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Product: Sspring SBCT601CAF-1B
Manufacturer: Spring Spread Enterprise
Homepage: www.sspring.com.tw
Ah, a new day, a new cooler review. Right, let's get it on with the next in line. Oh a special surprise for you all today, it seems that this is a world exclusive, our site being the first to review this sucker! Spring Spread Enterprise Ltd. are a small company that have been in the cooler business for five years (or so their site says!). They kindly sent me a number of products to review so first up is the SBCT601CAF-1B, a rather long serial code for a cpu cooler but who am I to question anything!
At first glance the box is well designed and looks very professional. I removed the unit and was struck by the extra weight it was compared to all the other hsf we have had on the rack. I would give you the weight but I think it has little bearing on anything, unless that is you manage to drop it onto the core (cue my next accident). Check it.
Once out of the box it is clear that the design of this one is different to the others as it has a solid copper core running from top to bottom and the fan is mounted on one end. Here it is pictured against the ThermoEngine.
This is as different a cooler to the ThermoEngine as the latter is to the FOP 38. The unit feels and looks far more industrial and I've got a good feeling (yes, I'm sure you know why).
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
I took off the grease proof slip attached to the thermal pad and was curiously met with the nostalgic smell of solvents mmmm.... Sspring's pad was very sticky and did smell extremely potent but it had to go. I then removed the thermal pad with the usual suspects - fingernails, Q-tips, Isopropyl and anything else that isn't going to damage the base. Finally, I'm left looking at the circle of copper embedded into the base. It is clear of the strange but heady mix of solvent and thermal pad. Time to prepare the core and we'll be locked and loaded. Installation was a doddle, well nearly. It locked at the rear taking hold of all three things (not sure what to call them) easily, I began to push the clip down toward the front thing but came to an abrupt halt. The clip was still a good 5mm away from being in place and there was no more give. ****. It was going so well. I am reluctant to use a screwdriver when inserting coolers because the force needed to push the clip in can easily be diverted and cause a nasty graze of the pcb. Well, courage and a screwdriver carried the day. The extra force delivered through the screwdriver allowed the clip to lock in easily. Job done, knock off time.
How noisy?
With trepidation I hit the power and was able to detect the fan but that was about it. There is a direct correlation between fan noise and cooling power so I am sad to say it but you need to endure pain for your art. Well, this fan whirs at 6,500 rpm but produces a level of noise more in line with one doing 4,500! I think this bodes well but let's break out the charts.
Nice figures. As far as we are concerned, the noise produced by a unit is only marginally less important than it's cooling ability. Read on.
Testing times
We are here for one reason, to see how good it actually is, so on with the show. We put the SBC figures against the current champ, the FOP 38, as the Sspring contender has told us it's not here just to make up the numbers (2).
As ever, idle is taken 30 mins after boot and full load 30 mins of Seti@home. Well, there's a close run race. Only a single degree behind the FOP in both tests, remember that this is the default speed of the cpu but it is still close. We ran the cpu test only from 3D Mark 2000 with Seti as we had in all previous reviews, but the temp stayed at the same level. This is the first time that the test has not been able to increase the temp by a degree. Exciting... or maybe I just stay in too much.
Next stop was 900 mhz at core voltage of 1.775v. The FOP was still strutting around but looking a little less sure of itself.
Again we see very little between the two units, a single degree only at full load and the bravado has gone from the FOP. When we ran 3D Mark cpu test, there was an increase of 1C in line with our expectations.
The bell goes for the last round and there is the smell of fear hanging in the air, the outcome hangs in the balance.
DOH! The gap has marginally increased and left us with the FOP as our current undisputed heavy weight champion of the cooling world, in numbers at least. The figures produced are still very close and the results from this pair of quite different coolers are exceptional . The last test was the 3D Mark but I expected the 1C increase but it never came. This points to the temp at 900 mhz being on the border between 39C and 40C.
Conclusion
The SBC gave the FOP a real run for it's money but in the end had to succumb to the lethal power produced by the Delta fan. It stayed within range of the FOP without being able to match it but the overall package is superior. The low level of noise produced, coupled with fantastic cooling result in the SBC becoming our current favourite. It has taken the position of the ThermoEngine but it's superior cooling power negate the looks of the Engine (a bit like stone blunts scissors). I know this changes every day, but that is how often new, improved products are coming out. All I can say is bring it on!
The final ChillBlast rating is *********
Spring Spread Enterprise's site can be found at www.sspring.com.tw
Many thanks to Sspring for the supply of this product and others with such speed and courtesy.