| Cooler Master Hyper TX Socket 775 CPU Cooler
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Testing:
Testing consisted of monitoring the thermal performance of the Cooler Master Hyper TX and other coolers while installed on an Intel Pentium D840 (3.2 GHz Dual-Core) CPU while at idle and under a full load. Idle conditions were established by allowing the test system to sit at the CentOS 4 desktop for a period of no less than one hour. The load conditions were generated by executing two instances of Folding@Home (configured to take full advantage of both CPU cores) for a period of 24 hours.
An external thermal probe was used to monitor the processor and ambient temperatures, while the System Monitor in CentOS was used to confirm that both cores were either at idle or at full load. Idle conditions saw the cores bounce between 0 and 2% activity, while load conditions had both cores pegged at 100% for the duration.
The other coolers used in the head-to-head testing included the stock Intel cooler and the Scythe Inifity. These two should give a good point of reference to those still using the cooler that may have come with their processor, as well as to those who think the biggest is the best. After the head-to-head testing we will also compare the thermal results to other coolers tested on the same system.
The chart below summarizes the head-to-head results recorded while the ambient temperature was maintained at 25 degrees Celsius. I was quite surprised at how well the Hyper TX did. Given its small stature, small fan, and light weight, I assumed it wouldn't be that impressive. The Scythe Infinity disappointed in its review given the mediocre performance despite its size and large price tag. The Hyper TX does a bit better with minimal noise, a small foot print, and a price tag of about $20 (US) less!
As mentioned, a second phase of testing was documented where the rise over ambient for all coolers tested in this review were compared to other coolers tested on the same test system. All of the hardware was the same, as was the testing methodology, with the only significant variable being the ambient temperature.
The table below shows a variety of coolers with the results in red recorded for this review (ambient 25C) and the results in blue recorded at another time (ambient 20C or 25C). The Scythe Infinity and stock Intel cooler provided identical results in this review as in previous reviews, which validates the results in my mind; but you can do what you would like with the values shown below.
Looking at all of the entries in the table above shows a good cross section of the hottest coolers on the market, and the Hyper TX can hang with some of the best of them. It may not produce the absolute best thermal results, but it does quite well and has many other positive features going for it.
As a check, I eventually uninstalled the Hyper TX and wiped the included thermal paste away in order to test the cooler with some after market paste. Unfortunately the best I could find is the 'white stuff' that came with the Thermalright Ultra-120. Testing with this paste showed zero improvement in cooling performance, but I would expect some of the high end, Arctic Silver like paste, to provide a drop of a few degrees.
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