Cooler Xtreme : Coolers
: Cpu Cooler : ThermoSonic ThermoEngine
ThermoSonic
ThermoEngine
In stock trim, the ThermoEngine's
a nifty looking, quiet cooler with very good performance, considering that
it's got a low profile fan that only has a run power of about 1.7 watts.
After HardOCP reviewed
it and discovered that it works rather well with a higher powered fan, though
lots of people did that modification and agreed. Aus PC Market sell the
thing pre-modded with a 4800 or 6800RPM fan, and I tried it out with a couple
of options myself.
In stock trim, the ThermoEngine
managed 0.77°C/W; pretty impressive for a cooler with a weedy fan. The only
coolers in this comparison that beat the ThermoEngine had full-height fans.
Swapping the fan on the ThermoEngine's
easy enough; you can remove the standard fan with a screwdriver and replace
it with any 60mm unit. You may need a washer or two, or some new screws,
to get the mounting neat and tidy, but that's all.
Handily, HighSpeed PC
recently sent me one of their $USD13.95 60-to-80mm "Fan Expanders", which
lets you put a bigger fan on pretty much any cooler made for a 60mm one.
The Expander I got was the clear-plastic
model (there's a black one, too). It comes with four screws for attaching
any standard 80mm fan to the top of the adapter; you use the original fan
screws to attach the adapter to the heat sink. You may need to use some
spacers, or shorter screws (you will, if you use the Expander with a ThermoEngine),
but attaching the thing shouldn't be a big deal unless the cooler has a
clip-on fan. Global Win uses clips for their fans, but just about everyone
else uses screws.
Here's the top of the ThermoEngine
with the fan removed - showing off the unusual fin layout, and the over-the-top
retaining clip design. The cooler's small plastic top-shroud doesn't get
in the way of the Fan Expander.
On top of the Expander I put a fairly
high power 4900RPM $USD9.90 (delivered) Sunon KD1208PTBX-6A case fan.
Observe elegant duct tape holding
the Expander in place. It did the job for the period of the test and saved
me from finding new screws, or cutting the standard ones down.
And lo, now the ThermoEngine performed
a lot better. 0.62°C/W.
The noise level was well below the
whine of a high power 60mm fan, and the bigger fan's bearings ought to last
a lot longer, too. As long as you've got enough headroom above your motherboard,
which isn't a problem in most cases, this cooler setup would fit as easily
as a stock ThermoEngine. And look rather butch.
Next, I tried a Y.S. Tech NFD126025BB-2F.
With a monster 7.2 watt nominal rating (and a real run power of about 6.5
watts), this little terror's up there with the best 60mm fans in the world,
if you don't mind its hair-dryerish noise.
With the Y.S. Tech fan whining away,
the ThermoEngine turned in a sterling result. 0.57°C/W, folks; equal to
the OCZ Gladiator.
Overclockers Paradise
sell ThermoEngines pre-modded with this same fan, for $RM150.00 delivered.
Early model ThermoEngines have a
chamber inside filled with paraffin wax for convective heat transfer, or
something; later ones are solid aluminium, and the difference between the
two seems to approach zero, as far as anyone seems to be able to tell. There
are also black-anodised ThermoEngines, which may work a little better than
the plain aluminium ones.
