Testing (continued):
Each cooler was allowed to run for 60 minutes in both the idle and load conditions, and an external thermal probe was used to monitor the maximum sustained temperatures. The Tuniq Tower's fan speed controller was used to test the cooling power at both its maximum speed (indicated as 2163 RPM) and its minimum speed (indicated as 1241 RPM), and the Gigabyte cooler's maximum / minimum speeds were 3125 / 1795 RPM. The thermal probe was also used to confirm that the ambient temperature during testing was held between 23 and 24 degrees C. The chart below summarizes the results...
The Idle portion was conducted first, and when I saw that the Tuniq Tower could do no better than the Gigabyte cooler, I was a bit disappointed and assumed the Load portion of the test would be the same story. I was quite surprised, and relieved, to see how much better the Load results were on this cooler. The Tuniq Tower at minimum speed did just as well as the Gigabyte cooler when set to maximum speed. Turn the speed up on the Tuniq Tower, and the performance just gets better!
In addition to the cooling performance, the noise level was quite impressive. At minimum speed, the sound of the 120mm fan disappears among the other noises from within the test system's case. At a mere 1241 RPM it is easy to understand why. Even at full speed, despite being noticeable, the noise from the fan is not nearly as loud as the Gigabyte cooler's, and it has a much lower pitch than most fans making it far less annoying. I have found my "sweet spot" at about 1500 RPM, where the sound is almost non-existent and the cooling performance is within a degree or two of the maximum speed results.
One bonus noted in the Gigabyte G-Power Cooler Pro review was that the orientation of the cooler helped drop the temperatures of the PWM power regulating chips by blowing across them, as well as the CPU socket. These chips can get quite hot, and any extra cooling is welcomed for system longevity and overclocking performance. The PWM temperatures with the Gigabyte cooler were around 39 C, and with the Tuniq Tower 120 this shot back up to around 46 C. Not terrible, but lower is always better.
Conclusion:
The final impression of the Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler is a positive one, but with a few footnotes. If you have a motherboard that will accept it without interference, and a case that is large enough for it, this is an awesome cooler. It provides some of the best air cooling performance I have experienced, and it can do it in near silence.
The overall size no doubt plays a significant role in the Tuniq Tower's performance, but I think it may actually be too big. It overhangs the CPU socket on all sides, and there are a number of things that could interfere with this beast. On the test system, it only had a problem with the chipset cooler, but that is problem enough. I can foresee issues on other boards where it may be too close to the memory, power supply, chipset, OTES type cooling, or maybe even the video card. In addition to all of the motherboard related items it may bump into, the size of the case is also worth considering. At over 6" tall, the cooler will not fit into narrow cases, or perhaps a case with a fan mounted in the side panel just above the CPU socket.
The universal mounting hardware makes the Tuniq Tower easy to install on K8 and P4 systems (interference issues aside), but note that there is no support for K7 processors. AMD Athlon XP owners will have to pass on this one, sorry.
No price is available on this cooler yet, and it will be interesting to see just how much this will sell for. High-end CPU cooler prices have been climbing into the range of the ridiculous, and with all that is involved in this cooler, I wouldn't expect it to be cheap. When it does become available, I would keep an eye out at many of the places known to carry Sunbeamtech items.
The incredible cooling performance and low noise level overcomes the other issues experienced and earns the Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler a final rating of four out of five stars... "Recommended".
Final Rating (4 out of 5 stars): 
Pros:
• Excellent thermal results
• Includes fan controller
• Secure installation
• Low noise output
• Good documentation
Cons:
• Might actually be too big
• Does not support K7 processors (K8 and P4 only)
• Will not fit all motherboard / cases
• No front panel mount for fan controller
• No secondary cooling effect on PWM chips
• Unusable thermal paste
Special thanks to Sunbeamtech for providing the Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler to Bigbruin.com for review!
Please drop by the Bigbruin.com Forum and feel free to discuss this review.
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