Performance
MSI P4N Diamond: Intel P4 3.73 Extreme Edition,
2 x 512MB Corsair TWINX PC5400 Pro, MSI 6800GT, 160GB Seagate
SATA 7200.7.
MSI K8N: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (Socket-939), 2 x 512MB
Corsair TWINX PC3200XL, MSI 6800GT, 160GB Seagate SATA 7200.7.
We'll be testing both AMD and Intel setups with
near identical hardware save the CPU and motherboard. The asetek
VapoChill Micro version in the results will be of the Extreme
Performance. Stock coolers from Intel and AMD were also thrown
into the mix for comparison, as well as our current air cooling
champ, the Thermaltake Big Typhoon, and a Koolance EXOS water
cooling unit (in mode 3 - performance). Arctic Silver 5 was the
thermal paste used for all the setups.
Prime95 was run for nine hours, with Folding
@ Home running in the background everyday for four days to
load the system and allow the thermal paste to even out. During
the actual tests, we ran SiSoft Sandra's CPU Burn for 15 minutes,
with Folding @ Home running in the background. Ambient room temperature
was maintained at 23°C/74°F.
The asetek VapoChill Micro placed second among our
coolers and first among the air coolers. The score wasn't too
far off the Koolance unit, which was quite a bit louder given
that we were running it at full speed. Compared to the air coolers,
the VapoChill Micro was the loudest of the bunch, but the tradeoff
was better performance. If noise is an issue, here are our results
with the other fans:
|
Low
Noise
|
High-End
|
Extreme
Performance
|
| AMD |
50
|
48
|
47
|
| Intel |
56
|
54
|
53
|
No surprises as the lowest fan speeds net the worst performance
but the noise levels were much lower. The High-End falls between
the two extremes of performance, but given the marginal increase
in performance compared to low, we would lean towards the low
noise fan or the Extreme Performance depending on your needs.
Final Words
asetek really put together a nice package in the VapoChill Micro.
Whether you're looking for a quiet solution, or a high-performance
one, an AMD setup, or an Intel one, they will have a kit for you.
The VapoChill Micro itself is a high quality product and the workmanship
really shows when working with it. On the flipside, the same can't
really be said for the fan shroud and CPU retention plates. The
plates look and feel like leftover pieces of sheet metal, but
at least they are sturdy. The fan shroud is not impressive at
all, and it's a shame asetek didn't use a stiffer plastic or maybe
thin aluminum instead.
One thing to point out for those using removable motherboard
trays, the cooler should be installed with the tray in place in
the case. On our Cooler Master Wave Master setup, we were unable
to slide the tray into place with the fully assembled unit in
place. Removing the fan shroud helped, but if your case is thinner
than usual, you will have problems. Also, any case with CPU fan
shrouds will have to have these removed as the VapoChill Micro
will almost certainly cause problems.
Otherwise, installation is a breeze, regardless of platform or
fan choices. Being an enthusiast oriented site, we'll never be
ones to tell you to skip on high performance coolers due to complicated
installation procedures, but in this case, the VapoChill Micro
is the fastest way to get a good performing cooler into your system.
On that note...
The performance is the real story, as the asetek VapoChill Micro
excelled in our testing, specifically when used with their Extreme
Performance fan. Yes, it is noisy, but if you want to sacrifice
a bit of cooling, by all means go for the Low Noise setup.
Pros: Excellent performance, extremely easy to setup.
Cons: Cheap looking fan shroud and CPU retention plates.
Bottom Line: It's not the best performing air cooler we've
used, but the ease of use and configuration options make the asetek
VapoChill Micro a winner in our books. Our only recommendation
for asetek is to replace their fan shroud with something that
mirrors the quality of the rest of the unit.
If
you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.
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