9 - The Conclusion

The Verdict

Now that we have learned about performance and noise levels let's move onward into the conclusion. Before we analyse a little further, please have a peek at pricing.

So it's like this, very simple .. I placed the e-tail prices I could find on these products in a chart. Higher is worse, lower is the best price (duh).

The dynamics compared to the review you just read now certainly change. Price wise at number one, with good cooling performance, and exceptionally silent operation comes surprizingly the OCZ Vendetta. 30 to 35 EUR which is just an extremely competitive price, this is where OCZ is very strong with this product, it is just really hard to beat.

Second place goes to the Tuniq cooler, excellent cooling, a bit of a noisy operation though. But at 35 EUR, you just can't go wrong, and I just loved the fact we did not have to remove the mainboard.

Coolermaster's product then, it is a classic example of bigger isn't always better, surely it is a fine overall product when it comes to direct cooling, but that changes once you overclock a little. None the less, the looks combined with the price is downright good as it costs roughly 39 EUR. And granted that's just a really nice price; but you need to drop another 8-10 bucks for a fan. I just can't believe that CM is not inserting a fan in the default SKU. An error in judgment I believe, as these products are targeted at the more enthusiast PC users. It's the best looking cooler tested today though. If you do not OC, without the fan it is just great.

The Silentator is a nice product both cooling and noise wise. Aesthetically a little less pleasing, yet also it's one of the more expensive products at roughly 42 EUR. Performance wise it's pretty hard to beat and actually close to my personal favorite of today, Noctua.

A strong overall winner yet at a hefty price, for both cooling and noise levels versus aesthetics is Noctua with their NH-U12P, their concept is proven and very strong. Unfortunately it's pricy at over 50 EUR. It's worth every singe Euro though. And quite honestly if you allow me to be a little subjective here, this is the product I would personally pick up, it's just a truly grand product.

See, if we'd break down the the price-perf ratio is, everything changes. So that's what you need to keep in mind. If you go for silence and optimal cooling the Noctua actually wins. If you just want a decent good priced cooler ... out of no-where the OCZ Vendetta 2 wins by a good margin.

But each and any of these products tested today are simply put well above average; and with that in mind this pretty much sums up everything you guys need to know. Please again, understand that we tested under stringent overclocked conditions. All coolers really are way above average and are great products. We were just really curious how far it could handle an overclocked Quad Core processor, as much like you guys would like to know.

Since all the products tested are well above average I'd like to hand out some awards:

• Best Value Award- OCZ Vendetta 2 and Tuniq Core.
• Recommended Award - Cooler Master Hyper Z600, Coolink Silentator
• Guru3D Top Pick - Noctua with their NH-U12P

For more information on these products you can click the links below.

• Noctua NH-U12P
• Coolink Silentator
• CoolerMaster Z600
• Tuniq Core Contact Freezer
• OCZ Vendetta 2

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