Hardware Thermalright Macho Rev.A review

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cooling/2012/11/16/thermalright-macho-rev-a-review/1

 

Nice review, but too bad you didn't add a passive test @ stock speed (with only the case fans). The Macho / HR-02 is known for its passive capability.

 

At last! a heatsink for those gay modders... just be yourself Thermalright! -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO43p2Wqc08

 

I recently bought one of these. Two points:

1) Mine did not come with a screwdriver. It was supplied with a completely useless 3" pressed steel "spanner". I managed to rig a long enough screwdriver by daisychaining several hex bit-holders together.

2) I agree with GuilleAcoustic - this cooler is amazing for fanless/silent cooling. I currently have mine set up on an i5-3570k at stock, alongside a fanless Sapphire HD7750 and a single case exhaust (Noctua NF-P12 @ ~550rpm) which only needs to ramp up during synthetic stress testing - it doesn't budge for day to day "stressful" stuff like gaming/video transcoding. Granted, Bit-Tech is more about the go-faster stripes than silent computing, but this is one of the few coolers on the market which can manage this so it's got to be worth a mention.

Build quality isn't quite up there with previous Thermalright coolers (it's more in line with Scythe) and the new packaging is as cheesy as it comes, but this heatsink definitely continues Thermalright's deserved reputation as the silent air cooling masters.

I don't think much of the fan though, so it's just as well I didn't need it! ... That said, the Noctua's no great shakes either; it gets very loud very quickly once you go above ~650rpm. There's a real dearth of high quality, low speed PWM fans out there.

 

It's a very specialist market and most people want fans that are functional rather than decorative. In terms of low noise/high CFM, the king of the hill will always be the Gentle Typhoon, which is virtually inaudible at about 1000rpm but still shifts a good amount of air. The impeller and bearing design is in a different league from other fans.

 

I've just replaced a Scythe PWM fan with the Noctua NF-P12 and have to disagree. It's a very good fan as long as you keep it below that magical ~650rpm figure. I'm also running mine around 550rpm and it's just about inaudible at that speed (I can only hear it if I open the case and put my ear right up to it).

I agree though, there is a dearth of high quality, low speed PWM fans out there but there's also an absence of good testing. Most forums I looked at recommended different makes which was confusing. Noctua, Akasa, Artic Cooling, Coolermaster & more were mentioned. I'd love a round-up on Bit-tech or maybe even an article on how to silence your PC, although maybe sites like SilentPCReview are best setup for that.

 

Wouldn't personally say low-RPM fans fall into the category of being more decorative than functional, but I think I know what you mean.

"Virtually inaudible" is a subjective term. I personally have never experienced a fan that was quiet enough for my liking at 1,000rpm although I'm happy to believe that if anyone can do it then Scythe can - the S-Flex D & E models were outstanding. I wasn't aware that they made a 4-pin PWM version of the Gentle Typhoon though - must check that out.

I agree completely - they're fantastic below 650rpm and that's exactly what I was implying when I said "it gets very loud very quickly once you go above ~650rpm" ... what I didn't say was that other (much cheaper) fans are quieter in the 650rpm+ range. I think basically what I'm saying is that whilst they're not that bad, they are pretty poor value for money.

 

Great review and your case reviews are second to none. That being said, I am extremely disappointed that you never have reviewed the Noctua coolers which are probably the best air coolers on the market. Maybe in the future you will pick one up to review.

 

A while back I did a comparative review of the Gentle Typhoon; you can find it here if you're interested.

All the high speed versions of the Gentle Typhoon have the PWM circuitry, however most of them (strangely) are sold as 3-pin fans, including the one I had briefly - which was incidentally the subject of my first post on this forum and my reason for joining BT.

I was stunned by the Gentle Typhoon (still am, and have used two of them ever since that review at the start of this year) and would highly recommend it for any and every heatsink.

 

Confused a little by this; do you mean the PWM IC was/is present on the fans but unused?

 

Yep - all the high speed Gentle Typhoons have four contacts on the PCB but for some reason they are sold as 3-wire fans, probably to eliminate the extra cost of having to produce a different PCB in addition to that of the existing high speed PWM Gentle Typhoons. If I had known this when I still had my 3000rpm model I would never have sold it!!