Thermalright Macho Rev.B

[testman78]

Introduction

Since its release in the summer of 2011,the Macho is undoubtedly the first choice for hardware enthusiasts who are looking for a very powerful and quiet CPU cooler.Now, the favorite Thermalright cooler of all times is available in a Special Edition for silent fans.True to its motto "innovate - don't imitate," Thermalright consequently improves on the original cooler concept and implements suggestions by their fan base.The result is a further optimized cooler which is not only improved in terms of its looks.The new Macho Rev.B is a standard tower cooler with six copper U-shaped 6 mm-thick heatpipes feeding heat to the aluminum fin array. Most of the unit is plated with black nickel, which mostly makes the unit look better than if left untreated, but also offers a little bit of protection from corrosion.The top fin of the stack is anodized black, and the entire construction is 162 mm tall.A special feature of the Macho Rev.B is the redesigned base plate of the heat sink.Like with the "IB-E" flagships Silver Arrow and Archon X2 it now is much larger (53 x 40 mm) and has been optimized for state-of-the-art multicore processors,like the new Intel Core i7 models.



For the introduction into the market,the cooler is bundled with a new 140mm low noise fan(TY-147A).Included is the universal mounting kit for all current AMD and Intel sockets.




Packaging & Bundle

The Thermalright comes in a green/black box with their logo,awards and a large faded image of the unit on both the front and back.



The specifications and features of the unit can be seen on the sides of the box.



Within the box sits a lot of hard foam which is protecting the cooler from any damage.It comes in two parts which break away from each other which makes it easier to gain access to the cooler.It also makes it easier to box up (should you ever want to get rid of it or relocate it) too.Oh, and for the record,I hate photographing white foam!



The Macho Rev.B also comes with a mounting kit that supports many AMD and Intel platforms, both current and obsolete.A universal mounting kit is included with the Macho Rev.B that supports all actual Intel- and AMD sockets (Intel LGA775/1366/1156/1155/2011/1150/2011-3 und AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/FM1/FM2/FM2+).According to my experience it is very typical for Thermalright to provide very extensive package content so the cooler can be compatible with every modern or even older socket and provide the best possible cooling performance.The package came with a Phillips head screwdriver stamped with Thermalright's name and logo,but it's of a surprisingly good quality so i had no shame using it.Also 2 x fan retention clips and a two grams of Chill Factor 3 TIM (Thermal Interface Material) are included.



Among other accessories i should mention installation manual.



Thermalright ships the Macho Rev.B with its new ultra-quiet TY-147A fan,which runs at 300 to 1300 RPM, hurls a breezy 28.3 to 73.6 CFM of air and produces up to 21dBA of noise.Seven Silent Torpedo Blades-"submerges", gives most quiet and efficient airflow.



Two Ball Bearing-to ensure consistent and stable rpm,prolonged lifetime of usage.



Aerodynamic body-Less friction around the edges and give more centered and concentrated airflow.




A Closer Look

The Macho Rev.B is a beast, measuring 162H x 140W x 102D mm without a fan and weighs 710g.



The Macho Rev.B is presented in a stylish "Black Nickel Design" and thus visually stands out from the "grey" average of CPU-coolers.The copper heatpipes and the mounting materials are black nickel plated as well and offer in conjunction with the black anodized top fin a very unique look.



Taking a look at the Macho Rev.B from the front,we can see all the heatpipes and their unique design coming from the contact plate.



The 31 fins are rather thin, only 0.4 mm thick on average, making them prone to bending, particularly at the corners.The fin spacing is very generous,about 3.12 mm, ideal for low airflow situations.Lots of testing has gone on in the Thermalright laboratory and the point behind these fins and holes are to direct airflow in a more channelled manor rather than having it go anywhere and everywhere.What this in turn provides is better cooling performance whilst still remaining completely silent at the same time.When the cooler is used in conjunction with the proprietary add-on kit that is supplied by Thermalright,there can be as much as a 10% improvement in the cooling performance of this cooler when used in passive modes.



From the top we can see those six 6mm heat pipes more closely.The big hole at the center acts a screwdriver access point for mounting the cooler.You can also see an extra set of fan clip holes on the other side should you wish to do push-pull, but unfortunately additional fan clips are not included with the product although they can be purchases separately for a few pounds.



Visible at the top are the "through holes",slits punched into every fin to increase ventilation.



The fin-stack is not centered over the base but rather pushed to one side.From this angle, you can also see the bottom design of the fins which contain the holes for the airflow channelling as mentioned previously.



A bit closer look at how the heatpipes come out from the contact plate and their unique design.An ultimate cooler would not be complete with no less than six heatpipes to carry heat away from the base and into the large surface area what is of course one of the key features of the Thermalright Macho Rev.B.The heatpipes are 6mm in diameter and they are,according to Thermalright,ideal for high TDP processors.



The "spaghetti junction" of heat pipes.They arranged in a U-shaped, zig-zag array which is divided into different sections of the fins stack ensures even distribution of heat out of the CPU.A look from the bottom shows the unique distribution of heatpipes spread into different sections of the fin stack.The heatpipes of the Macho Rev.B are designed to reduce clearance issues.



The heat pipes are soldered to the cooler's base, too.The base is machined flat coated with polished nickel.It is beautifully finished and makes very good contact with the CPU as a result of its flatness and smoothness.One of the things i like about Thermalright is that they always use a nice mirror-like finish on the C1100 pure-copper base used in their coolers.




