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Home » Cooler Master V8 GTS CPU Cooler Review

Cooler Master V8 GTS CPU Cooler Review

[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

Cooler Master launched today the V8 GTS, a CPU cooler with three heatsinks, eight 6 mm heatpipes, two 140 mm fans, and a vapor chamber. Let’s see if these incredible characteristics really bring an incredible cooling performance.

Figure 1 shows the box of the Cooler Master V8 GTS.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 1: Package

Figure 2 shows the contents of the box: the cooler itself, a small syringe of thermal compound, the manual, a Y-harness to connect the fans, and installation hardware.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 2: Accessories

Figure 3 displays the Cooler Master V8 GTS.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 3: Cooler Master V8 GTS

This cooler is discussed in detail in the following pages.

[nextpage title=”The Cooler Master V8 GTS”]

Figure 4 illustrates the front of the heatsink. There is a smaller heatsink in front of the fan, connected to the base by two heatpipes. There is an identical heatsink on the rear of the cooler.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 4: Front view

Figure 5 reveals the side of the cooler. Notice that the fans are attached to a holder that fits over the central heatsink.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 5: Side view

The top of the cooler is visible in Figure 6, where the black plastic “armor” is all you can see.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 6: Top view

Figure 7 shows the heatpipes at the base of the cooler. The four heatpipes at the center connect to the central heatsink, while both heatpipes at the edges connect to one of the smaller heatsinks.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 7: Heatpipes

[nextpage title=”The Cooler Master V8 GTS (Cont’d)”]

Figure 8 shows the base of the cooler. This base is actually a horizontal vapor chamber that works the same way as a heatpipe, having a phase-change fluid that absorbs heat from the side that is in contact to the CPU and releases it in the upper side, where the heatpipes are welded. The point of this chamber is to equally distribute the heat among the eight heatpipes.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 8: Base

Unfastening two screws at the top of the cooler, you can remove the plastic armor with the fans. The heatsink without them can be seen in Figure 9.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 9: Heatsinks

Figure 10 reveals the 140 mm PWN fans (model A14025-16CB-4FBP-F1, 1,600 rpm, 82 cfm, 36 dBA, 3.72 W) that come with the V8 GTS. They are partially transparent and have red LEDs.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 10: Fans

[nextpage title=”Installation”]

Figure 11 shows the backplate for use with AMD processors (at the left) and the one for Intel sockets LGA775, LGA 1150, LGA 1155, LGA 1156, and LGA1366 CPUs (at the right). Socket LGA2011 systems will use the stock mounting system.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 11: Backplates

The first step of the installation is to fasten two holders at the base of the cooler. Figure 12 shows the clips for use with Intel CPUs installed.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 12: Holders installed at base

Then, place the backplate on the solder side of the motherboard, and install four spacers (shown in Figure 13) on the component side.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 13: Spacers

Finally, put the cooler over the CPU and hold it in with four nuts. Fastening the nuts is not easy because they are hard to reach, especially if your motherboard is already installed in the case.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 14: Cooler installed

Figure 14 shows the V8 GTS in action. Besides the red LEDs in the fans, there is also a set of LEDs in the plastic cover, with a nice looking result.

Cooler Master V8 GTSFigure 15: LEDs lit

[nextpage title=”How We Tested”]

We tested the cooler with a Core i5-2500K CPU (quad-core, 3.3 GHz), which is a socket LGA1155 processor with a 95 W TDP (Thermal Design Power). In order to get higher thermal dissipation, we overclocked it to 4.0 GHz (100 MHz base clock and x40 multiplier), with 1.3 V core voltage (Vcore). This CPU was able to reach 4.8 GHz with its default core voltage, but at this setting, the processor enters thermal throttling when using mainstream coolers, reducing the clock and thus the thermal dissipation. This could interfere with the temperature readings, so we chose to maintain a moderate overclocking.

We measured noise and temperature with the CPU under full load. In order to get 100% CPU usage in all cores, we ran Prime 95 25.11 with the “In-place Large FFTs” option. (In this version, the software uses all available threads.)

