HardwareCanucks reviews the Cooler Master V6 GT...and it's really good

[Baron_Davis]

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...er-review.html

I want one...and I've never wanted a Cooler Master heatsink before.

[tbone8ty]

guru3d.com didn't like it at all.

First off, the mounting system is just dreadful. You need a handful of components to mount the cooler making it the most user-unfriendly cooler I have ever seated onto a motherboard. The motherboard will need to come out 100% as you'll be flipping and tossing it around to get the mounting brackets secured. With two hands this is a near impossible job, two persons for installtion are recommended, yep. Seriously, we have seen this more often with Cooler Master cooling mounts, with some models being the worst designs in the business when it comes to an innovative workable mounting solution for the end-user. I really dislike the installation process of this cooler and just wonder why a company who makes excellence in all its ways continuously messes up the cooling mounts.

Then there is noise. The amount of noise the fans create when the CPU starts to heat up is rather high. With the CPU at default and the motherboard automatically regulating FAN RPM we reached roughly 47~48 dBA, and to translate that into understandable terms, that's as loud as a GeForce GTX 480 fully stressed. Now, in idle the fan rotation will go down, but it remains at a noise level that I find somewhat atrocious. My tip: To compensate for the noise levels use a fan controller or set your BIOS at, say, 50% RPM maximum. Only then will the noise levels calm down, at the cost of some performance of course.

Design wise we also have to admit that Cooler Master did some funky stuff with the two fans, V-shaped heatpipe array and the LED on top of the cooler. It would have been nice to see some sort of fan-control function applied to that button/LED combo though, as that is really what I feel to be lacking on this product. I mean, it is competing with the more expensive 10X series from Zalman, which are cheaper, perform roughly equal and are more silent and come with a controller on the top of the line models.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/cooler...6-gt-review/10

[labs23]

guru3d.com didn't like it at all.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/cooler...6-gt-review/10

Yeah one thing I noticed from the Guru3D review is how noisy that cooler can be.
Nothing seems special aside from the neat fan-holders and that LED bling, hmmm V - heatpipe array???
And I doubt all can use two fans config, looks bulky already.

[Baron_Davis]

guru3d.com didn't like it at all.



http://www.guru3d.com/article/cooler...6-gt-review/10

I value HC a LOT more than I do Guru3D, but that's not saying much in this case, since I don't really value Guru3D at all.

Anyway, people can trust who they want. To ME, it seems like a good cooler.

[RaZz!]

computerbase did a 11 pages long review as well:
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/g...bschnitt_fazit

google translation: http://translate.google.de/translate...n&hl=&ie=UTF-8

conclusion: the v6 gt couldn't convince them as well. too much unnecessary plastic, insufficient raw performance, noisy fan.

[Baron_Davis]

Here's Linus' unboxing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuwpWGmDLsE

He runs it towards the end of the video...it's really not that loud...

Also, I found his comment about it not being as loud when turned a certain way. More manufacturers should start using this shroud/funnel style system on their heatsinks. That way, the sound is directed towards the back of the PC, and not as much escapes in all directions. The shroud also increases static pressure. Anyway, I'm not being a fanboy or anything, as I said I've never been a fan of Cooler Master's heatsinks, but I thought this was a pretty good product. Sure it's not as elite as Thermalright or Prolimatech and they don't use Scythe GT's or Delta's or whatever. I mean, everyone has their preferences, and I def realize that this heatsink will be looked down upon by MANY hardware elitists/snobs, and that's fine. I have a lapped TRUE with Scythe S-Flex F's, so it's not like I don't know where this crowd is coming from. I just don't think it's right to hate on a product from a not so "elite" manufacturer (although Coolermaster has made plenty of nice cases) just cause it doesn't look like a million bucks. The performance is there...

[El Mano]

In the end, loudness is subjective and very case-dependant.
My CM Sniper case is so loud with its 20cm fans that I wouldn't notice at all, for example.

[HelixPC]

CM needs better mounting system. What they use now is garbage.

[Fitseries3]

i'll have my review of it up soon. www.techpowerup.com

great cooler but is lacking in the mounting department.

its very similar to the TT frio in many ways but has the unique heat pipe arrangement that provides better cooling.

its comparable to twin tower coolers in my collection.

[SKYMTL]

Interesting. I have one here and I have had to do with FAR worse mounting systems in my time. And while the plastic may not be for all, I think it looks quite good.

[Fitseries3]

Interesting. I have one here and I have had to do with FAR worse mounting systems in my time. And while the plastic may not be for all, I think it looks quite good.

yes... i dont agree with guru3d... there are far worse mounting systems as you said... and i feel the same way.

the thing is, that mount is same as many older CM coolers. while it does its job perfectly fine, it mounts from the back side of the motherboard which requires you to remove the board from the case in many cases that people have. i realize that many new cases have access to the backside of the mobo while the board is mounted in the case but many many people like it when you can mount/unmount the cooler from the front side of the mobo.

the LED light up top of the cooler is something that can be seen as a pro and a con. some people will love it and others will hate it. its good that it can be turned off and you have option to select color.

the fact that it has 2 included fans for push pull operation is an excellent feature and to add to that, they are both 4pin pwm controlled and include a 4pin Y splitter. out of all the coolers i have reviewed this is the first i've seen with that. both fans can be adjusted from ~800rpm(~34cfm) to ~2200rpm(~93cfm) per fan while ranging 14-37 in my my measuring.

its got lots of solid features and scores very well in my testing of the unit. i'll let the review do the rest of the talking though

[hotdun]

These pipes are literally laid out so that as the air is pushed into the fin array it is forced together in the center before being sucked out the other side. This means the air hangs around longer than it normally would (and thus absorb more heat) which also leads to less “leakage” out the side of the fin array.

