Coolermaster just dropped
off their latest Athlon cooler to us a few days back, which is rated for
1.33 GHz+ Thunderbirds. The 6IAA follows Coolermaster's basic design theories,
that aluminum can work just as well for high-end Athlon cooling as a copper
cooler can. The one thing different about this cooler that's different from
previous Athlon coolers is the size. This thing is big. The cooler has an
extended aluminum base, which extends over AMD's recommended "4-Holes" around
the processor socket, allowing for more surface area to dissipate heat.
The cooler uses an aluminum
surface, but comes by default with a standard pink "gummy" thermal interface,
which was of course removed for testing. The unit comes equipped with a
Delta 60mm fan, which is only a mere 10mm tall. This little cooler works
remarkably well, keeping the hot aluminum fins from burning up at high clock
speeds. The fan is also semi-quiet, as it's not the quietest fan on the
market, but certainly won't make you want to toss your PC out the window
from high-pitched fan whining.
The clip on this cooler is
extremely strong, definitely will scare more than a few home users
who try to install it. This clip makes this cooler one of the hardest to
install coolers we've seen to date. It really does take a lot of strength
and a steady hand to get this cooler installed. God help if anyone wanted
to install this cooler while the mobo was still in the case.
