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Product: CAK 38 Heatsink & Fan
Manufacturer: Global Win
Homepage: www.GlobalWin.com.tw
This is the second in a row world exclusive. How do we keep our readers at the cutting edge of technology? Good question, if someone knows drop me a line... All I need to say is that there is the flagship of the Global Win empire in da house! You probably did not know it exists let alone seen a picture of one. Well, this beauty is the latest candidate who fancies his chances. The first addition to the Global line that is made of something other than aluminium, this unit is made entirely of that oh so fashionable substance - copper. Gaze upon it's regal splendour...
We have had to put up with the FOP 38 stomping around the place like it owns it. Frankly, it does. There have been may pretenders to it's cooling throne but each has had to settle for a lower rank. It may not be the prettiest and it sure as hell isn't the quietest but it carries out its main purpose impressively. Let's check 'em out next to each other.
The first obvious difference is the fan's being raised about 0.5 cm above the heatsink. This is one of a number of alterations that have been made including the heatsink's shape being modified to be square as opposed to the FOP's wings. The radiator fins are now separated into rows and columns thus allowing the air to come into contact with as much surface area as possible thus leading to greater thermal transmission efficiency.
Test conditions
I know we put this in every cooler test but it is important - it shows that all reviews are conducted on the same system and can therefore have their results compared.
The system that the cooler was tested on:
Abit KT7A-RAID
Duron 700mhz
2*128MB PC133 Crucial CL2 (this upgrade should have no affect upon temp)
Voodoo 3 3000 PCI
Maxtor 6 Gig HD
Enermax EG365P-VE psu (again, this will not change the readings)
You know the drill: our aim is to provide a real world test, i.e. to simulate the experience that you would have if you had bought this heatsink. Therefore, we will take measurements from the onboard temp gauge under the cpu and decibel readings but not under lab conditions.
The ambient room temperature was kept at 22c, if this changed we stopped testing until it had returned to this base level.
Fitting
As this is the first unit in the country ( :-) , it is for evaluation purposes and so it did not come with the usual thermal pad. There was only some generic thermal paste on the bottom and this was lovingly cleaned off with the tramp's second best friend Isopropyl alcohol. The base looked slightly grainy as most hs do but it was nothing that a good lapping (assuming you can lap copper) wouldn't cure. Core having been prepared meant it was time for danger. The unit sat atop the cpu and the rear clip was clicked into position. After the trouble with the FOP clip I was not looking forward to attaching the front, but in the end it was the easiest job in the world. There was no need for a screwdriver as I was able to press the clip down and into place with the minimum of effort. Sorted.
Noise?
We all know the violence with which the FOP's fan rotates and this energy translates into noise. The levels produced by these fans are extremely high, so I will just chart the results. I did perceive the level to be lower than that of the FOP but perhaps it had just deafened me a bit.
The figures for the FOP 38 were 73 dB and 58 dB so the two fans were roughly equal taken into account testing discrepancies.
Enter the Dragon
The main strength of the FOP is it's fan so it looks like there may well be a new royal ass on the throne tonight. As ever, first test is running the cpu at it's default speed of 700 mhz with the idle temp taken after 30 mins and full load after 30 mins of Seti.
Jesus, I thought that it would be close but this.... The CAK (unfortunate acronym btw!)has managed to wipe the smirk from the FOP's face within the first test. I immediately feel sorry for the FOP because it has got another two rounds left and it looks like it's going to take one hell of a beating. The idle temp has never been so low (the same as the system temp!) and this is the first time the full load figure has been under 30C at default. We have decided to strike the dual test of Seti and 3D mark cpu because the results were not particularly easy to interpret with a temp monitor unable to measure lower than 1C units.
Test 2 and both combatants are eager to go. The FOP has got a point to prove but with the CAK in this sort of form who's going to bet against it (I'll give you 3:1 ). We take up the wattage the cpu is producing by increasing the speed to 900 mhz at a core voltage of 1.775v. The incessant whirring is beginning to tax my brain at this point so let's move on swiftly.
Oh no, how the mighty have fallen. The systematic efficiency of the CAK is too much for our old war horse to handle. The CAK has managed to drop the idle by 2C and the full load by 3C, which is an amazing achievement considering the levels at which the FOP was operating. The low temperatures achieved by the CAK are the same as those that lesser coolers came up with at the default speed 200 mhz less..
The last session looms and you can see the dread in the eyes of the FOP, they do say what goes around ..... This test has the cpu running at 945 mhz at 1.85v resulting in a lot of heat. Check it.
Another resounding victory for our copper-clad friend. The FOP has been thoroughly defeated in every department which is a feat in itself but the CAK has done so with style. The reduction below the 40C mark shows a difference of upto 15C over some of our earlier coolers! Phenomenal performance. The idle with the cpu producing 48 watts (Radiate) of 27C is an unbelievable figure for a pure air cooling solution.
Conclusion
Global Win are accepted as the best bang for your buck coolers with the previously supreme FOP 38. Their latest design has crossed over to the modern trend for copper heatsinks and has quite literally blown away the opposition. The levels to which it was cooling the chip are below those we thought possible for air cooling. The only negative to come from this unit is the noise of the fan but to get to this level you need to move a large volume of air. The FOP and CAK are both top of the Premier league of coolers where they have little if no competition.
This unit carries on the FOP tradition of muscle over finesse which most overclockers are looking for. In this case, there can be no other choice at this point in time.
The new standards are so low now as to seem unbreachable but then there is always a newer, better designed product just around the corner. If competition carries on like this, we will have no need for peltiers and water cooling soon!
The King is dead, long live the King!
The final ChillBlast rating is *********
Cheapest price in UK: £32 @ Chillblast Store
The Global Win CAK 38 will be available in the first week of May.
Global Win's site can be found at www.GlobalWin.com.tw
Many thanks to Gary at Rainbow Components for the supply of this product and many others with such speed and courtesy.