The CPU Cooler Snap Judgement Guide

[time]

Another brilliant article from Dan:

http://www.dansdata.com/gz012.htm

 

[James]

He's just such an entertaining writer. And the whole no-nonsense approach is so refreshing after the hordes of hardware sites where 0.5% is considered a "huge difference" in performance. He wisely sticks to the basics - does it work as advertised, does it do something useful and/or fun, is it worth the money, is it a better option than other similar ones out there - and stays away from the pages of boring graphs detailing synthetic tests that don't actually bear much connection to reality.

On his recommendation we've bought some rubber band guns from the US for use at the office - I'll let you know how they work out.

 

[Buck]

A true technician Dan is:

"What's the most important thing I've learned, though?

Probably this: Nothing gets thermal grease off stuff like naptha lighter fluid.

And if the stain just won't budge, naptha also makes it easier to destroy the evidence."

 

[Pradeep]

I enjoyed seeing him go thru money like butter when he dabbled in the digital camera world.

 

[Adcadet]

http://www.inklineglobal.com/adsales/burstmedia/pcb_offer_468_bm_tuneup.html

Hmm...this said my PC was in need of a tune up and that my PC probably runs slow and Windows crashes often. Umm...I'm running an iMac here at work.

 

[jtr1962]

A true technician Dan is:

"What's the most important thing I've learned, though?

Probably this: Nothing gets thermal grease off stuff like naptha lighter fluid.

And if the stain just won't budge, naptha also makes it easier to destroy the evidence."

I've found lacquer thinner works pretty well for that also. :wink:

Dan uses proper methodology to test heat sinks, which is a refreshing change. Why most sites just strap the heat sink on the CPU, run Quake, and then report the temperature is beyond me. This is completely meaningless and unrepeatable. Most don't even note the internal case temperature or ambient temperature, making it even more meaningless.

I agree with his assessment. All of these fancy looking heat sinks are just gimmicks. Something with a decent fan and lots of closely spaced fins will generally work well, especially if it makes use of the full volume above the CPU. It's amazing how otherwise intelligent people are sold on these silly round and otherwise gimmicky heat sinks.

 

[e_dawg]

I think some products are bought simply on style. Those Tt Golden Orbs, rounded cables, aluminum cases, plexiglas windows, and neon lighting is all about turning your computer into a conversation piece (or something like that... I'm kinda speculating here because I am not like that, but I know alot of people out there are)

 

[Cliptin]

The geek hotrod. Or something like that.

 

[SteveC]

The geek hotrod. Or something like that.

Yep. Here it is.

Steve