Conclusion:

The Cooler Master Z600 is an interesting cooler. On one hand it is capable of providing incredible cooling results when used with either one or two low speed 120mm fans. Adding higher speed fans might create some extra noise to live with, but I can imagine that the temperatures could be ridiculously low. But on the other hand, the thing is an absolute beast that could be hard to fit into most cases. It would dominate the inside of a case and could easily create interference issues with items such as the case exhaust fan, power supply, case side panel, case internal framework, and system memory.

In comparison, the Sphere is a dainty little ball of Copper that shouldn't create any installation issues in most cases. The problem is that it is rather loud and the cooling is mediocre at best. Even if you were willing to sacrifice a few degrees for a quiet operation, the fan has a 3-pin power lead that can't take advantage of the 4-pin PWM fan controls found in most modern BIOSes. The Sphere seems to be more about aesthetics, and while it is rather cool looking, it needs to get the job done first.


The Cooler Master Z600 is just about to hit store shelves and no price could be found as of the day this review was published. Expect it to be expensive! There is a good deal of metal to be cut, machined, and formed in order to make this monster and you can be sure it won't be cheap. As for the Sphere, a search of PriceGrabber shows that it can be found at a few popular online retailers for around $40-$45 (US). That may be the going rate for a good cooler these days, but given the noise level and mediocre temperatures I would have to pass.

Given the potential for the Cooler Master Z600 to perform exceptionally well with about zero noise, it earns the "Whisper Quiet" award.

If your computer was set up on an open test bed or in a massive case with a side window, the Z600 would be an excellent choice for a low noise cooler that would get everyone's attention. It may not be flashy, but it will not be missed! Balancing the cooling performance with the potential size issues, the Z600 also earns a conditional "Recommended" award.


Pros:

» Z600 is capable of keeping hot processors nice and cool
» Z600 is well made and heavy duty
» If bigger really was better, the Z600 would be the best
» Sphere has interesting design and looks cool installed

Cons:

» Z600 is massive and may interfere with many cases
» Tool-less fan mounts on the Z600 would be a nice design change
» Installation of both coolers could be refined a bit
» Sphere is loud and doesn't cool all that well

Special thanks to Cooler Master for providing the Cooler Master Z600 and Sphere CPU Coolers to Bigbruin.com for review!