Joined: 07 Apr 2003 Posts: 16855 Location: New Jersey
Posted: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:13:53 Post Subject: Cooler Master Z600 and Sphere CPU Coolers
Everything is big with the Z600.... The height, width, weight, heatpipes, and even the thickness of the fins. 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. - The Review
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Last edited by Jason on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:17:56; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 07 Apr 2003 Posts: 16855 Location: New Jersey
Posted: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:54:21 Post Subject:
Just wanted to add a note on this based on an e-mail comment I got. Raised a good point which I addressed, but without much detail at all.
When testing, I commented on the passive cooling with:
Quote:
The first thing that jumps out at me is that passively cooling an E6850 is not a good idea... in case you couldn't have guessed that already! Cooler Master is probably counting on their passively cooled beast to have the benefit of air flow from case fans or a PSU fan, but I tried it out in a truly passive environment on an open test bed. There was no case to trap heat, but there were no fans to force cool air through all the fins. The silence was nice, but if you are going to do much more than surf the web, it is going to get hot.
The e-mail strongly advised that I test in a case to take advantage of the fans, even if they were low speed units.
Here is my response, and a bit more information on why I tested that way...
Quote:
I had hoped the disclaimer-like text you quoted would have covered it, but maybe I should have provided more information. I kept hoping that Cooler Master would get a product page uploaded, and I held the review up a while waiting for it, but as of today they confirmed that they wouldn't have one. They saw the review prior to release and didn't have any comment. Anyway...
I did that test that way simply because the Cooler Master Z600 box says "We recommend that CPUs with a TDP less than 89W to run without using additional fans". The E6850 has a 65W TDP, so according to that statement some could infer that it shouldn't need any fans at all. Just wanted to show that this was not the case.
Getting this thing into a case could be a pain. I have a Thermaltake SwordM that it fits into, but four other cases that it will not fit into. Didn't test in the SwordM, but the configuration where the case fans are so much farther back on that hinged door might be interesting since they wouldn't be directly drawing air through the cooler. I planned to test in a case, but none currently in use would work properly. How many home users have a pile of cases to choose from in order to suit the needs of a cooler anyway?
Another note on the box says "If you are running the cooler without a fan, we recommend that case fans be installed at the back". So they do suggest that case fans be used, but it is not required... only recommended. The language should be stronger. It can be passive, but only when relying on conditions that Cooler Master can not control.
What was in / on the box was all I had to work with, and other users might follow that text unaware of what might happen. The point was to show that totally passive was a bad idea, despite the notes making it sound like an option. _________________
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Is this a true or false question? 
but great results.