Testing

For testing purposes I've used a stick of PC2700 ram and concentrated on an FSB overclock. For the record, I've been able to post with this stick of ram at 180FSB, and stable windows at 174FSB before hand. This was with an increase of the voltage from 2.55v to 2.65v.

Test System:
Athlon 1.4 T-Bird
Abit AT7 Max (KT333)
256MB Kingston PC2700
Windows XP

CPU Voltage was at 1.85v, and whilst this didn't actually help in further overclocking it did help to increase the heat. Ram voltage as stated before was increased to 2.65v, again to increase the heat. Folding@Home and 3DMark2001 were used to heat the system up.

The aluminium sinks whilst getting quite warm to the touch didn't help in further increasing the overclock of the ram. The copper versions however did help in stabilising the overclock, producing a stable windows environment at 175 FSB. The thermal properties of copper are such that it can draw heat away very quickly indeed, but it also has a tendency to keep that heat. Aluminium on the other hand doesn't draw heat away as fast, but will disperse the heat a lot quicker then the aluminium. Using the ramsinks on the Southbridge of the motherboard didn't yield any increases in overclocking, but both the copper and the aluminium did obviously draw some heat away from the Southbridge as the sinks became warm to the touch.

Final Words

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CoolerMaster's ramsinks may not be all that big on aesthetics (especially in the case of the CRC-U01) but there small size and simple installation makes for a quick and easy cooling aid. There small size also makes for a varied application appeal with you being able to place these sinks in teams of 2 or more that other larger sinks might not be able to fit. The double sided thermal tape makes installation a simple peel and stick affair that can be done in seconds.

Overclocking results were nothing to write home about (especially in the case of the ARC-U01) but as with anything like this, mileage will vary. I've no doubt that both actually draw heat away from the items there used in conjunction with, a simple touch test confirms that, so even if your overclocking results are not fantastic they may help to extend the life of components that might otherwise be shortened by heat. But in my tests, the ARC-U01 didn't actually do anything at all to help with overclocking. The CRC-U01 produced an extra 7 MHz increase with the FSB going from 174 Stable to 175 Stable. Big thanks to CoolerMaster for once again providing us with the review samples.

Pros
Will help in passively cooling your components
Small size makes for more varied use
The CRC-U01 may help squeeze a few extra MHz from your machine

Cons
Not all that much help
Copper sinks not as well manufactured as the aluminium

Bottom Line
If aesthetics are big on your list, these sinks are not for you. They are designed to be functional above looks and the copper sinks may help in that department. The aluminium sinks look better and perform less under overclocking.

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