Wow, talk about misleading information

[saaya]

hmmm michael, so with a single fan you have it beating a venemous X and megahalems by almost 10C? 0_o
or are you comparing single vs dual fans there?
and with two noctua fans it does about the same as a venemnous x and megahalems? im confused about all those results...

i doubt cm wanted this to be the best heatsink out there, its for people who want a bit more bling and style...
and it looks like its very close to the top heatsinks out there...

but yeah personally i dont like the plastic shroud either...
too bad it cant be removed easily as the black paintjob def looks stylish...

[570091D]

Wow, talk about misleading information

it's worded incorrectly, but the fin structure and the pipe array are designed to promote turbulence, which increases cooling efficiency.

[RVWinkle]

It always takes me an extra 10 minutes to install CM heatsinks because of their crazy reverse threaded screws. My brain just can't compute turning the screwdriver the opposite way.

[Baron_Davis]

hmmm michael, so with a single fan you have it beating a venemous X and megahalems by almost 10C? 0_o
or are you comparing single vs dual fans there?
and with two noctua fans it does about the same as a venemnous x and megahalems? im confused about all those results...

i doubt cm wanted this to be the best heatsink out there, its for people who want a bit more bling and style...
and it looks like its very close to the top heatsinks out there...

but yeah personally i dont like the plastic shroud either...
too bad it cant be removed easily as the black paintjob def looks stylish...

It took me a while to get used to this too. When you see (stock), it's the heatsink using it's default fans. If you wanna see how it compares to the other coolers using the exact same fan (the one specified above), then check out where it just says Cooler Master V6GT (NO "(stock fan)" beside it).

So like...in this pic:



Using the same Scythe G fan, the V6GT is at 73.6, while the Megahalems is at 73.5, while the V6GT using it's stock fans is at 69.1

[amdsempron_xs]

Its mounting mechanism is way better. I had bad experience when mounting Z600 onto E6300

[Zloyd]

The specs on the fans are pretty impressive. Im not sure but I think those are some of the most powerful fans that come with a heatsink as stock fans ? But again I have also heard that CM fans have very dodgy official specs.

[halfwaythere]

Throwing a bunch of results on a chart without proper explanation is the same as every other non relevant piece of test out there. I honestly don't get whats the purpose of putting the stock result on every chart aside from confusing already confused folks. And 3.8Ghz on a Bloomfield can be obtained with anything from 1.1v to 1.5v.

I don't think I've seen a poorly performing heatsink in a HC review recently. There are a couple of reasons for that: all of the products they've tested are great, doubtful, or their methodology doesn't allow for proper product separation.

[saaya]

It took me a while to get used to this too. When you see (stock), it's the heatsink using it's default fans. If you wanna see how it compares to the other coolers using the exact same fan (the one specified above), then check out where it just says Cooler Master V6GT (NO "(stock fan)" beside it).

So like...in this pic:



Using the same Scythe G fan, the V6GT is at 73.6, while the Megahalems is at 73.5, while the V6GT using it's stock fans is at 69.1

but then that means on the other graphs its 2 fans vs one... that doesnt make any sense
whats the point of that test?

so in the end the v6 GT does the same as the venemous x and megahalems, at least in this setup, so thats good... nothing amazing, but like i said i dont think thats what cm wanted... if they would have wanted max perf they wouldnt have painted the heatsink as that reduces efficiency...

how do the prices compare?

[Baron_Davis]

but then that means on the other graphs its 2 fans vs one... that doesnt make any sense
whats the point of that test?

That is correct...in the 1 fan tests, the GT's stock 2 fan setup is compared to 1 fan setups. It's just the way they do their reviews.

[Johnny87au]

chart looks very wrong, cant be that good compare to the other coolers!

[jmke]

why not? What special sauce has the venom, megahalems and others?
in the end it's a couple of heatpipes with a series of aluminum fins;
there's only so much different ways one can change that formula and remaining in the size & weight restrictions of ATX motherboards & cases;

[halfwaythere]

There'e general build quality, ie soldered fins to heatpipes, the quality of the solder where the heatspipes meet the base, fin thickness, base quality and this is a big one because the way i7 cpus are a perfectly flat base is 90% of the times worse than a convex one and finally the heatpipes themselves. So far only Noctua and Prolima seem to understand this issues and the sample variation between their products is minimal.

Small differences come from even smaller details.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

Interesting. Who do you believe? If you get passed the name branding and just call each CPU cooler by a letter, people might just say, "Oh, G is better than X, Y, T, and C." People need to ignore that, unless they have tested G, X, and T, then they can actually say so... or all the other reviews point in the other direction.

As for a 10 degree difference......... NO WAY. How can it remove THAT much more heat?