Background:
I used to have quite the Thermalright city but have been slowly dismantling it as it became less practical. My x48 doesn't put out as much heat as my old 680i hence the lack of need for the HR-05 SLI/IFXs. CrossFire also made my HR-03GTs impractical, so those ended up being set aside as well. Recently, I simply decided to sell all my Thermalright gear as a package and start fresh. Enter the new Megahalem (or Megatron as I like to call it)
Objective/Hypothesis:
Back when the TRUE was king, I used to inform people of the IFX-14 as a quieter solution. I believed that the fins being divided into two towers allowed for efficient use of two low CFM/dba 120x25s - unlike the TRUE. Now that I have a Megatron and IFX-14, I'd like to see how the new Megahalem heatsink stacks up against the Thermalright IFX-14 at both high airflow/CFM/dba operation and silent operation...
My prediction is that the Megahalem will have a higher cooling capacity, but will lag behind the IFX-14 when quiet operation of low CFM 120x25s is desired:
Method of Testing:
Both coolers will be lapped flat. Shin Itsu g-751 paste will be used, with spread of thermalpaste checked to ensure proper seating. Ambient temps will be monitored and kept within 1C all throughout. Heat output will be at 200W (Q6600 @ 3.6GHz w/ 1.48v) for all tests. Testing will be conducted in two phases: High CFM/high static pressure (two Delta 12ME 120x38s) and silent operation (two antec tricool 120x25s on medium). Graphs of min/max/avg temp of cores after 10 minutes of Prime95 smallFTTs will be provided.
Comparison Shots/Spread Test/Fans:
Just thought I would show the size difference and the lapping jobs. The IFX-14 and Q6600 were already lapped, but I decided to give them a touch up as well. As you can see, the IFX-14 has a wee bit more girth and larger heatpipes, but the Megahalem has 2 extra heatpipes. The fans being used for the test are two Antec Tricools on Medium (for Quiet Operation) and two Delta Electronics WFB1212MEs full blast (for High Speed Operation). Also pictured is the spread test to ensure that my method of application was up to par.
Quiet Operation: two Antec Tricools on Medium
IFX-14:
Megahalem:
Extreme Operation: Two Delta WFB1212MEs
IFX-14:
Megahalem:
Analysis:
I was rather surprised by the tests. The results for both coolers were practically identical. The silent test yielded identical results while the Megahalem pulled ahead by a single C in the extreme CFM test, but that's well within the margin of error. The similar results can probably be attributed to the IFX-14's larger overall surface area and it's heatpipes being individually larger than the Megahalems' (giving it similar performance despite having 2 less heatpipes)
Given the trend, higher load would have probably shown the Megahalem to be more capable while any less CFM would have probably allowed the IFX-14 to pull ahead.... but quieter than antec tricools on medium is really only meant for those who want their computers inaudible.
It should be noted that in my testing, the Megahalem was actually more audible, especially with the 120x38s which emitted a whining noise. This is probably due to the IFX-14 having been in push/push while the Megahalem was in push/pull...
The Verdict:
Given the similar pricing of both coolers at $59.95+shipping (on jab-tech at least) - I would definitely suggest the Megahalem for those who plan to go all out with high speed 120x38(s). However, for those into silent computing, the IFX-14 has the ability to do push/push configuration (quieter than push/pull) with quiet 120x25s while still maintaining desirable temps
Edited by killa_concept - 5/3/09 at 1:56am
Your TRUE vs Megahalem sold me on what cooler to replace it with. Just thought I'd see if the IFX-14 can beat out the Megahalem (and thus the TRUE as well) at silent operation before I let it go...
