Cooler Master Vortex 752 CPU Cooler Review

[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

Today we tested the Cooler Master Vortex 752 CPU cooler, a value model with two copper heatpipes and a 92 mm fan. Lets see if it will perform well?

Vortex 752 is not sold into a box, but in a plastic blister that allows you to see the cooler.

Figure 1: Box.

Inside the package we found the cooler with a preinstalled fan, user manuals, installation hardware and a bag of white thermal compound.

Figure 2: Box contents.

In Figure 3 is a general view of the Vortex 752. It is a horizontal cooler, and the slots on the fan frame draw our attention.

Figure 3: Vortex 752.

[nextpage title=”Cooler Master Vortex 752″]

This cooler uses a horizontal aluminum fin heatsink design, connected to the base by two copper heatpipes. The fins over the base are full-height, from the base to the top.

Figure 4: Side view.

In a front view we can see the copper heatpipes in contact to the copper base, bringing heat to the top of the heatsink.

Figure 5: Front view.

In Figure 6 we have a rear view of the Vortex 752, where we can see the heatpipes tips. We also noticed the fan is attached to the heatsink using four rubber holders. On next page we will have a closer look at this system.

Figure 6: Rear view.

[nextpage title=”Cooler Master Vortex 752 (cont’d)”]

To remove the 92 mm fan you just need to pull it up, because the four rubber holders are just pressed into the fan holes. In Figure 7, you can see how the heatsink looks without a fan and what the holders look like. Putting the fan back in place, however, is a hard task, because the holders do not come through the holes easily.

Figure 7: Without fan.

Figure 8: Fan detail.

The cooler base is pure copper, but its finishing is not very smooth.

Figure 9: Base.

[nextpage title=”Installation”]

In Figure 11, you can see the clip used to install the Vortex 752 on AMD socket AM3, AM2+, AM2, 939 and 754 CPUs, as well as a spacer that must be used under the clip.

Figure 10: AMD CPUs clip.

In Figure 12 we can see the clips for socket LGA775 Intel CPUs install. In this case there is no backplate to be used on the solder side of the motherboard, but besides that you need to remove the motherboard from the case (unless it allows access to the backside of the motherboard) in order to put the nuts that hold the cooler on place. It is not a good design, because it is not practical and does not prevent motherboard bending.

Figure 11: Intel CPUs clips.

In Figure 13, you can see the Vortex 752 base with the socket LGA775 clips installed.

Figure 12: With socket LGA775 clips installed. 

 

In Figure 13 we can see the cooler installed on the motherboard.

 

Figure 13: Installed on motherboard.

Vortex 752 is a relatively low profile cooler and can be installed on slim cases, i.e., mid-tower cases with reduced width or even in some SFF cases.

Figure 14: Installed into case.

[nextpage title=”How We Tested”]

We are adopting the following metodology on our CPU cooler reviews.

First, we chose the CPU with the highest TDP (Thermal Design Power) we had available, a Core 2 Extreme QX6850, which has a 130 W TDP. The choice for a CPU with a high TDP is obvious. To measure the efficiency of the tested cooler, we need a processor that gets very hot. This CPU works by default at 3.0 GHz, but we overclocked it to 3.33 GHz, in order to heat it as much as possible.

We took noise and temperature measurements with the CPU idle and under full load. In order to achieve 100% CPU load on the four processing cores we ran Prime95 with the "In-place Large FFTs" option, and three instances of the StressCPU program, all at the same
time.

We also compared the reviewed cooler to the Intel stock cooler (with copper base), which comes with the processor we used, and also with some other coolers we have tested using the same methodology.

Temperature measurements were taken with a digital thermometer, with the sensor touching the base of the cooler, and also with the core temperature reading (given by the CPU thermal sensor) from the from the SpeedFan program, using an arithmetic average of the four core temperature readings.

The sound pressure level (SPL) was measured with a digital noise meter, with its sensor placed 4" (10 cm) from the fan. We turned off the video board cooler so it wouldn’t interfere with the results, but this measurement is only for comparative 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 2 Extreme QX6850
• Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45-UD3L
• Memory: 2 GB Corsair XMS2 DHX TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX G (DDR2-800/PC2-6400 with timings 4-4-4-12), running at 800 MHz
• Hard drive: 500 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 (ST3500320AS, SATA-300, 7200 rpm, 32 MB buffer)
• Video card: PNY Verto Geforce 9600 GT
• Video resolution: 1680×1050
• Video monitor: Samsung Syncmaster 2232BW Plus
• Power supply required: Seventeam ST-550P-AM
• Case: 3RSystem K100

Software Configuration

• Windows XP Professional installed on FAT32 partition
• Service Pack 3
• Intel Inf driver version: 8.3.1.1009
• NVIDIA video driver version: 182.08

Software Used

• Prime95
• StressCPU
• SpeedFan

Error Margin

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

[nextpage title=”Our Tests”]

On the tables below you can see our results. We ran the same tests with the Intel stock cooler, Thermaltake BigTyp 14Pro, Akasa Nero, Cooler Master V10, Thermaltake TMG IA1, Zalman CNPS10X Extreme, Thermaltake ISGC-100, Noctua NH-U12P, Noctua NH-C12P, Thermaltake ISGC-200, Scythe Kabuto, Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Pro, Thermaltake ISGC-300, SilverStone NT06-E, Zalman CNPS9700 NT,  Scythe Mugen-2, Thermaltake ISGC-400 and Cooler Master Vortex 752. Each test ran with the CPU idle and the with the CPU fully loaded. On BigTyp 14Pro, TMG IA1, NH-U12P and ISGC-300 the tests were done with the fan at full speed and at minimum speed. The other coolers were connected directly to the motherboard and it controls the fan speed based on CPU load level and temperature on PWM models. ISGC-400 was tested at minimum speed on idle test and at maximum speed on full load test.

On the graph below you can see the temperature difference between the cooler base and the room temperature with the CPU idle and fully loaded.  The values shown are in degrees Celsius. Remember that the lower the number the better the cooling performance.

The next graph will give you an idea on how many degrees Celsius the CPU core was hotter than room temperature during the tests.

[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]

Cooler Master Vortex 752 main features are:

• Application: Socket LGA775, AM3, AM2+, AM2, 939 and 754 processors.
• Fins: Aluminum.
• Base: Copper.
• Heat-pipes: Two copper heat-pipes.
• Fan: 92 mm.
• Nominal fan speed: 800 to 2,200 rpm.
• Fan air flow: not informed.
• Maximum power consumption: 2.88 W.
• Nominal noise level: 18 dBA.
• Weight: 0.68 lbs (308 g).
• More information: https://www.coolermaster-usa.com
• Average price in the US*: USD 21.50

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.