We compared the tested cooler to other coolers we already tested, and to the stock cooler that comes with the Core i5-2500K CPU. Note that the results cannot be compared to measures taken on a different hardware configuration, so we retested some “old” coolers with this new methodology. This means you can find different values in older reviews than the values you will read on the next page. Every cooler was tested with the thermal compound that comes with it.

Room temperature measurements were taken with a digital thermometer. The core temperature was read with the SpeedFan program (available from the CPU thermal sensors), using an arithmetic average of the core temperature readings.

During the tests, the panels of the computer case were closed. The front and rear case fans were spinning at minimum speed in order to simulate the “normal” cooler use on a well-ventilated case. We assume that is the common setup used by a cooling enthusiast or overclocker.

The sound pressure level (SPL) was measured with a digital noise meter, with its sensor placed near the top opening of the case. This measurement is only for comparison purposes, because a precise SPL measurement needs to be made inside an acoustically insulated room with no other noise sources, which is not the case here.

Hardware Configuration

  • Processor: Core i5-2500K
  • Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z
  • Memory: 16 GB G.Skill Sniper (DDR3-1600/PC3-12800), configured at 1,600 MHz
  • Hard disk: Seagate Barracuda XT 2 TB
  • Video card: MSI GeForce GT 210 1 GB
  • Video resolution: 1920×1080
  • Video monitor: Samsung SyncMaster P2470HN
  • Power supply: Seventeam ST-550P-AM
  • Case: Cooler Master HAF 922

Operating System Configuration

  • Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit SP1

Software Used

  • Prime95
  • SpeedFan

Error Margin

We adopted a 2°C error margin, meaning temperature differences below 2°C are considered irrelevant.

[nextpage title=”Our Tests”]

The table below presents the results of our measurements. We repeated the same test on all coolers listed below. Each measurement was taken with the CPU at full load. In the models with a fan supporting PWM, the motherboard controlled the fan speed according to core load and temperature. On coolers with an integrated fan controller, the fan was set at the full speed.

