Intel LGA2011 CPU Cooler Reviews

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Unlike Intel LGA sockets of the past, the new LGA2011 socket uses a whole new mounting system. To account for this some manufacturers are providing new mounting kits for existing LGA1366 coolers; some even have special edition LGA2011 versions of existing coolers. The upside to the new mounting system is that there is no extra backing plate anymore; it's built into the socket.



Along with a new socket layout and mounting system, the X79 motherboards have a new RAM slot layout as well. The socket is moved forward on the motherboard, and the RAM slots are now split to be on either side of the socket. In the past the end user only needed to worry about RAM clearance on one side of the cooler; now it’s on two.

Today we have an assortment of 9 coolers, both air and sealed water kits. To keep things fair we will go in alphabetical order.



Looking purely at size, the lightest weight CPU cooler of the bunch is the Zalman CNPS11X Performa. I looked at the “Extreme” version of this cooler not long ago and it did well for its size. It will be interesting to see how the stripped down “Performa” will perform. The largest of the group is the venerable Noctua NH-D14. Weighing in at over 1.2kg this behemoth of a cooler has set the level of quiet performance since it came out. I have received my new LGA2011 mounting kit from Noctua for my NH-D14 I reviewed back in February of 2010. So the original model that most enthusiasts have along with the recently released special edition NH-D14 SE2011 will be included in the round up. The SE2011 has different fans than the original, so we are interested to see if that will help the cooling performance of that model.

Now onto the first cooler, the Coolink Corator DS SE2011.

Legit Reviews Intel Core i7-3960X Test System



System specs

Here is a short list of the parts that make up the Legit Reviews Core i7-930 test system:



Test System Detail



The CPU we are using is the Intel Core i7-3960X LGA2011 processor. We will test with two configurations: Stock and Overclocked. Both will have Hyper Threading and Turbo modes enabled. For the backbone of the system we have the Intel DX79SI motherboard. We have also outfitted it with a 16GB (4x4gb) kit of Corsair Vengeance LP DDR3 1600MHz RAM. Drivers used for the motherboard are as follows:

Motherboard Drivers:

LAN: Intel PRO Network Connections LAN Driver version 16.7

Audio: Realtek ALC Audio Driver version 6482

Chipset: Intel Chipset Device Software version 9.2.3.1022

USB3: Renesas Electronics USB 3.​0 Driver 2.​1.​27.​0

BIOS Version: 0380



The video card we are using is an MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II/OC and is running ForceWare 290.53.



For the main drive we have a 90GB Corsair Force GT SATA3 SSD running firmware 1.3.3.

Testing Procedure



click for larger image

To test the coolers the system will be left idle at the desktop for 30 minutes and the temperature will be recorded. Then it will run at full load with Prime95 Blended test for 30 minutes and the temperature will be recorded. There will be 2 levels tested with our Core i7-3960X clocked at stock settings with Turbo and Hyper Threading on, and a high OC of 4.5 GHz also with Hyper Threading and Turbo enabled. All temps will be recorded with CoreTemp, and the temp reading from all 6 cores will be averaged. The thermal paste used on all coolers will be Gelid GC Extreme.

Temperature Testing Results



With the Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition processor running at stock frequencies we see a nice temperature spread from the eight CPU coolers that we benchmarked for this review. The overall temperature winner with default CPU settings was the Corsair H100 with a load temp of 48.67*C and at the back of the pack was the Intel RTS2011LC at 66.00*C. It was a bit shocking to see that water coolers were in first and last place, but that is what happened here today. The good news is that all of these coolers did a superb job keeping the Intel Core i7-3960X processor cool. The maximum temperature or TJ Max for the Intel Core i7-3960X is 91C, which is the point at which the CPU will start to throttle down due to extreme heat in order to protect the CPU and the motherboard. As you can see, none of the coolers are close to hitting that number.

