Thermalright has been one of the top manufacturers in air-cooling solutions since the company was founded. Providing solutions for AMD and Intel processors, motherboard Northbridge and graphic processors. Recently, manufacturers have been releasing bigger processor heatsinks, which can sometimes cause space issues with certain motherboards. Thermalright's latest solution is large, but instead of spreading out, they have decided to make it tall, similar to a "High-Rise", and they have chosen to skip a fan all together. This allows for a totally noiseless processor cooling solution. I will take a look at the Thermalright HR-01 to see how it cools on today's processors, and whether it is a viable noiseless solution.
Product Information (taken from the Thermalright website):
As is the case with any passive cooler, the normal operating range should be from low to mid CPU frequency. Premium condition for HR-01 is when your power supply unit has a 12cm fan placed at the bottom facing the CPU heatsink. An example would be the Antec PSU or the Enermax PSU. As for chassis ventilation, a proper setup would have an intake fan (8cm or 12cm) in the front and a 12cm exhaust fan in the rear as in the case of the Antec Performance series or the Lian Li V1000 series.
If you plan to operate at high CPU frequency, a 12cm fan is definitely recommended for the heatsink.
Features and Specifications (taken from the Thermalright website):
» Fanless design for low-noise operation
» Proprietary through holes on fins for efficient ventilation
» Multiple heatpipes for well spread heat around aluminum fins
» Soldered fins to copper base (nickel plated) to make effective contact
» Light weight and easy installation
» Dimension: L110 x W60 x H159.5(mm) Heat sink only
» Weight: 525g (heat sink only)
Packaging:
The Thermalright HR-01 CPU cooler comes packaged in Thermalright's signature plain brown cardboard box. On one edge, it lists the model and type that is included in the box, as you can it is labeled as HR-01, and is compatible with the LGA-775 (although we will be looking at it installed on a Socket 939 Opteron processor).
Opening the box reveals that the HR-01 is well protected against any damage by custom fitted foam blocks. Thermalright uses some of the best packaging materials, which will certainly ensure your cooler is undamaged.
