Mounting, Tests

After placing the mounting mechanism and applying the thermal paste (Gelid Extreme thermal paste was used on all our today’s tests), we got down to business.

If you own a case with a motherboard tray, mounting the Z600 will be a breeze. If not, then you’ll have to remove the motherboard from the case as heavy cooling solutions must be firmly attached to the motherboard.

Testbed:

Motherboard:
MSI P35 Platinum (Provided by: MSI)

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Extreme x6800, 2x 2.93GHz   (Provided by: Intel)

Memory:
A-Data Extreme DDR2 800 (2x1GB) (Provided by: A-Data)

Graphic Card:
EVGA Geforce 260 GTX  (Provided by: EVGA)

PSU:
OCZ GXS 700, 700 W (Provided by: OCZ)

CPU-Cooler:

OCZ Vendeta 2  (Provided by: OCZ)
Intel Stock Cooler (Provided by: Intel)
Cooler Master Hyper Z600 (Provided by: Cooler Master)

Case:
Cooler Master HAF 922 (Provided by: Cooler Master)



Our testing included stressing our CPU as much as possible, in order to raise the temperatures. We used Prime 95 to bring the CPU usage to 100% and measured temperatures with Core Temp and Real Temp. Note that all the tests were done with the CPU at default clocks. 

Our default-clocked CPU has a 75 TDP (Thermal Design Power). Furthermore, CoolerMaster advises users not to resort to passive cooling on CPUs with the TDP above 85W.



The Hyper Z600 kept the CPU at constant 40°C in idle mode, whereas the 100% CPU usage, courtesy of Prime 95, resulted in temperatures at about 58°C. As you can see, the Z600 holds its own quite nicely even when compared to other two active cooling solutions, which ran at maximum RPM during our testing. We must say that Hyper Z600 did pretty well considering that it’s a passive cooling solution.

For comparison we also tested OCZ Vendetta 2 as well as Intel’s standard cooling. As you can see, Intel’s standard cooler does a pretty good job, but unfortunately its fan ran at maximum RPM resulting in such loud operation that sitting next to it for more than a couple of minutes was pretty cumbersome.

Note that the Z600 results largely depend on your in-case cooling. In order to prove this, we turned the case fans off and started to “torture” our CPU. The temperatures hit 75°C After only 5 minutes, after which we had to stop in order not to damage the CPU.



After we completed our testing, we mounted a 120mm fan on the Z600 and pushed the CPU to 100% usage again. This time around however, temperatures didn’t go over 53°C whereas idle temperatures stuck around 40°C.

 

 

Conclusion

CoolerMaster's Hyper Z600 is a pretty massive CPU cooler, one of the largest ones on the market. It’s nicely designed, but its dimensions make it inappropriate for low-profile systems. Since this is a passive cooling solution, it doesn’t come with fans, but CoolerMaster left an option for mounting one or two 120mm fans.

Today’s testing reveals that Z600 is good enough to keep the temperatures on Intel’s X6800 Extreme processor within acceptable limits, but we’re confident it would really shine on mainstream processors and score even better, even when they’re overclocked.

Unfortunately, this cooler is priced at €40, which is a bit steep.

Hyper Z600 is a great choice for all types of users. If you want a quiet computer, Z600 will deliver exactly that since it’s a passive cooling solution. If you’re after performance and are prone to overclocking – don’t worry, as fitting this cooler with two fans will do the trick.