The best performing air cooler was the Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 with a temperature of 50.5*C at load. The best performing water cooler was the Corsair H100 with a temperature of 48.67*C, which was less than a half a degree cooler than the Corsair H80 and 2 degrees warmer than the Corsair H100. The Noctua NH-D14 is significantly quieter than the H80 or H100 at full speed and performs at roughly the same level, which is great to see for an air cooler. The fan for the CNPS11X Performa was the most impressive when it came to noise, though; at 26dBA it was hard to make out over the case fans in our test system.

The difference between the best and worst performing CPU coolers was just over 35% or ~17.3*C. This is a rather large difference and one we are happy to see as we hoped that a CPU cooler roundup would be helpful in purchasing decisions.  Keep in mind costs as the gap between the Zalman CNPS11X and the Corsair H100 is only 7 degrees, not bad for a little air cooler that is 1/3 the cost.



With the Intel Core i7-3960X Sandy Bridge-E CPU overclocked up to 4.5 GHz we found the load temperatures significantly increase across the board and a number of the CPU coolers changed places in the chart.  The best performing CPU Cooler remained the Corsair H100 at 59.17*C and the worst of the bunch was the Coolink Corator DS SE2011 at 79.0*C. The difference between the two coolers was 19.86*C, which is a larger performance gap than what we saw with stock clock frequencies. The good news here is that all the cooling solutions are keeping the processor below the rated TJ Max of 91*C.

The temperature gap between the Corsair H80 and the Noctua NH-D14 grew a couple of degrees and the Corsair H80 pulled ahead of the Noctua NH-D14, coming in at 62.5*C, but the NH-D14 is still much quieter. The Zalman CNPS11X Performa is second to last, coming in at 74.83*C, slightly behind the Intel RTS2011LC water cooler that costs twice as much and isn't as quiet. The Corsair H100 is again at the top of the charts coming in at 59.17*C. Even on low it is ahead of the mighty NH-D14 by a degree and half! The biggest mover on the chart was the Coolink Corator DS SE2011, which fell to last place, but was in the middle of the pack at stock speeds. The Coolink Corator DS SE2011 has just a single 120mm cooling fan on it and we are likely seeing what happens by lack of sufficient airflow.  Looking at the chart again that makes sense as only three coolers have a single 120mm fan on them (Coolink Corator DS SE2011, Zalman CNPS 11X and Intel RTS2011LC) and they just happen to be the three hottest coolers in this chart. It looks like there is a real reason to have more than a single fan on a CPU cooler these days!

Price Versus Performance RatioSomething we have done before in previous CPU cooler reviews is a chart that shows off cost-performance or the price-performance ratio. Basically, it is the cost of the CPU cooler divided by its performance. These results are shown in a number and the lower the number the better "bang for buck," or so to speak. To find performance we needed to get a standard, so we took the Intel Core i7 3960X's TJ Max of 91 and used that. We then subtracted the load temp average across all six cores from the TJ Max to get the temperature difference and obviously the higher the number the better the cooler performed.



First, let's see how the ratios fell with the system running at stock settings. The Coolink CoratorDS is at the front of the pack thanks to having the lowest price of the group at $44.90. Temperature-wise it fell in the middle of the pack coming in at 52.83*C, a hair over 4 degrees warmer than the Corsair H100 and 2.3 degrees warmer than the Noctua NH-D14 SE2011.

The Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 fell in the middle of the price/performance pack. The Noctua came in second place overall, but first for air coolers at 50.5*C, which is 2.3*C better than the Coolink Corator DS. The bad think is at $84.85 it cost almost twice as much to do so, but you do get better performance and quieter operation with Notua.

The overall first place cooler is the Corsair H100. The H100 come in at 48.67*C, but since it costs $103.74 its cost/performance ratio is not so hot. As you know, you usually have to pay a premium for performance.



With the system overclocked the ratios shifted. At the front of the pack is the Zalman CNPS11X; the Coolink Corator DS fell back 6 places and the NZXT Havik 120 kept its second place slot. Noctua still holds the middle of the pack well.

