may enjoy taking apart his computer, many dislike this
idea after having cleanly routed wires within the computer. This
heatsink required the removal of the motherboard to install the
recommended backplate and the retention plate. You would think Cooler
Master would make their heatsinks work with existing backplates.
Actually, upon closer inspection, the P4 retention plate seems to have
the same dimensions as the Cooler Master plate; however, for Athlon64
users, the Cooler Master retention plate are not nearly the same
dimensions as the Cooler Master plate.
Initially, I wondered
how this heatsink, so large in width, would ever fit on a motherboard.
Surprisingly it did, although some capacitors did have to be bent quite
a little to ensure a snug fit.
I decided
to opt for the PCI Slot cover to install the rheostat since the brushed
metal finish did not match the plastic finish of the Chieftec case.
The clips
are very easy to install. It's just a matter of placing the flaps
within the slits of the plastic retention plate, and then using the
lever to clamp around the other side of the retention plate. While it
was a very tight fit, the use of metal on plastic to retain a 2 lb
monster isn't enough for any user to ensure its positioning.
Given the opportunity, I'd much
rather use a 4 screw mounting method (such as Thermalright) to secure
this massive piece of copper to my motherboard.
The
directions recommended that you install the heatsink first and then the fan.
However, this posed a few problems. To mount the fan, you need
install it
sideways, which involves the removal of the graphics card or any PCI
cards to have enough room to screw in the fan. Another problem also
occurred. It was next to impossible to install a second fan with the
PSU so close to the top of the heatsink. I honestly don't see any
reason why you should install the fans last. To install a second fan
you'd need to purchase or find another set of screws because
Cooler Master only gives you one mounting set. One thing to note is that
Cooler Master recommends a "push" style direction of airflow.
Obviously
you do not want it facing downwards as it will force heat onto the
graphics card. The only option is to face it upwards, which would work
well for PSUs such as Cooler Master's new PSU that have an intake fan
directly above the CPU zone. Unfortunately, my PSU (a Sparkle FSP400)
did not have such an intake.
Competition
Cooler Master
claims its new heatsink is a silent heatsink, so I have matched it up
against the tried and true Zalman CNPS7000-Cu. This has been a popular
choice among PC enthusiasts for its excellent cooling as well as
utilizing Zalman's patented "silence" technology. I will be comparing
the Zalman also on a high and low setting in addition to comparing their
noise levels. One thing is for sure, the installation of the Zalman
does not require removal of the motherboard and the fan is already
attached to the heatsink, thus, this heatsink is much easier to install
and weighs less.
Remember
when Zalman first unveiled the CNPS7000 and how it towered over current
heatsinks at the time? It seems the tables have turned with the
Hyper 6
making the Zalman heatsink look miniscule in comparison.
Test Setup and Results
Test Setup:
Results:
Conclusion and Thoughts Here you can see that the Hyper 6 has performed exceptionally well in both a high and low setting, besting the Zalman CNPS-7000 by as much as 4 degrees Celsius on low at full load, which to the hardcore overclocker, is enough of a decrease to warrant some praise. However, on high, the noise of the Cooler Master fan is exceptionally louder than the Zalman on high. But, Cooler Master claims this heatsink performs well on silent levels and the results have shown they haven't disappointed us. For the Zalman to compete with the Hyper 6 on its lowest fan speed setting, you would have to turn it on high, which is significantly noisier than the near silent Cooler Master fan. Very impressive results. One thing I wanted to try was how the heatsink performed with two fans in a push-pull method. After trying it, temps only decreased one degree on load and wasn't enough to justify its increase in noise. Thus, this heatsink will suffice with the one fan that Cooler Master has supplied us with.
Overall, when all is said and done, the attractiveness of this heatsink depends on the actual user and whether or not he enjoys taking apart his computer when installing a new cooler. I know I didn't, and I'm sure many other people are in the same boat as me. Perhaps they will release a new revision that utilizes retention brackets already on existing motherboards. However, the extra time put into installation results in an excellent performing heatsink that bests out the current champ of near silent CPU cooling. Besides the mounting issues, Cooler Master has a definite winner on its hands. Pros:
Cons:
We would like to thank
Cooler Master for
providing us the sample.
If you have any
questions or comments, feel free to hit us up in the
forums. You can also check out more of our latest reviews on the
front
page.
Tags |
