Evercool 3-Way Heatsink Shootout

Introduction

Evercool Thermal Corporation was established in 1994, and they manufacture and market cooling devices for computer systems. They specialize in CPU coolers, DC fans, heatsinks, hard drive coolers, and system blowers. Though they haven’t been a name in the heatsink market, they are putting more emphasis now on sales to OEM and End Users.

Now that we’re up to date on who Evercool is, its time to take a gander at a few items that they have available; namely, three heatsinks designed for our precious Thunderbird processors. These coolers will work on Socket 370 Pentium III processors as well, but to see how good they can really do their jobs, we’ve installed them onto a hot little T-Bird.

So, does Evercool have what it takes to meet the competition on their ground? Let’s see…

The Contenders

- ND12-625



Our first contestant is the ND12-625 HSF. It is a largish sink that is constructed of aluminum, and is rated by Evercool to handle AMD Athlon processors up to 1.5GHz.


The Heatsink



The heatsink of this unit consists of 22 fins laid out in a vertical manner across a base of aluminum. The overall dimensions of the sink are 80mm x 63.5mm x 40mm. The four small clips pictured above are the mounting clips for the fan. Since there is a goodly amount of mass to work with here, the overall weight of the HSF (including fan) is a shade over 300 grams.


The Base



The base of the unit has been planed flat, but should really be lapped before using. While there weren’t any large grooves or machining marks to speak of, it didn’t have a smooth feel, so a little lapping will help out considerably. After all, the flatter the base, the better the contact between core and sink.


The Fan



As stated in the Introduction, Evercool makes its own DC fans, and this is one example. The fan is a standard sized unit and measures 60mm x 60mm x 25mm. It spins at 6,500 RPM, creates 31-CFM of airflow, and puts out an estimated 34dBA of sound. While it’s not got quite the punch of the mighty Delta fans, the reduction in noise was a nice change of pace.

Unfortunately, there was no fan grill installed on this model. I’ve harped on about this feature before, and it’s more a required protection for internal wiring than a protection of tender fingers. Any high-speed fan should be equipped with a grill.


The Clip



This is basically the same variety of clip that was included on heatsinks made a couple of years ago. The protrusion pictured above is a smallish slot designed to fit the blade of a screwdriver to help get it over the Socket lug…and you WILL need help in getting that done. I finally managed to get the sink installed with the use of two screwdrivers and a lot of patience. A newer design on this clip would be a huge improvement!

- CUC-610CA



Next up is the CUC-610CA model. It has a much smaller footprint, a copper insert for the base, and is rated by Evercool to be able to handle AMD processors of up to 1.7GHz


The Heatsink



The heatsink is made out of aluminum, and consists of several rows of small fins. There are numerous slots that run throughout the fins to help in the airflow through the unit. It measures in at a smallish 63.5mm x 63.5mm x 26mm without fan. Mass is only about 150 grams, so efficient airflow is going to be a must for this sink to even come close to handling the stresses of cooling a hot T-Bird.

The plastic crown that sits atop the sink is a better means of mounting the fan. This allows the fan to be mounted without having to drive screws through the fins of the heatsink.


The Base



The base of this model is a very nice sight. The copper insert is set into the base without any ridges or poor fitting of any kind. The base of the copper itself is polished to a mirror finish. When copper first began to be used in heatsinks, this was what everyone had in mind… a flawless melding of the copper insert to the aluminum base of the sink.


The Fan



Here is another example of Evercool using it’s own components. The fan here is an Evercool model and measures in at a slim 60mm x 60mm x 10mm. It spins at 5,000 RPM, blows at 19-CFM, and emits less than 32 dBA of sound. It has the standard 3-pin connector so that it is easily hooked to the motherboard. It also has the third wire in the fan so that RPM rates can be monitored through either the BIOS or by using a third party software utility (such as SiSoft Sandra or Motherboard Monitor).



Pictured above is another option that is hooked to this particular fan. It is a small electronic alarm that will start to go crazy on you if the fan ever stops operating. It is designed to (hopefully) give you enough time to power down the system in the event the fan dies. I didn’t test this functionality of the alarm by stopping the fan, but it did make a small peep when I powered down the system. This gives evidence that it does work, and work pretty quickly as well since the alarm had enough juice to sound off a little even as power was cut to the entire system.


The Clip



If I were to die and go to Hell, this is the kind of clipping mechanism that I would expect to find there. To be perfectly blunt, IT SUCKS!

Why do I say this? Because the clip itself is too tight, and it has no reasonable handle to allow you to install it without using screwdrivers or similar. It took me nearly five minutes (and repeated applications of AS2) to get this thing mounted to the Socket.

