Coolink Corator DS Review

Testing:

To find out the level of performance that the Coolink Corator DS delivers, I will be making a comparison of the temperatures at idle and under load. Both will be made while the CPU is at the stock voltages and clock speeds, as well as when the CPU is overclocked and 'over-volted'. This will help to show what kind of cooling performance that this cooling solution has to offer, when compared to other socket 1366 compatible high-performance cooling solutions. These cooling systems will be tested head-to-head as they are delivered from the manufacturer. I could throw in a bunch of testing variables, but it is not what the products are capable of as delivered. To test the idle temperatures, I will allow the computer to stay in an idle state for 30 minutes and take the idle temperature at this point. For the load testing, I will use Prime95 version 25.11 and choose the blend testing and allow the processor and memory controller to heat up to the maximum temperatures. The time frame is a four-hour run, to allow the temperature to peak - usually at or around the 14K test. I will use Real temp 3.0 to take the high and low temperatures and average the temperatures generated over the four cores as my reported temperatures.

Testing Setup:

• CPU: Intel Core i7 920 133x20(Stock) 166x20 Overclocked
• Motherboard: MSI X58 Eclipse
• Memory: Mushkin HP3 12800 7-7-7-20
• Video Card(s): Nvidia GTX 260-216
• Power Supply: Mushkin 800 watt Modular Power Supply
• Hard Drive: 1 x Seagate 1TB SATA
• Optical Drive: Asus DVD-R
• OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit SP1
• Chassis: ThermalTake Armour +

Comparison Heat sinks:

• Noctua NH-U12P SE 1366
• Thermalright TRUE
• Noctua NH-D14
• Noctua NH-U9B SE

From a results perspective, the Corator DS delivers results right on par with the Noctua NH-C12P SE-14 when overclocked, and was within just two degrees Celsius of the Thermalright TRUE and Noctua NH-U12P SE 1366 at stock speeds and voltages. I was expecting performance similar to that of the NH-D14 from Noctua, but the single fan in the dual tower design just did not help the Corator DS in that respect.