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Product:
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Spire SP741B3 DiamondCool II HSF Cooler |
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Price:
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$41 (CDN) / $36 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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Spire Cooling Solutions
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Author:
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Hi-TEK
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Date:
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April 30th, 2006
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Rating:
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The bottom of the Spire SP741B3 DiamondCool II HSF Cooler is machined smooth and has a nice mid-level reflective finish which should
assist with moving heat away from the CPU. Upon closer inspection, I didn't notice any machine or nick marks along the outer edge and
center of the copper base. Consumers concerned with added performance could lap or polish the copper base, but this is entirely
optional.
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The DiamondCool II comes bundled with Spire's signature "UV-Reactant Spider Fan" which measures approximately 90mm × 90mm × 25mm. The
fan is rated for 12VCD and runs at 2400 RPM, pushing 41.15 CFM with a noise level of 21.0 dBA. The Spider Fan includes a sleeved 3-pin
connector that will plug into any 3-pin header available on a motherboard.
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One of the biggest critiques that I have for most coolers on the market is the design of the clipping mechanism. A well designed or
poorly executed clipping mechanism can essentially make or break a heatsink cooler design. The clipping mechanism on the
DiamondCool II requires motherboard removal prior to installation. Installation begins by removing the stock retention mechanism and
backing plate. Spire has provided a custom backing plate that must be used with the DiamondCool II. With the aluminum back plate installed,
the next step is to install the CPU of your choice and apply a coat of thermal paste. For this review I decided to not use the Stars
420 thermal compound and as an alternative will be using Arctic Silver 3. Once the thermal paste is applied the DiamondCool II can be
installed on top of the CPU. Using a Phillips screwdriver, all that is requires is to tighten the mounting screws on each side of the
copper base. During this process, I found it necessary to remove the 90mm Spider Fan first in order to complete the installation.
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Testing:
To start performance tests, I assembled the following pieces of hardware to complete the system:
- Gigabyte GA-K8N-SLI Motherboard
- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ CPU
- 2 x Gigabyte GV-NX66T128D GeForce 6600GT Video Cards (SLI Mode)
- Western Digital WD2000 Caviar SE 200GB SATA HD
- 2 x Corsair XMS Xpert TWINX2048-4000PT DDR Modules
- Lite-On LTR-40125S 40x12x48x CD-Rewriter
- Panasonic 1.44 Floppy Drive
- Enermax Liberty 500W ATX 12V Ver2.2 Power Supply
- Antec P180 Advanced Super Mid-Tower Case
The "Burn-In Wizard" from SiSoft Sandra 2005 SR2 is used to put the CPU under concentrated load for a pre-determined amount of time.
The options selected in "Burn-In Wizard" run the CPU and CPU Multimedia benchmarks for approximately 15 minutes. The system is left
alone for approximate 15 minutes before the burn-in test is performed. Maximum temperatures are measured in degree Celsius and
recorded using an independent thermal probe and GigaByte's Easy Tune 4 for idle and full load. Ambient room temperature was measured
at 28 degrees Celsius. For comparison, I will be testing the Spire SP741B3 DiamondCool II HSF Cooler against Asetek's VapoChill Micro
Ultra Low Noise Series Cooler.
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The overall performance results indicate that the Spire SP741B3 DiamondCool II HSF Cooler does manage to hold its own against Asetek's
VapoChill Micro Ultra Low Noise Series Cooler. The performance margin between both heatsinks ranged between 3-4 degrees in all test
beds for idle and load modes. One advantage that the VapoChill Micro Ultra Low Noise Series Cooler has over the Spire SP741B3 DiamondCool
II HSF Cooler is that it includes an adjustable fan RPM control which allows you to lower or raise the fan speed for better cooling in
idle and load modes. The VapoChill Micro Ultra Low Noise Series Cooler also allows you to pair the unit with two other fans in the
Asetek product line (High or Xtreme). In terms of noise level, there really is no clear winner since both products were excellent and
perfect for low noise environments. For consumers who have cases with modified windows, once a UV light source is applied to the
DiamondCool II, the 90mm Spider-Fan becomes illuminated and will glow bright blue.
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Conclusion:
The Spire SP741B3 DiamondCool II HSF Cooler can be classified as a decent mid-level quiet performance cooler. Without a doubt, the unit
certainly provides near silent operation and performs on par with other mid-level designs. The incorporated Spider-Fan and copper
heatsink combination does a good job of cooling but is clearly not suited for an overclocked environment. Out of the box, consumers
will appreciate the inclusion of 4 embedded heat-pipes for enhanced thermal cooling as well as 55 stamped micro-fins which optimize the
airflow and prevent obstruction. Spire also caters to the case modding community by making the 90mm Spider-Fan UV reactant. The choice
of generic thermal grease was a little disappointing, since most users will prefer to use high quality compound such as Arctic
Silver, Cooling Flow or Nanotherm. During my evaluation I didn't experience too many issues with the Spire SP741B3 DiamondCool II, other
than the fact that your motherboard must be removed prior to installation and that the 90mm Spider-Fan makes it difficult to secure the
heatsink the aluminum backplate. Overall, I am rating the Spire SP741B3 DiamondCool II a final rating of
8 out of 10. If you have any questions regarding this review be sure to
visit the Spire Cooling Solutions website for more information or discuss
them in our forums.
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Pros:
- All new UV-reactant 90mm Spider-Fan
- Four thermally improved heat-pipes
- All copper 55 stamped Micro-Fin heat-sink design
- Supports all new AMD K8 micro-processors (Dual-Core (M2) & FX-60)
- Extremely quiet
- Price
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Cons:
- Not suited for overclocked environments
- Generic thermal paste
- Requires motherboard removal prior to installation
- Spider-Fan must be removed to secure heatsink to aluminum backplate
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Error processing SSI file
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Error processing SSI file
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