This wouldn’t be so bad if you’re the type that removes the motherboard every time you install a new cooler, but that doesn’t apply to the majority of us who are regularly tweaking our components.

- CUB-625CA



Finally, we have the CUB-625CA HSF. It is an all-copper sink with a largish fan mounted on top, and it’s what we would normally expect to see in a quality heatsink.


The Heatsink



This model heatsink is made completely of copper. It consists of a solid base and 38 fins, and measures in at 60mm x 60mm x 24mm. Even though it a low profile heatsink, the copper material still allows it to have a workable mass of about 250 grams. The mounting brackets for the fan are metal as well.


The Base



The base of the unit is very smooth. While it hasn’t been polished to a mirror finish, there are no mars to remove, and it feels very smooth to the touch. If you want to polish it, then you can do so straight away. There will be no need to lap the sink before you start.


The Fan



This model has the same 60mm x 60mm x 25mm fan as did the ND12-625. To refresh your memory a bit, we’re talking 6,500 RPM, 31-CFM airflow and about 34 dBA of sound output.

What’s different here, though, is that a fan grill was included. I am a firm believer than a fan grill should be standard equipment on ANY high-speed fan. Those who have heard the awful sounds of internal wiring being sucked up into the rapidly spinning blades will know exactly what I’m talking about.


The Clip



Now we’re talking. The clipping mechanism for this heatsink was a very solid design. It has a swivel head on the business end that allows you to actually use your fingers to attach it. It is not as stiff as the others, but still allowed for enough pressure to keep the fan from moving. If I were to make a recommendation, it would be to keep this clip design and trash all those other ones that were being used on the other models.

The Shootout

Testing for these sinks followed my normal guidelines so that I can have results that are fairly compared to other heatsinks without bias. Ambient temperature during testing was 21-22C, voltage was set to 1.80 volts and the test system consisted of:

Antec SX1030 Tower Case
AMD Thunderbird 1000 (AVIA)
Abit KT7A-RAID Motherboard
256MB Crucial PC133 CAS2 SDRAM
Arctic Silver II Thermal Compound
Prolink XX-Player GeForce3

Since most of the heatsinks coming out are designed for higher spec systems, I have forgone the 1000MHz and 1100MHz tests. This will allow us to concentrate on whether or not the new sinks coming out can perform up to today’s standard levels. After all, with the budget systems coming in at 1.2GHz and higher, it’s time to set the mark just a bit higher in our heatsink comparisons.

Testing itself included measuring the temperature at idle, after a Quake III Deathmatch battle, and again after a continuous looping of MadOnion’s 3dMark2001 Demo. These are the same testing criteria that I have been using in the past, so am maintaining some consistency for the sake of comparison.

So how did the Evercool products manage to handle the heat of a 1000MHz Thunderbird that has been overclocked to 1333MHz? Only one way to find out…


Comparisons



I added the Alpha PAL8045 above as a comparison. Granted, the Alpha unit is a very high-end heatsink, but by including it we can see just how well the Evercool units compare to the competition. After all, if we are going to spend out money, we may as well see what we’re getting, right?

Results ended up being pretty much where I figured they would be. The ND12 series cooler pulled off middle of the road temperatures due to its aluminum construction and decent fan. While it doesn’t blow away the other models out there, it produced a very acceptable result. Likewise, the CUB series cooler also put up some good numbers. The copper sinks almost always win out in the end because they are just so much better at conducting the heat upwards so that the fan can get rid of it.

I was surprised at the results of the CUC model. With the very small fan and aluminum material used, I had really expected to see higher results. It is common practice to shoot for a temperature range under 50C, and even with the tiny (and quiet) 19-CFM fan, it managed to meet that goal. Remember also that these tests were conducted at a 33% overclock, so heat output is in the vicinity of 73.6 watts. Very nice results for a smallish HSF.


Conclusion

What we have here is a group of heatsinks by a manufacturer that is trying to make a new name for itself. While the Evercool line won’t take the crown for coolest heatsinks on the market, they will allow you to have some efficient cooling capabilities without creating a huge gap in your wallet. To give an idea as to pricing on these units, consider that the ND12 model goes for US$10, the CUC goes for US$15 and the CUB model sells for US$19. These prices are very acceptable for the cooling you get.

Something else to consider is that none of these fans will emit the kind of noise that is common with the Monster Delta models out there. While I can’t say enough about the cooling prowess of these loud units, the less noisome fans made for a pleasant change of pace.

Bottom line… Looking at the performance vs. dollar aspect, any of these coolers will fit the bill for those who are wanting some good cooling for a decent price. I wouldn’t recommend going much higher in speed for the CUC unit, but the others will suit your needs for nearly any of the current crop of AMD processors on the market.