Today we tested yet another heatpipe cooler, and this time it's OCZ Vendetta. Vendetta is one of the newer OCZ coolers, and you can mount it on any Intel or AMD processor. Its design is different from the usual cooler designs, it’s reasonably priced, and checking it out is definitely worth it.



The package is built to survive all kinds of transport conditions, and the cooler itself is foam protected. The box lists all the important info. It’s intended for use with all Intel Socket 775 processors, as well as all AMD sockets (AM2, 754, 939 and AM2+). Vendetta is not a large cooler, so putting it in smaller cases will not be a problem. Along with being compatible with all the above mentioned sockets, there is still a possibility that due to the size of the chipset cooler, certain motherboards won’t be able to house it. Dimensions are (L) 97 x (W) 79 x (H) 134mm. In the box, you’ll get everything you need to set this cooler up, including thermal paste and a brief installation manual.



What’s interesting about this cooler is the way in which the heatpipe rests against the processor. Unlike the usual coolers, where only the cooler’s base rests on the CPU, all three copper Vendetta heatpipes rest on the processor, so the effectiveness is greatly increased. The heatpipes and fiin design are taken from Xigmatek. The above mentioned method not only increased the effectiveness of the cooler, it also made it possible to save some money, as the base is now partly manufactured from aluminum; of course, aluminum is much less expensive. The rest of the cooler is made of aluminum, so the cooler is not heavy. On the picture below you can see the V shaped design, which is also responsible for the name.

However, the V design wasn’t picked just for the aesthetics. You’ll notice that the cooler surface that’s touching the fan is much larger than we see in coolers with flat edges. The passive part is bent inwards so the surface affected by the blowing fan is increased.



The top side of the cooler has the logo on it, and you can see that the cooler is mounted with rubber latches, which decrease vibration and render it quiet. The fan is 92mm in diameter and it’s easy to replace. While mounting this cooler, it’s highly advisable that you first mount the cooler on the board, and mount the fan afterwards. That’s mostly due to push-in latches that are hard to reach when the fan is mounted. On the other hand, if you have no space left in the case to separately mount the fan, then you’ll have to try a little harder to engage the push-in latches. Once they’re in place, they hold pretty well.



Fan speed is 1200 to 2800 RPM, but the cooler is very quiet during usual tasks. Still, maximum RPM is another story. The package claims that noise level is between 22 and 34 dBa, with airflow of 39-54.6CFM. You can connect it to PWM with a 4-pin connector, which will enable AUTO and MANUAL fan speed settings. In the package we found an additional adapter that lets you hook the fan straight into the PSU.





A side view reveals three heatpipes going from the core to the top of the cooler. Aluminum has been used here as a means to keep the heatpipe in place. Copper takes in temperature really well, but aluminum gets rid of it easier, so this is a great combination.



Mounting this cooler on AMD processors is simple – you need to place the metal pin over the cooler base groove (you can see it on the pictures) and latch in to the socket. Mounting it on Intel’s processors is a bit more complicated, because you have to mount two slots for Intel’s push-in pins, and you do it with two screws on the bottom of the cooler’s aluminum base.

While testing the Vendetta we compared it to Intel’s box cooler; the one you get when buying Intel’s CPUs. We have a couple of interesting coolers in our lab, but we have no up-to-date results, so we’ll refresh our tables soon. We’ve recently tested Asetek’s LCLC water cooling system, which is more than just a cooler, but we still compared it to Vendetta. Asetek has proven that it has what it takes to battle coolers better than Intel’s default ones.



Testbed

Motherboard:
EVGA 680i SLI (Supplied by EVGA)

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6800 Extreme edition (Supplied by Intel)

Memory:

OCZ FlexXLC PC2 9200 5-5-5-18  (Supplied by OCZ)
        while testing CL5-5-5-15-CR2T 1066MHz at 2.2V

PSU:
OCZ Silencer 750 Quad Black ( Supplied by OCZ)

Hard disk:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB SATA (Supplied by Seagate)

Below you’ll see tables showing processors at same speeds, but in two cooler usage modes. One mode is Automatic Fan Speed, where the system decides on the optimum fan speed, and the other is Manual Fan Speed, where we simply opted for 100% RPM. In Burn-in tests at 3.6GHz, Intel’s cooler performed very poorly in Automatic mode, so we halted testing right away. You’ll see for yourself if you look at the tables.





Vendetta worked like a charm in this test where Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme 6800 processor ran at default 2.9GHz. We measured maximum 48°C, compared to Intel’s default cooler that reached 76°C.

Asetek ran quite hot, but mostly because it also cools the graphics card (in our case it was 8800 GTX) which increased the CPU temperature. The beauty of LCLC cooling is that not even overclocking will make the temperature soar higher, which is not the case with standard air coolers.

All the coolers performed better when fans ran at 100% RPM. (In LCLC’s case we’re talking about fan radiator).

Now we see the tests with the processor overclocked to 3.6GHz, when CPU temperature rises significantly.



If you’re using Intel’s reference cooler, then you’re taking the risk of frying your CPU, because 115°C is just too much. That being said, we had to turn it off after a couple of minutes.

Around 50°C in idle mode and up to 74°C under a workload is a good result for this processor, overclocked to 3.6GHz. We advise you to keep the Automatic mode while overclocking, because the fan simply gets too loud at maximum RPM.



Vendetta and Asetek are quite even, but Vendetta outperforms it by a small margin when the CPU is under a workload. The good news is that you can use Intel’s reference cooler when overclocking your CPU up to 3.6GHz, but due to the high temperatures, we wouldn’t advise it. Vendetta is a much better choice in this scenario, and unlike Asetek LCLC, you can buy it in retail for only $35.


Conclusion

Vendetta is one of the newer coolers from OCZ, and it runs great. The cooler design is not unique, but OCZ added some of their own magic, and voila – it resulted in great performance. The fan is silent and that’s quite important.

While overclocking, Automatic mode keeps the cooler silent, whereas maximum RPM will render it quite noisy, although the job gets done flawlessly.

Priced at around €30, this cooler is a great deal. Besides, 3.6GHz is a result to drool over, and a minimum investment will make it possible. This cooler is truly for anyone, and we strongly recommend it.  

Update: In the meantime, we've learned that the real price is €23 which makes it looks even better, and this iswhole lotta cooling for peanuts. Therefore, here's an award and this cooler should be highly considered in your Xmas shopping buy list.