GlobalWin FOP38 or Alpha PAL6035? Which is better?

[batboy]

Well, since I already had a GlobalWin FOP38 in service (see my signature), I decided to see how it handle a battle for air cooler heavy weight championship crown of my household.

The FOP38 already kicked my ol' Golden Orbs buttocks by cooling the CPU 4-5 degrees under load conditions. The newcomer is an Alpha PAL6035 and I had high expections of this cooler (plus I was getting tired of the noise of that Delta fan).

For total stability when running these test, I throttled my P-III back from the usual 700/1050 clock speed to 1015 MHz @ 1.9v. Ambient temp was 20 degrees C. Temps taken after 15 minutes of Unreal demo loop.

Since the Alpha got beat up, I tried the test again using the 38 cfm Delta fan from the FOP. Guess What? GlobalWin FOP38 is still reigning king!

Alpha w/stock fan -- MB=36 CPU=41
Alpha w/Delta fan -- MB=35 CPU=40.5
GlobalWin FOP38 -- MB=33 CPU=39

Can't wait to try the 80mm Sunon high output fan that I have ordered. It's rated 42.5 cfm which is better than the Delta fan and 10 db quieter than the Delta fan.

 

[dimmreaper]

Batboy-

Did you have the fan sucking or blowing on the Alpha? Because all the tests I've done showed the Alpha cooling about 3C better than either FOP when using the Delta38(sucking).

 

[Nagorak]

Take that Delta off there and put a YS Tech 80mm HO fan on there, and "Hail to the king, baby!" It'll be quieter, but more effective, you should consider trying it.

If you really want a nice quiet fan with Delta performance the Panaflo 80mm HO is 32 dbls with 39 cfm!

 

[batboy]

Been hearing good things about those Panaflows, I've got a 92mm ordered to replace my front 80mm case fan. I've already ordered the Sunon 80mm high output fan (42.5 cfm), so I'll give that a try on the FOP sink.

Jeff, thanks for reminding me about that suck/blow issue on the Alpha coolers. So, I did some more testing using the Alpha with this in mind.

Alpha w/stock fan (sucking) load temps -- MB=39 CPU=40.5
Alpha w/Delta fan (sucking) load temps -- MB=40 CPU=39.0

WOW! Motherboard temps are way too warm for my taste.

I add another 60mm front case fan and still using the Alpha with the Delta fan, I drop mobo temp 1 degree and the CPU temp 1/2 a degree.

I add a 40mm "backdoor cooling" fan to one of the 30mm round vent hole on the backside of the motherboard mounting tray with the fan blowing directly onto the back of the motherboard. This is good for one more degree drop in MB temp, but the CPU temp stays the same.

Ok, now using the Alpha with a "sucking" 60mm Delta fan and adding a couple more fans, CPU temps are down 0.5 degree and motherboard temp is 6 degrees higher than the GlobalWin FOP38. Hopefully, I'll have a new 80mm fan to try on the FOP by this weekend. Stay tuned.

 

[Hoot]

IMHO, if the Alpha is that close to the FOP in performance, that is a tribute to the Alpha since it is sucking instead of blowing. Blowing can yield a 3-5 C
improvement of the core temp, but screws up air circulation across the mainboard because it washes out of the bottom of the HS onto the mainboard, colliding with the circulation pattern set up (hopefully) by your case fans.

Hoot

 

[Nagorak]

Woah, what's with those motherboard temps? My mobo temps are only around 75 Farenheit even under full load. You might want to increase your air circulation a bit. Is your case well ventilated?

 

[Megahurtz]

Look at the front page and see the article about the Copper Millenium solutions cooler..if this can be pulled off for a mere 35.00..they will not be able to keep up with demand..simply amazing.