Cooler Room Temp. Noise Speed Core Temp. Temp. Diff.
Intel stock cooler 18 °C 41 dBA 2000 rpm 97 °C 79 °C
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 18 °C 50 dBA 2850 rpm 69 ºC 51 °C
Corsair A70 23 °C 51 dBA 2000 rpm 66 ºC 43 °C
Corsair H100 26 °C 62 dBA 2000 rpm 64 ºC 38 °C
EVGA Superclock 26 °C 57 dBA 2550 rpm 67 ºC 41 °C
NZXT HAVIK 140 20 °C 46 dBA 1250 rpm 65 ºC 45 °C
Thermalright True Spirit 120 26 °C 42 dBA 1500 rpm 82 °C 56 °C
Zalman CNPS12X 26 °C 43 dBA 1200 rpm 71 °C 45 °C
Zalman CNPS9900 Max 20 °C 51 dBA 1700 rpm 62 °C 42 °C
Titan Fenrir Siberia Edition 22 °C 50 dBA 2400 rpm 65 °C 43 °C
SilenX EFZ-120HA5 18 °C 44 dBA 1500 rpm 70 °C 52 °C
Noctua NH-L12 20 °C 44 dBA 1450 rpm 70 °C 50 °C
Zalman CNPS8900 Extreme 21 °C 53 dBA 2550 rpm 71 °C 50 °C
Gamer Storm Assassin 15 °C 48 dBA 1450 rpm 58 °C 43 °C
Deepcool Gammaxx 400 15 °C 44 dBA 1500 rpm 60 °C 45 °C
Cooler Master TPC 812 23 °C 51 dBA 2350 rpm 66 °C 43 °C
Deepcool Gammaxx 300 18 °C 43 dBA 1650 rpm 74 °C 56 °C
Intel stock cooler 18 °C 41 dBA 2000 rpm 97 °C 79 °C
Xigmatek Praeton 19 °C 52 dBA 2900 rpm 83 °C 64 °C
Noctua NH-U12P SE2 18 °C 42 dBA 1300 rpm 69 °C 51 °C
Deepcool Frostwin 24 °C 46 dBA 1650 rpm 78 °C 54 °C
Thermaltake Frio Advanced 13 °C 56 dBA 2000 rpm 62 °C 49 °C
Xigmatek Dark Knight Night Hawk Edition 9 °C 48 dBA 2100 rpm 53 °C 44 °C
Thermaltake Frio Extreme 21 °C 53 dBA 1750 rpm 59 °C 38 °C
Noctua NH-U9B SE2 12 °C 44 dBA 1700 rpm 64 °C 52 °C
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Pro 15 °C 54 dBA 2000 rpm 52 °C 37 °C
Deepcool Fiend Shark 18 °C 45 dBA 1500 rpm 74 °C 56 °C
Arctic Freezer i30 13 °C 42 dBA 1350 rpm 63 °C 50 °C
Spire TME III 8 °C 46 dBA 1700 rpm 70 °C 62 °C
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Performer 11 °C 54 dBA 2000 rpm 49 °C 38 °C
Arctic Alpine 11 PLUS 11 °C 45 dBA 2000 rpm 82 °C 71 °C
be quiet! Dark Rock 2 10 °C 41 dBA 1300 rpm 58 °C 48 °C
Phanteks PH-TC14CS 16 °C 47 dBA 1300 rpm 58 °C 42 °C
Phanteks PH-TC14PE 16 °C 48 dBA 1300 rpm 57 °C 41 °C
SilverStone HE01 (Q) 19 °C 44 dBA 1150 rpm 63 °C 44 °C
SilverStone HE01 (P) 20 °C 57 dBA 2050 rpm 62 °C 42 °C
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Extreme (S) 17 °C 44 dBA 1250 rpm 52 °C 35 °C
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Extreme (E) 17 °C 53 dBA 1900 rpm 50 °C 33 °C
Deepcool Neptwin 11 °C 46 dBA 1500 rpm 56 °C 45 °C
SilverStone HE02 19 °C 49 dBA 2000 rpm 64 °C 45 °C
Zalman CNPS9900DF 23 °C 45 dBA 1400 rpm 68 °C 45 °C
Deepcool ICE BLADE PRO V2.0 22 °C 43 dBA 1500 rpm 67 °C 45 °C
Phanteks PH-TC90LS 24 °C 47 dBA 2600 rpm 95 °C 71 °C
Rosewill AIOLOS 20 °C 40 dBA 1600 rpm 94 °C 74 °C
Corsair H60 20 °C 49 dBA 2000 rpm 64 °C 44 °C
Zalman LQ310 27 °C 51 dBA 2050 rpm 65 °C 38 °C
Noctua NH-L9i 24 °C 44 dBA 2500 rpm 95 °C 71 °C
NZXT Respire T40 20 °C 45 dBA 1850 rpm 76 °C 56 °C
NZXT Respire T20 21 °C 45 dBA 1900 rpm 77 °C 56 °C
Zalman LQ315 20 °C 52 dBA 1950 rpm 57 °C 37 °C
Corsair H80i (Quiet) 19 °C 44 dBA 1100 rpm 61 °C 42 °C
Corsair H80i (Maximum) 19 °C 57 dBA 2500 rpm 55 °C 36 °C
NZXT Kraken X40 (Silent) 25 °C 44 dBA 1050 rpm 66 °C 41 °C
NZXT Kraken X40 (Extreme) 25 °C 53 dBA 1650 rpm 62 °C 37 °C
Zalman LQ320 20 °C 52 dBA 2100 rpm 57 °C 37 °C
Corsair H100i (Quiet) 22 °C 45 dBA 1150 rpm 58 °C 36 °C
Corsair H100i (Maximum) 22 °C 61 dBA 2500 rpm 54 °C 32 °C
NZXT Kraken X60 (Silent) 26 °C 46 dBA 1000 rpm 62 °C 36 °C
NZXT Kraken X60 (Extreme) 26 °C 60 dBA 1650 rpm 60 °C 34 °C
Prolimatech Genesis Black Series 25 °C 46 dBA 1150 rpm 69 °C 44 °C
Phanteks PH-TC12DX 25 °C 51 dBA 1850 rpm 74 °C 49 °C
Corsair H90 23 °C 51 dBA 1550 rpm 61 °C 38 °C
Corsair H110 27 °C 58 dBA 1500 rpm 60 °C 33 °C
Evercool Venti 23 °C 49 dBA 2250 rpm 72 °C 49 °C
Thermalright Archon SB-E X2 22 °C 45 dBA 1400 rpm 68 °C 46 °C
Scythe Kabuto II 20 °C 41 dBA 1450 rpm 67 °C 47 °C
Prolimatech Megahalems Red Series 20 °C 51 dBA 1500 rpm 63 °C 43 °C
Zalman FX100 (fanless) 18 °C NA NA 98 °C 80 °C
Zalman FX100 (92 mm fan) 18 °C 50 dBA 2850 rpm 69 °C 51 °C
Gelid The Black Edition 21 °C 45 dBA 1650 rpm 66 °C 45 °C
Thermalright AXP-100 22 °C 42 dBA 2400 rpm 76 °C 54 °C
SilverStone NT06-PRO 19 °C 50 dBA 2400 rpm 72 °C 53 °C
SilverStone AR01 11 °C 46 dBA 2150 rpm 53 °C 42 °C
Cooler Master Seidon 120M 16 °C 52 dBA 2300 rpm 58 °C 42 °C
Enermax ETS-T40-White Cluster 16 °C 50 dBA 2200 rpm 63 °C 47 °C
Cooler Master Seidon 120XL 17 °C 54 dBA 2250 rpm 55 °C 38 °C
Cooler Master Seidon 240M 13 °C 59 dBA 2200 rpm 49 °C 36 °C
SilverStone AR02 9 °C 46 dBA 2800 rpm 60 °C 51 °C
Cooler Master V8 GTS 10 °C 51 dBA 1650 rpm 54 °C 44 °C