Installation Process

Installing such a cooler is without doubt going to place strain on your motherboard if a mounting system is not designed properly. Luckily, Thermalright are good at designing them and I usually have no issues installing the mounting system at all.This one is another shining example and it went on without a hitch.It's simple enough if you follow the instructions,and even if you don't,it's easy to figure out.I'd obviously recommend that you do look at them so that there is little to no risk when installing this cooler but I will leave that down to your own and personal judgement.First of all, as with any mounting system like this one, is to install the backplate and screws which will ultimately hold the rest of the mounting in place.Once they are in the correct position,you can continue to install the remainder of the mounting system which first begins with four screw nuts with rubber washers on the bottom.You need to make sure that you install the washers in the correct place or you can more than likely kiss your motherboard goodbye.It's of utmost importance that you install this section correctly.



After that,it's a case of putting the plate in position and then securing it with four crews.A third hand is helpful here,since the offset of the heat sink's base means that it tends to tip over backwards until you secure the first screw.Now it's time to use the provided Philips-head screwdriver in order to mount the cpu cooler.The rear retaining screw is accessed through that hole in the top of the cooler.The front retaining screw is easy to get to with the fan removed.



The heatsink is raised up enough to not conflict with any motherboard heatsinks.




Installed-Memory Clearance

Amazingly there was 100% RAM compatibility due to the slanted nature of the CPU cooler.The image below shows how much clearance you will have from the DIMM slots.It's quite apparent that no modules on the face of the earth will ever be an issue.Top marks to Thermalright for this design innovation as it will be appreciated by consumers,no one wants to have to change their RAM heatsinks or RAM to use a CPU cooler and with the Thermalright Macho Rev.B you won't have to.



As you can see from the image below,there's ample clearance for tall RAM in any RAM slot.




Test System & Methology

Test System:

Processor: Intel Core i7 3570k-4.5GHz (1.35v)
Motherboard:Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H
Memory: 16GB Mushkin
Graphics Card: Sapphire HD 6970
Power Supply: Antec HCG 750W
Boot Drive: Ocz Vector
Storage Drive: 3TB Seagate Barracuda
Boot Drive: Ocz Vector
Chassis:dimastech Bench Table Easy V2.5



Software:

CPUID HW Monitor 1.23
CPUID CPU-Z 1.65
Prime95 v27.1

I am testing the performance as follows:

Ambient temperatures are kept at 23C throughout my tests.
The CPU Fan is set to 100% to eliminate inconsistencies as a result of PWM control.
Idle temperatures are obtained after booting the PC and idling on the desktop for 30 minutes.
Load temperatures are obtained after running Prime95′s Small FTTs test for 15 minutes.
To measure noise levels i disable the two front in-take fans, rear exhaust and GPU fan.

On the following pages you'll have the opportunity to read what Thermalright's Macho Rev.B is capable of.


Results-Temperature

Once the cooler was placed under typical loads,the Macho Rev.B began to show its Thermalright heritage.The temps after running Prime95 look good as well,but the performance of the Thermalright Macho Rev.B doesn't top the charts.




Results-Noise Level

The Thermalright Macho Rev.B simply blows me away when it comes to noise levels.At lower fan speeds,this cooler will be impossible to hear over other parts in the average user's case.This cooler is insanely quiet in its default single-fan setup.Users can, should they be able to justify the price of a second Thermalright fan,look forward to great cooling at nearly silent noise levels.




Conclusion

You know,I was just thinking anno the year 2014 there really aren't bad performing coolers produced anymore.For every segment and budget you can find something you need.The market stabilized and within the entire range and scope of heatpipe based coolers there's a certain comfort zone with a corresponding product available.As a result,most of these coolers available on the market are all adequate at the very least.There are always exceptions to this,there's a handful of manufacturers out there that offer the really interesting stuff,the kit and gear that really stand out from the cooling crowd,the hardware you and me crave and need so badly...that is in the enthusiast domain of gaming hardware.And that's where we need to make a stop at Thermalright as they tick all those boxes.For a mid-range heatsink the performance of Thermalright Macho Rev.B compete with some of the higher end coolers,including some All-in-One (AIO) liquid coolers.The holes needed for attaching a second fan (think push/pull) are there,but unfortunately a second set of fan retaining clips are not.Thermalright did not provide an extra fan for push/pull but to be honest i only found that we only gained a 1-2 C better cooling performance,so with a little extra noise and cost I wouldn't bother adding a second fan.I found the installation process a breeze.The aspects which stand out as unique selling points with Macho Rev.B are the excellent memory clearance.I found no clearance issues at all.The other point to note is that noise levels were very low,even with the fan at full speed,compared to other models it was by no means disruptive.



Price wise the Macho Rev.B is without a doubt a good product,and they do price the Macho Rev.B competitively,clocking at 42,99 Euro where as similar products from other high end brands cost 10-15 Euro more.There is plenty within the bundle to warrant the price,combine this with the quality and silence on offer and it isn't a bad deal by any stretch.Thermalright have a proven track record for delivering brilliant products and the Macho Rev.B is no exception.Macho Rev.B offers excellent memory compatibility clearance and build quality.It performs well for both thermal results and noise levels.