Zaward Vapor 120 CPU Cooler

[Skyguy]

Zaward might not be a household name, but you may have seen their golfball-design fans at some point. More interestingly, Zaward has used that very innovative approach to their latest flagship CPU cooler, the Vapor 120. It looks rather unassuming, save for the fan, and the price seems pretty good at about $50. But what's really interesting is the performance numbers this cooler managed to put up. To put it mildly, we were shocked. Read on to find out why.



Click HERE for the full review.

[smduff]

Good review logan well done, pretty decent little cooler but why such a small OC from stock?

[logan]

3.5GHz is 700MHz up from stock, a 25% increase. I had to keep it cool enough to guarantee it wouldn't crash from overheating. C2 stepping doesn't help it much.

[smduff]

3.5GHz is 700MHz up from stock, a 25% increase. I had to keep it cool enough to guarantee it wouldn't crash from overheating. C2 stepping doesn't help it much.

Ok that makes more sense the graph says 3.5 is stock.

[Doctor_Death]

Good review Logan! I believe they sent you two fans with the Vapor 120, how many were used in this review ?

Thanks

[logan]

I used one, and then two. With 2 fans, the drop was minimal. 1-2C at best. On an i7 with a ton of heat generated, we'd probably see a bigger drop.

[dlb]

Not to be too much of a nitpicker, but on page 3 of the review we have this statement:

The heatpipes are made of exposed copper, with five heatpipes emanating from a copper base (connected to an aluminum dissipation block) and up through the aluminum dissipation fins.

Five? Five heatpipes? I see only three . . . . not a big deal though . . . . other than this minor misstep, the review is top notch!!! Nice work!!!

[logan]

Not to be too much of a nitpicker, but on page 3 of the review we have this statement:


Five? Five heatpipes? I see only three . . . . not a big deal though . . . . other than this minor misstep, the review is top notch!!! Nice work!!!

We'll get that fixed, thanks!

Welcome to Pure OC!

[xApemanx]

nice review logan, kick-ass product there

[Skyguy]

Apologies for the typo there, thanks for the hawkeyes DLB!! Now fixed.

[Drdeath]

Nicely done Loganster!

[Drdeath]

I would like to put some input into the air cooling reviews. 21 ambient is not average . Some may look at the test temps, expect the results and not see the ambient. IMO it would be better to run normal everyday ambients for a true reading the average guy can expect.

[Skyguy]

Fair enough. But the other way to look at it is that every setup is different. Every case, in particular, is different, especially with internal fans, etc. I would not look at ANY cooler review and expect those results to be exactly the same as what every consumer should expect.

What I think the point is here, though, is how each cooler performs in relation to one another under a consistent set of parameters and test setup. If the Zaward can beat many coolers, for example, under the same conditions at 21C ambient, then one could assume it could beat them at 28C ambient. Of course, it's utterly impossible to test every scenario, case setup, and ambient temperature, so the argument couldn't be made to test that assumption.

Just like graphics card framerates cannot accurately depict what results you will get in your set of games and setups, coolers cannot conveys the ACTUAL temperatures in all setups. But the tests can show comparative results as to which cooler is better (or not).

So while I think you do have a point, it's unfortunately moot in my opinion.

[logan]

They can just look at temp change above ambient and apply to their situation. If it's at 28C with 21C ambient, then if their ambient is 27C, they can add 7C and see 34C.

While I agree with your point that the ambient may mislead, I reckon that the important thing is how much the temperature changes from idle while under load, and how far above ambient it soars.

edit: thanx for the kind words, guyz