After using a performance/dollar CPU cooler for around a year, I decided it was time to dip into the “high-end” air cooling solutions. The Venomous X recently entered the game, and I found a good deal on it (free shipping reeled me in), so I pulled the trigger. I’ve done some detailed testing to see if my buy was worth the money, and today, I present a summary of my testing and results for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
I realize it's probably not the cooler's fault, but I don't want to test out this TRUE. I bought it in the classifieds as it was described as a Rev C, when it was in fact a Rev A. Then, somehow after mounting this TRUE my processor loses a contact pad and I have to RMA my cpu (luckily Intel is replacing it for me). After all this I just want to sell this TRUE to be rid of any curses!
I got a VX lined up for 45 shipped, so I'm probably just gonna go with the easier mount and not feeling like I should probably lap my heatsink.
Because all VXs may not be convex exactly like mine, I cannot make a statement saying "X config is the best for everyone." Your best config would depend on how convex your VX's base is and in which directions. The easiest way to find out which config is best is to just test both top/down and front/back. Yes, your setup is a front/back config. If in a standard, upright case, then front/back just means that air flows horizontally through the heatsink and top/down means air flows vertically through the heatsink.
Because all VXs may not be convex exactly like mine, I cannot make a statement saying "X config is the best for everyone." Your best config would depend on how convex your VX's base is and in which directions. The easiest way to find out which config is best is to just test both top/down and front/back. Yes, your setup is a front/back config. If in a standard, upright case, then front/back just means that air flows horizontally through the heatsink and top/down means air flows vertically through the heatsink.
Thanks for the compliment, and thanks for letting me use your data.
Thanks for the great review! I found this article after trying to google and find out the best orientation for a VX. I bought mine at christmas and am just about to install it (have a TRUE in my case now, gonna sell it to a friend). Here are my system specs:
Asus P7P55D
Core I5-750
Radeon HD4870
2x2GB OCZ Platinum 1333 mhz (no problems with clearance on CPU cooler
My current case is an ANTEC P193 and because of that I mounted the TRUE I have front to back since the heatpipes just clear the side fan bracket in that orientation (won't clear in up/down as far as I could tell). I recall reading about the quad core die and how it's rectangular, IIRC on this motherboard (and probably most others) the length of that rectangle will be aligned horizontally with the CPU installed.
One question I had is with respect to the heatpipes. As you can see from the heatpipes, they are crimped on the top on one side and not on the other. Do you think it makes any difference which way you orient the VX with respect to where those crimped pipes are? Really shouldn't make any difference since we're dealing with a fairly symmetrical cooler, and the crimping itself shouldn't really affect anything.
I had a question about your article when you say "Base Convexity Parallel/Perpendicular to Heatpipes"; I think you got those two reversed. Wouldn't parallel align with the heatpipes along their length (i.e. the longer orientation of the VX itself)? Not trying to argue semantics or anything, just wondering why you worded it this way. I think there's some merit to aligning the longest part of the die parallel to the heatpipes, like this crappy diagram demonstrates:
If making the heatpipes and die parallel is indeed better, it might be worth it regardless of the convexity of the base. I'm swapping my case this week to a Lian Li PC-A05N and since there's no interference with any side fans, I am going to mount the VX up/down with the push/pull configuration, fans directing air upwards (which, in the case of the A05N will be pushing air towards the video card). The back fan of the A05N will be pushing cool air into the area of the CPU cooler. It would make some sense to have the VX front/back with cool air being blown from the back fan right into the push fan for the cooler, but I really do feel the up/down might work better (hot air rising, heatpipes aligned with die).
Let me know if you have any comments. I'll try and remember to post back once I complete the swap.
Secondly, thanks for the compliment and I'm glad my review has helped you.
Now, on to the issues at hand...
Do you think it makes any difference which way you orient the VX with respect to where those crimped pipes are? Really shouldn't make any difference since we're dealing with a fairly symmetrical cooler, and the crimping itself shouldn't really affect anything.
I agree with you, I don't think the crimping will have any noticeable effect on cooling, they had to close the pipes somehow...
I had a question about your article when you say "Base Convexity Parallel/Perpendicular to Heatpipes"; I think you got those two reversed. Wouldn't parallel align with the heatpipes along their length (i.e. the longer orientation of the VX itself)? Not trying to argue semantics or anything, just wondering why you worded it this way. I think there's some merit to aligning the longest part of the die parallel to the heatpipes...
The parallel/perpendicular refers to aligning the convexity parallel/perpendicular to the die, not aligning the heatpipes parallel/perpendicular to the die. The terminology really depends on how you are looking at the convexity. I was looking at the convexity from left to right in the photos, but if I was looking at the convexity from front to back "into" the photo, then the terminology could be reversed.
Example:
In the pic above, from side to side across the photo, the convexity is perpendicular to the heatpipes. But, if I look at it from front to back "into" the photo, then it's parallel to the heatpipes. So, the terminology really depends on your point of view.
As for the best way to mount your VX, it doesn't depend on the direction heatpipes. What matters is the convexity, and you want the flattest axis going across the length of the CPU die, so the VX base will be close to as much of the die as possible.
For "heatpipe direct touch" type heatsinks with no separate base, like the HDT-s1283, then the direction of the heatpipes would have more of an effect. You would want to calculate the area of actual heatpipe touching the CPU (above the die) in both configurations, and then use the config with the most heatpipe area touching the CPU (above the die).
If anything I said was unclear, let me know; or if you have more questions, feel free to ask away.
Thanks for the quick reply, definitely clears everything up that you're saying. I understand now what you're saying and will check out my VX before mounting. If it turns out like yours then I will get things exactly how I want them (heatpipes parallel to the die & that also having the flattest side). Even without having direct contact heatpipes, I still think there's some merit to aligning the heatpipes with the die. Although it's probably not nearly as important as the convexity like you said.
It's interesting about the heatpipes and their orientation. The seemingly best orientation for the heatpipes on these tower style coolers would be if you had a desktop style case, where the heatpipes were sticking up straight. Then the bottom of the pipes are fully submerged in fluid for maximum cooling. When you start talking about orienting a cooler with the heatpipes horizontal, you have the fluid running along the entire bottom length of the pipe. Now, your bottom fan is blowing air along the entire surface of the pipe which has the fluid instead of also blowing air on air inside the pipes (can you picture it?). So I think there's a lot to it, not just the contact area of the CPU. Whether or not these differences are significant I'm not sure.
I've got my new power supply and getting case tonight! I'll check back in after.
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