Final Thoughts and ConclusionPicking A Winner:



With the new Intel LGA2011 socket comes a new list of things to worry about. What seems to be almost a given is that with the new LGA2011 socket paired up with a solid, well-performing air cooler the use of tall RAM is not going to happen. Thus, low profile RAM kits like the Corsair Vengeance-LP kit that we use on the test system are going to be needed by lots of users. All nine of the CPU coolers that we tested here today have pros and cons, but before we get into that let's figure out who is the clear winner using our load temps and the price-performance ratios of the coolers.



Based on temperature performance and the value analysis of the coolers the winner was the Noctua NH-D14 SE2011! The Corsair H100 was a close second and lost by just two points due to the higher cost of the water cooler even though it ranked first in performance. Price and Performance aren't the only two areas to look at though, so let's talk about some of the other coolers.  



The Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 at $84.95 is the top air cooler when it comes to temperature performance and it should be as it's massive and built right. The NH-D14 SE2011 not only performed very well, but it was very quiet in the process. The NH-D14 uses different fans and the performance was lower, so it fell in the middle of the pack cost/performance wise. The NH-D14 does have one major downside, and that is its sheer physical size. It blocks all but the rear two RAM slots, and depending on where power connections are on your board it might block those as well. So, with the Noctua NH-D14 there are few things to take into account when planning the build with it.



The water cooling kits that we looked at today don't have any of the socket memory module clearance issues that the air coolers have. This is very nice and makes building your system much easier. Of the sealed water kits we have tested theCorsair Hydro Series H100 is the top of the list. The H100 performed very well, but its fans on the "high" setting and at 100% fan speed the H100 can get a little loud. This is especially so when up against the Noctua NH-D14. The H100 comes in at 48.67*C at stock settings, 17 degrees cooler than the Intel RTS2011LC. With the system overclocked to 4.5GHz, the H100 comes in at 59.17*C, an impressive 15.3 degrees cooler than the Intel RTS2011LC. The H100 has a couple of drawbacks; the biggest is the case compatibility. The H100 requires a case with some headroom and vents for dual 120mm fans at the top of the case. Second is price. At $103.74 it's one of two coolers in the round up that is over the $100 mark. The Corsair H100 topped the temperature testing results, but its performance comes at a cost and that is what caused it to end up in second place.



Small water coolers like the Corsair H80 are ideal for those that have smaller cases that do not have dual 120mm fan ports on their PC case. With the single 120mm radiator all that is needed is a rear 120mm exhaust port, and just about every case on the market now has this. The Corsair H80 performed a couple degrees behind that of the H100, and its cost/performance ratio was better than the Corsair H100. This is mainly due to its lower cost of $93.24. This cooler finished third in our roundup and is a solid cooling option.



Only one air cooler we have in the roundup allows for tall RAM being used and that is the Zalman CNPS11X Performa. The CNPS11X Performa performed well for its size and also was in the top 3 for cost/performance ratio, coming in at 55.83*C at stock settings and 74.83*C when overclocked to 4.5GHz. That is 10 degrees cooler than the Intel RTS2011LC at stock settings and 5 degrees cooler at 4.5GHz. Zalman says the CNPS11X Performa will carry an MSRP of $54.99 and will be available in February 2012. It's not a bad little cooler, but finished at the back of the pack.

Final Thoughts:

Out of the coolers tested here today we are happy with the results and comfortable recommending any of the top three finishers.  The Noctua NH-D14 SE2011, Corsair H100 and H80 are all great products and each suit different needs and cases. Personally, I like the Corsair H80 due to the better of the cost/performance ratio and overall system compatibility. For the air side I like the Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 if it fits and doesn't keep you from running quad-channel memory as it offers solid performance and near silent operation.

For the average user that is not milking their system for everything they can get from it, the NZXT Havik 120 is a solid cooler. It placed 4th overall and while it wasn't the best at any one thing it performed good enough at the end of the day. The bad thing is that it won't be available until January 2012. The similarly priced Zalman CNPS11X gives the best overall compatibility of parts and can handle the heat at 4.5GHz. It also fell into the top 3 in regards to cost/performance, but also won't be available until February 2012.