A well-established PSU expert turns
its attention to cooling CPUs, but what do we think?
CPU coolers towards the cheaper end of the
market rarely vary greatly in terms of their key design features, and the
ETS-T40-TA is an example of this. It has a copper baseplate and four copper
heat pipes that ascend into a single aluminium fin stack, which is in turn
cooled by a 120mm fan. Fan clips and rubber vibration pads are provided,
meaning a second fan can be added if needed.
Enermax
ETS-T40-TA
Two other varieties of the ETS-T40 are
available, but the TA version featured here has a T.B.Apollish PWM-controlled
fan, which is housed in a black frame and utilises striking blue blades, which
are detachable for cleaning. Blue LEDs provide a light show, and the TA is also
uniquely covered in a Nickel coating, meaning that all the metal is the same
consistent colour with a healthy shine to it.
With the heatsink measuring in at 70mm
wide, it's not the biggest cooler you'll find, but it's still fairly tall at
160mm high, and the high-density fin stack gives it a decent surface area for
cooling. Instead of a flat baseplate, the ETS-T40 uses Heat Pipe Direct Touch
technology, which practically translates to the heat pipes being flattened out
and making direct contact with the CPU itself. This leaves small grooves in the
baseplate between the pipes, reducing the contact between the cooler and your
processor.
Installation is wonderfully simple for an
air cooler. The universal backplate (not needed in LGA2011 systems) is secured
with standoff screws, the front sides of which are used to fasten the mounting
plates into place. Apply some of the provided thermal paste, and all that's
left to do is so seat the cooler, secure it with a pressure plate and some
screw friendly bolts, and finally clip the fan into place. The whole process is
logical, quick, and avoids the necessity of removing your motherboard, although
laying it flat will help.
Performance varies fairly dramatically
depending on the CPU socket used, though. For example, in overclocked LGA1155
systems, where the efficiency of the processors reduce their heat output
significantly, the ETS-T40 strikes a nice balance between price, performance
and noise, as it achieves fairly cool temperatures without rising above a
slight din.
Hotter running systems like those with
LGA2011 chips, however, are a challenge that can prove too great for the
ETS-T40, especially when overclocked. A combination of its small heatsink
(compared to coolers like the Zalman CNPS14X, for example), the low noise fan's
limited airflow and the reduced contact on the baseplate mean that temperatures
can quickly rise to unhealthy levels.
LGA1155 users in particular could do a lot
worse than the ETS-T40, which is more than capable of coping with the heat
output of this chip series, even when overclocked. It's a breeze to install,
well priced, and stays nice and quiet too, which makes it worth considering for
a quiet low-mid range system. However, heavy overclockers or LGA2011 users run
the risk of their CPUs not being cooled effectively enough, and will thus want
to invest in something far heftier.
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Details
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Price: $54
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Manufacturer: Enermax
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Website: www.enermax.com
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Required Spec: Intel sockets LGA775, LGA1155,
LGA1156, LGA1366, LGA2011; AMD sockets AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+
Verdict
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Quality: 6
·
Value: 8
·
Overall: 7
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