DJZeratul

Alright guys I just got my Vendetta 2 today, 38 dollars shipped off Buy.com (using the google checkout 10 dollar discount coupon).

Those are some pretty big heatpipes!


In case you were wondering about the efficacy of the push pin system, here is a picture of the pin in detail. Its a heck of a lot beefier than the standard intel stock cooler's push pins, with a much beefier latching mechanism and pin width.


Here's a pic of the underside of the cooler with the exposed heatpipes on the bottom coming directly into contact with the heat spreader.


This is the fan side of the cooler, with the indentations to make the air generate turbulence, which is a big part of why the TRUE was such a good cooler for such a long time.


Here is a close up of the exposed heat pipes


This is what the anti-vibration rubber fan pins look like when they are FULLY INSERTED. If you are considering getting one of these coolers, you have to make sure you pull these things pretty darn hard in order to get them to seat properly. It feels like they are going to break, but they can take a lot of force.


If you've only pressed them in this far, the fan is gonna fall off.


Here's the fan with all the pins properly seated.


After you throw the fan on, just screw the push pin assemblies to the bottom like this:


Ready to install!
[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2302/2415795410_c7cbd2d55a.jpg?v=0[/img[

Heres a pic of my Zalman cnps9700 inside the styrofoam packing for a size comparison. As you can see, its about the same size, just square instead of round. You can also see that after a month of not spraying canned air on my 9700, there is a thick layer of dust on the copper fins! Gross! Also, the fan included with the Vendetta 2 is 120mm instead of the 92mm fan on the 9700.


Finally, here's the end result when all pins are pushed in:


A close up of how close the push pin assembly comes to the LGA775 platform socket:


When you push the pins in, make sure to listen for that characteristic "snap", no, not the snap if the IHS cracking the die! But the snap of the pins becoming fully engaged. You can make sure by doing a visual inspection around the socket, but it can be hard to see because the heatsink is so big! Heres what it SHOULD look like:


Hope this helps with any questions people were having about the Vendetta 2. After 4 hours of testing, I have seen a drop of 10-12 Degrees C on average (from 72C on the 9700 @ 2000RPM to 60C on the Vendetta 2, @ 1400 RPM, ambient room temps of about 25-26C) on 100% load at 3.5 GHz. Also, the core temp fluctuation is much less than on the Zalman. The Zalman posted up at 72, 73, 68, 69 on a 100% load OCCT test. The Vendetta 2 posted up 60, 60, 58, 58, only spiking a few times. I will post the OCCT graphs for my latest 1 hour stress test as soon as its done. All in all, pretty impressive! But the CNPS9700 is really not a decent cooler for the quads when you OC them. I think this cooler surpasses the TRUE in all shapes and forms.

__________________

DuRoc

Very good write up man. I like the looks of it and sounds like it is pretty efficient. May have to give it a try sometime. Especially nice for those not wanting to remove their Mobo's, or not wanting to mount a 27lb cooler like the Tuniq. Temps seem very close to what I get on a Tuniq with about the same ambients.

rx7racer

Nice little work log man, Have been hearing some good things about this cooler and all the others with the direct touch heatpipe technology.

onlycodered

Glad to hear good reports about this cooler. I may just have to get the Vendetta 2 instead of the Xigmatek one.

__________________

afzsom

A good writeup with nice detailed pictures. I like!

It was all great until your very last sentence...

How can you make such a claim if you've never personally tested the Ultra 120 Extreme. Leave it out of this equation unless you test it yourself.

Otherwise, it's a good read.

__________________
Watercooling Loop: MCP655 Vario -> Black Ice GTX360 -> Stinger Diamond Max -> Heatkiller GPU-X² -> MicroRes

Best. Thread. Ever. || C1E/EIST/SpeedStep Fix || Undervolt and Overclock your CPU! || GPU-Z Benchmark Settings || GPU-Z Stock Settings || Lian Li Owner's Showcase || Lian Li Group

poohball

I really don't think vendetta can beat True...the vendetta 2 is basically a xigmatek S1283 with different fin looking. it means best case it will match only.

DJZeratul

Well, the word think kind of signifies that its an opinion. I didn't outright make the claim that this cooler beats the TRUE, obviously, because I don't have the data to do so. Perhaps later on I can get a TRUE for my other quad rig so I can test my theory.

Also, another thing... the stock fan operates at about 800 RPM (approx 22.5 CFM) when my CPU is at idle, and fluctuates from 1400-1600 at load, which I think equates to about 48-54 CFM (if my calculations are correct). Most people throw Silverstone or Delta 118+ CFM fans onto their TRUE's to get max airflow. I believe my temps would change significantly if I mount a more powerful fan than the stock one. I may end up throwing the white silverstone fan I have on my rear exhaust onto the Vendetta 2 to see how big of a difference it makes.

__________________

thecool85

Will you be leaving it at 3.5 or are you gonna try to go higher? What do you think about lapping? Is it worth it with these types of heat sinks?

DJZeratul

I am up to 3.6 now stable for 24 hours. I had to raise my vCore to like 1.45, though, so Im kind of wondering if its a good idea just to back off to 3.4 for daily use.

Lapping seems like it would help on these coolers to get less of a rough surface, but I think you have to be really careful because the heatpipes are already flattened and ground down, so they are really thin. If you lap them too much you risk the fluid coming out of the bottom when you sand a hole into the pipes

__________________