Quote Originally Posted by EvilBellyLint View Post
Vapor... you know I respect your opinion. But if someone is merely looking
to upgrade a lesser cooler to something more robust, I fail to see how
factoring in the cost of the entire rig is required, when after all, the
question is which "upgrade" cools at the level you need it to, and at
what cost. Could you elaborate as to why you feel total system cost
must be used in this calculation, particularly in cases where the rig is
already up and running?

As to the noise, I already pointed out that Anand tested the Nirvana
with its stock (garbage) fan, while using a Scythe S-Flex on the TRUE.
If a reviewer intends to compare operating noise, this methodology is
flawed, and I'd go so far as to say misleading. Not all 1600 rpm fans
are created equal -- but I don't need to tell you that


EBL
Cheapest cooler will ALWAYS win in your scenario (unless it is complete garbage).

A $20 Arctic Cooling Something that gets the CPU to 3800MHz vs. $45 Zerotherm NV120:
125% increase in price for 2.7% increase in clocks. That doesn't seem worth it either

That's why total system cost should be factored. You get ~1% more system performance out of your system for 1.5% increase in system price. (NV120 compared to the TRUE) For some people, that's absolutely worth it, especially considering you have a no-fuss way of mounting whatever fan you feel like using.

For the example I just gave...you get
$1520 at 3800 or $1545 at 3900 or $1565 at 3940.

Mostly, it doesn't matter if your system is already running....the same money is being spent on it during its life. However, most don't think of a computer as an investment...

For instance, those who own the hypothetical aforementioned $20 "Arctic Cooling Something" deciding between a $45 NV120 or a $65 TRUE should look at it like this: $1585 for 3940 or $1565 for 3900. Virtually no difference...go with the higher one if you can afford it.

Heck, even going with your train of thought of an upgrade pricing strategy, let's take the aforementioned "$20 Arctic Cooling Something" at 3800MHz....you'd be upgrading from 3800MHz, not 0. So for $45 you can get a 2.6% upgrade in speed, or for $65 you can get a 3.7% upgrade in speed. The NV120 gets you 2.22MHz per dollar where the TRUE gets you 2.15MHz per dollar. Again, a dead-even draw.

And the TRUE does it quieter.

Which brings me to my next point...the Nirvana fan may not be garbage. It's just 3300RPM. That's loud at that size no matter what you do. You can put on a 1600RPM fan to match the noise of a TRUE, but you're only giving it half the airflow--absolutely not the same cooling performance as what we're seeing in the reviews. Low speed on that fan is 1500RPM and was tested by Bit-Tech--it didn't do very well.

Oh, and putting on a different fan onto the NV120, while possible, is not nearly as easy as just clipping it in like it is with most HSFs.

EDIT: and for the record (well, I'm on the record, I've said this a bunch of times, just not in this thread)...I haven't trusted AT's results since their Scythe Infinity completely bombed.