3RSystem iCEAGE: A New Cooling Company Tackles the Heatpipe Tower
by Wesley Fink on June 21, 2007 12:02 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Cooling at Stock Speed
Some users will never overclock their CPU, but they still want to run the coolest CPU temperatures possible to enhance stability and extend CPU life. The 3RSystem iCEAGE comes with a high-quality slot-mounted rheostat coupled to a high-output fan. Therefore we tested the iCEAGE with the supplied fan and rheostat.
Where the very good Intel stock cooler keeps the X6800 at 41C at idle, the iCEAGE managed 29C, which is among our top performers. This is a significant improvement over the Intel stock cooler performance at 41C, and results are 3C short of the best we have tested. The Thermalright coolers, at the top of our heatpipe tower performance charts, cool to 26C and 27C, and the Tuniq 120 maintains 27C. The iCEAGE is competitive in cooling at stock idle speed.
It is more difficult to effectively simulate a computer being stressed by all of the conditions it might be exposed to in different operating environments. For most home users CPU power is most taxed with contemporary gaming. Therefore our stress test simulates playing a demanding game.
The Far Cry River demo is looped for 30 minutes and the CPU temperature is captured at 4 second intervals with the NVIDIA Monitor "logging" option. The highest temperature during the load test is then reported. Momentary spikes are ignored, as we report a sustained high-level temp that you would expect to find in this recording configuration. This test configuration roughly equates to an 80% CPU load test using Intel TAT.
Cooling efficiency of the 3RSystem iCEAGE is then compared under load conditions at stock speed to the retail HSF and other recently tested CPU coolers.
The iCEAGE under load at stock speeds reached a maximum temperature of 39C with the included fan at highest speed. This compares to the Thermalrights at 32C and 33C, the Tuniq at 34C and the Cooler Master Hyper 6+ and Zalman 9700 at 36C. Stock load performance is average at best among tested coolers.
We strongly suspect results with the iCEAGE would have been comparable to the Scythe Infinity had we been able to mount two fans in a push-pull configuration. However, 3RSystems will need to slightly modify the cooling fins to allow the option of two-fan mounting.
Some users will never overclock their CPU, but they still want to run the coolest CPU temperatures possible to enhance stability and extend CPU life. The 3RSystem iCEAGE comes with a high-quality slot-mounted rheostat coupled to a high-output fan. Therefore we tested the iCEAGE with the supplied fan and rheostat.
Where the very good Intel stock cooler keeps the X6800 at 41C at idle, the iCEAGE managed 29C, which is among our top performers. This is a significant improvement over the Intel stock cooler performance at 41C, and results are 3C short of the best we have tested. The Thermalright coolers, at the top of our heatpipe tower performance charts, cool to 26C and 27C, and the Tuniq 120 maintains 27C. The iCEAGE is competitive in cooling at stock idle speed.
It is more difficult to effectively simulate a computer being stressed by all of the conditions it might be exposed to in different operating environments. For most home users CPU power is most taxed with contemporary gaming. Therefore our stress test simulates playing a demanding game.
The Far Cry River demo is looped for 30 minutes and the CPU temperature is captured at 4 second intervals with the NVIDIA Monitor "logging" option. The highest temperature during the load test is then reported. Momentary spikes are ignored, as we report a sustained high-level temp that you would expect to find in this recording configuration. This test configuration roughly equates to an 80% CPU load test using Intel TAT.
Cooling efficiency of the 3RSystem iCEAGE is then compared under load conditions at stock speed to the retail HSF and other recently tested CPU coolers.
The iCEAGE under load at stock speeds reached a maximum temperature of 39C with the included fan at highest speed. This compares to the Thermalrights at 32C and 33C, the Tuniq at 34C and the Cooler Master Hyper 6+ and Zalman 9700 at 36C. Stock load performance is average at best among tested coolers.
We strongly suspect results with the iCEAGE would have been comparable to the Scythe Infinity had we been able to mount two fans in a push-pull configuration. However, 3RSystems will need to slightly modify the cooling fins to allow the option of two-fan mounting.
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crimson117 - Thursday, June 21, 2007 - link
In this picture, the fins at the top right are bent out of place. Did it ship that way?http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/cooling/2007/3...">http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/cooling/2007/3...
So much for that quality assurance sticker!
Wesley Fink - Thursday, June 21, 2007 - link
Yes, it shipped that way. I take pictures straight out of the package - before testing. I did catch the bent fins at the top and straightened them out before mounting. Using a wide flat blade like a putty knife generally works pretty well for straightening.Souka - Thursday, June 21, 2007 - link
The bent fins increase air turbalance... which improves cooling.... right? :Pyacoub - Thursday, June 21, 2007 - link
Oh come on, first of all that likely happened during shipping and second it almost certainly doesn't impact the performance... it's not like they broke off.crimson117 - Thursday, June 21, 2007 - link
Well, to some it's important that products don't arrive damaged. If the product was able to shift around so much in its packaging that it dented several fins, who's to say it didn't knock something else out of alignment?I'd pay a bit more for a securely packaged product over one that is easily dented during shipping.
Goty - Thursday, June 21, 2007 - link
I would like to see how all of these heatpipe towers would do with a fan with higher flow and static pressure like a SilenX ixtrema or the like. If anything, the lower sound output would be worth it.Deusfaux - Thursday, June 21, 2007 - link
pleaseeee!SilthDraeth - Thursday, June 21, 2007 - link
I just searched for that cooler, and it looks awesome. I would like to see it reviewed. If it can cool great and look like that, then more power to them.strikeback03 - Thursday, June 21, 2007 - link
I'm not sure "awesome" is the word I would use. "Unique" fits though.insurgent - Thursday, June 21, 2007 - link
the mounting system is exactly the same as the ones PC Cooler uses for their heatsinks... I believe that's the same company Zalman sued for copying their hsf designs.