Enzotech review @ anandtech-Good but not great?-downfacing HSF fans de

[BuddTX]

I have been assembling the parts to build a "state of the art" air cooled overclocking PC, and the HSF that I picked was the Enzotech Ultra-X. (Based on positive comments posted here, as well as numerous other rave reviews!)

 

I have not installed the Enzotech yet, but, as others have said, this thing is a "thing of beauty", and the mirrored copper HS finish is very nice, as I do not have to manually "lap" the surface.

 

Also, I am going to replace the built in fan with one of these:

YS Tech 120x38mm Fan - 126CFM (FD121238HB) 126 CFM! Thats a lot of air! I the enzotech is 82.67CFM so that is like 44 more CFM!

 

That should cool things down even more!

 

Also, I am not going to hook up any fans to my motherboard, but rather all fans will be connected directly to my OZC power supply. (Again, thanks to everyone here for telling me that you should not hook up high powered fans to the motherboard, it is better to hook them up directly to the power supply. Supposedly the fans get full power, and the motherboards avoid potential damage.)

 

Anyway, the review at anandtech confused me:

Enzotech Ultra-X: If Looks Could Chill

 

Here is a quote from the "conclusions" page:

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Nothing we have measured in this review of the Enzotech Ultra-X has changed our opinion of the influence of air cooler design on cooler performance. The heatpipe towers with side-facing fans are the top-performing coolers we have tested, in both overclocking ability and cooling efficiency. The best designs with down-facing fans perform in a second tier category just below the top heatpipe towers. The Enzotech Ultra-X performs in that category. That means the top of the air cooler list is still the domain of the Thermalrights, Tuniq Tower 120, and a few push-pull configured towers.

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WHAT? All the other reviews I have read raved about the Enzotech.

 

It is certantly not a BAD review, just not the ultra rave reviews that other people and reviews have stated.

 

PLUS I like the concept of a downward blowing fan, as it cools the surrounding motherboard and memory.

 

Well, I am still going to use my enzotech in my system. I figure that my high CFM fans (4, 120mm 125.5 CFM, plus a couple of other fans) , combined with my IHS removal should give me ample cooling.

 

OH, thanks to yall here on diy-street, and my local hardware store, I figured out how to bolt on my hsf and chipset coolers. This will be much better than that stupid clip that comes with the 939 socket.

 

OH, I think others have mentioned this, but I took apart the Enzotech heat sink (see a picture to see what I am talking about) directly over the CPU, cleaned all surfaces with ArticClean, and added some Artic Silver TIM and re-attached the heat sink. Every little bit helps, right!

[radodrill]

With tower heatpipe coolers the manufacturers can fit more fin area into the same footprint; thus making them more effective.

[BuddTX]

This might explain something:

 

Quoted from

http://forums.anandtech.com/

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Synthetic diamond is pretty cheap, especially in the form of powder (small crystals). I'd like to see this stuff tested vs. AS Ceramique and Shin-Etsu X23-7783D, but given Anandtech's stance towards TIM performance, I don't expect to see any such test here.

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What is that?

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Please elaborate???

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They don't think TIM makes much of a difference at all. Hence the reason if you read the Enzotech Ultra-X review they say they didn't used the AS5 that came with it, but instead their generic crap they use for all coolers.

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[custom_coms]

Here's another way to look at it: they use the same generic crap on ALL the heatsinks; actually, I think they did use the AS5 on the Ezontech, if thats what it came with (they usually test with the stuff the heatsink comes with if it is of higher quality). Either way, the Ezontech either has an edge, or it is with the rest of the coolers as far as TIM goes, which means its still not that great of a cooler...should have purchased a thermalright....

[Yukon Trooper]

I think the Enzotech probably thrives on excellent airflow. With a down firing design you'd need a constant fresh flow of air coming in and going out of the system. I think with anything less than absolutely the best airflow it probably starts to lose its edge very quickly.

[Prospector]

Even the Tt Silent tower heatpipe I used to run was very good because with the push/pull configuration it was basically a high powered exhaust for the case.The exhaust side was only about 2 inches from the case fan.Iv'e used the downward facing setups as well,XP-120 and TT Bt.And as mentioned here,

it seems you need to be venting that air from the case rapidly or you just recycle the warmer air.

[BuddTX]

...should have purchased a thermalright....

 

I currently use a Thermalright Si-128 (see sig) Seems to do a good job, but I was looking for something better.

 

Building a second system.