Conclusion:

The ThermoLab ITX30 is definitely an impressive little CPU cooler. It is easy to install, provides excellent cooling, and is able to operate in near silence. It was tested against a cooler I would consider to be one of the established low profile leaders, the Noctua NH-L9i, and it was able to compete in terms of noise output and cooling performance. One advantage the ITX30 has over the NH-L9i is at just 30mm tall (versus 37mm for the NH-L9i), it can fit in to even tighter spaces. That 7mm difference in height proved to be the difference in the test system, where the NH-L9i did not fit due to interference with a hard drive. The ITX30 has now replaced the NH-L9i in one of my HTPCs as it lets me install the hard drive in its proper location without the drive touching the cooler, and actually provides several millimeters of clearance.

The ITX30 is rated for use with processors having a maximum thermal design power (TDP) of 100W, which provides much more flexibility than something like the Noctua NH-L9i, which maxes out with CPUs with a TDP of 65W. Both coolers were tested in this review on an Intel i3-3225, which has a TDP of 55W, and while the Noctua unit kept things two degrees cooler, ThermoLab is confident that their cooler could handle much more heat.



The main negative point regarding the ITX30 is that the heatpipes do extend beyond the boundary of the cooler, and in our installation could create interference with the neighboring PCI Express slot. While I believe a card could still be installed in this expansion slot, I would take steps to insulate the card to prevent any electrical components from shorting out against the Copper of the heatpipes.

Searching for a place to buy the ITX30 in the USA leads to one option... ebay.com. With a price of about $50 (US) it is right up there with the Noctua NH-L9i in yet another way. With comparable performance and prices, these two coolers don't make choosing easy.

The ThermoLab ITX30 low profile CPU cooler earns the Bigbruin.com "Highly Recommended" and "Whisper Quiet" awards for its performance, ease of installation, extremely low overall height, and very low noise output.



Pros:

» Excellent cooling performance
» Extremely low profile at 30mm tall (with fan installed)
» Very quiet
» Rated for processors up to 100W TDP

Cons:

» Heatpipes may interfere with neighboring components
» ebay.com seems to the the only source in the USA, where the price is about $50

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