In the graph below, you can see how many degrees Celsius hotter the CPU core is than the air outside the case. The lower this difference, the better is the performance of the cooler.

Cooler Master V8 GTS

In the graph below, you can see how many decibels of noise each cooler makes.

 Cooler Master V8 GTS

[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]

The main specifications for the Cooler Master V8 GTS CPU cooler include:

  • Application: Sockets AM2(+), AM3(+), FM1, FM2, LGA775, LGA 1150, LGA1155, LGA1156, LGA1366, and LGA2011
  • Dimensions: 6.1 x 5.9 x 6.6 inches (154 x 149.8 x 166.5 mm) (W x L x H)
  • Fins: Aluminum
  • Base: Vapor chamber
  • Heat-pipes: Eight 6 mm heatpipes
  • Fans: Two, 140 mm
  • Nominal fan speed: 1,600 rpm
  • Fan air flow: 82 cfm
  • Power consumption: 2 x 3.72 W
  • Nominal noise level: 36 dBA
  • Weight: 2.4 lb (1.07 kg)
  • More information: https://www.coolermaster.com
  • MSRP in the U.S.: USD 100.00

[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]

The Cooler Master V8 GTS is really impressive. Its specifications are amazing: three heatsinks, two 140 mm fans, eight heatpipes, and a vapor chamber base. It also looks impressive, with the black “armor” and red LEDs everywhere.

But the cooling performance in our tests was a little disappointing. Not that it performs badly; it actually performed as well as the best air coolers we tested so far. But its design is so very innovative and audacious, that we were expecting an out-of-this-world cooling performance.

With these results, as well as the numbers we saw in the Cooler Master TPC 812, we have a feeling that vapor chamber technology brings no real-world performance gain to CPU coolers, since models with a much simpler design, such as the SilverStone AR01 and EVGA Superclock, reached slightly better results.

Anyway, the Cooler Master V8 GTS CPU cooler is a great product, with a stunning look and excellent performance, so it received the Hardware Secrets Golden Award.

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