1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Hardware Phanteks PH-TC90LS review

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by brumgrunt, 1 Oct 2012.

  1. brumgrunt

    brumgrunt What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    16 Dec 2011
    Posts:
    1,009
    Likes Received:
    27
  2. GuilleAcoustic

    GuilleAcoustic Ook ? Ook !

    Joined:
    26 Nov 2010
    Posts:
    3,277
    Likes Received:
    72
    I just have one question, which is a great complain. Why did you test this cooler only with OC cpu ?. This cooler would interest more than one people using case with cooler height limitation, meaning no OC CPU. Not everybody is OC their CPU !! If you put test result in OC situations, the least would be to include test in standard situation, including i3's too.

    What's the next step ? Testing an IGP with only Metro 2033 and BF3 with ultra setting and ending saying it's a crap since it can't play them @ 200+ fps ?
     
  3. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

    Joined:
    7 Apr 2009
    Posts:
    17,419
    Likes Received:
    5,791
    It's hardly relevant to the review, but I'd have the overwhelming desire to fit a different fan. Pull arrangements really do suck! ;)
     
  4. blacko

    blacko What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    30 Jul 2012
    Posts:
    138
    Likes Received:
    2
    could be an interesting cooler for an unclocked ivy bridge / ITX build.
     
    Last edited: 1 Oct 2012
  5. Combatus

    Combatus Bit-tech Modding + hardware reviews Lover of bit-tech Super Moderator

    Joined:
    16 Feb 2009
    Posts:
    2,761
    Likes Received:
    89
    Hi GuilleAcoustic. The overclocked CPU is part of our standard CPU cooler test system which we've been using for several years. Yes some people won't be overclocking the CPU but many people will be, especially with the latest mini-ITX hardware and cases promoting overclocked mini-systems. At the end of the day we can't test every setup, and if we went for a really small case, we'd be very limited in the amount of coolers we could add to the comparison. It's just a limitation of testing these products really. However, the results show that this cooler is more than capable of handling an overclocked LGA1155 CPU in a relatively small case with little airflow so it doesn't need a huge leap of faith to assume it will also perform fairly well in an even smaller case, with no overclocking, as you suggested ;)
     
  6. GuilleAcoustic

    GuilleAcoustic Ook ? Ook !

    Joined:
    26 Nov 2010
    Posts:
    3,277
    Likes Received:
    72
    I get you point, but case size and cpu variety aside, this test could at least present results with the same rig being at stock and being OCed. That's not very hard.

    I'm not the only one to think that, and even a French Tech website is talking about your review

    here is a translation :

    Edit: It's a good point to have a worst case scenario test, but when you're reviewing GPU yuo always put OCed result as a "plus". Why should OC result be the only one available for CPU cooler ? They are really not linear and stock cooling capability can't be deducted from your review.

    Edit²: Being standard procedure shouldn't mean that you cannot adapt them depending on what you're reviewing. You don't review a ferrari the way you review a mainstrem car. Should be the same with heatsink. It's obvious that it would'n keep quiet and cool with an OC i7.
     
    Last edited: 1 Oct 2012
  7. Valinor

    Valinor What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    30 Oct 2010
    Posts:
    90
    Likes Received:
    0
    Slight error on the first page - its weight is listed as 2.73kg, which seems a tad on the heavy side for this cooler. Nice review though.
     
  8. karbonKid

    karbonKid Minimodder

    Joined:
    5 Jul 2006
    Posts:
    117
    Likes Received:
    3
    Will this cooler fit into a 1u case it you take the fan off?
     
  9. DreamCatcher

    DreamCatcher What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    10 Apr 2009
    Posts:
    16
    Likes Received:
    0
    I wouldn't mind the tested CPU so much as I would care fore a comparison to other coolers of similar hight, e.g. the Big Shuriken 2 or the Prolimatech Samuel 17.
     
  10. Sloth

    Sloth #yolo #swag

    Joined:
    29 Nov 2006
    Posts:
    5,634
    Likes Received:
    208
    It'd certainly be interesting to see if fan arrangement would give different numbers, but I believe the fan's been arranged that way to work better in an mITX setting. In a compact case with perhaps only a 120mm intake and the PSU for exhaust drawing air to the cooler is less of an issue, but getting heat away is a little more troublesome. This fan allows the hot air to be blown away from the motherboard and hopefully into either the PSU fan or case vents rather than dumping it all on the motherboard and hoping the positive pressure from the intake fan pushes it out of the case.

    In theory. Maybe. It might just make no difference. :D
     
  11. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

    Joined:
    7 Apr 2009
    Posts:
    17,419
    Likes Received:
    5,791
    It's entirely possible that it has been designed to perform better in a pull configuration, but every time I have experimented with pull vs push on heatsinks, or rads for that matter, the difference in favour of push has been stark.
     
  12. fluxtatic

    fluxtatic What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    25 Aug 2010
    Posts:
    507
    Likes Received:
    5
    Gotta agree that only have OC results is a bit lame. I've seen more than a few reviews of HSFs here that were compatible with, for example, 1155, 2011, and AM3, and all configs were tested, stock and OC. This review feels lazy, like after the last review, the test bed was left OC'd. Rather than testing, resetting the configuration and testing again, this cooler was thrown onto the testbed, the tests were run and that was the end of it.

    There are plenty of cases where coolers respond differently at stock vs OC (although it does tend to be more typical that they collapse under OC testing), and given the particulars of this cooler, I think stock testing would have been far more relevant. That is, if I'm so space-limited on my cooler that this is one of few options available, I doubt I'll be looking to overclock much of anything.
     
  13. Phanteks

    Phanteks What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    2 Oct 2012
    Posts:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hello guys,

    I want to thank the Bit Tech Team for the review. I would like to say that the fan placement is incorrect. Many replies about push or pull. In the review the fan is place on the wrong side. This cause the fan to be a little loose causing more noise. The fan is design to push air into the heatsink and not pull. I would like to again thank Bit Tech for the review.
     
  14. Phanteks

    Phanteks What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    2 Oct 2012
    Posts:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    hello Karbonkid,

    We will be releasing PH-TC90U for 1U servers. it is without the fan. Thank you.
     
  15. The_Gnu

    The_Gnu 8-bit addict

    Joined:
    12 Sep 2005
    Posts:
    746
    Likes Received:
    93
    Not to be picky but I noticed a small error in the specifications and thought I would just point it out.
    It says 2,73KG, but it's supposed to be 0,273KG.

    Looks like a nice little cooler.
     
  16. GuilleAcoustic

    GuilleAcoustic Ook ? Ook !

    Joined:
    26 Nov 2010
    Posts:
    3,277
    Likes Received:
    72
    That ...

    [​IMG]

    ... vs reviewed one ...

    [​IMG]

    BT, could you redo the review please, with proper mounting. This could change figures a lot. If you do, please add standard non OC cpu aswell. This cooler deserves a FAIR review. Thanks

    EDIT: Just a question ... why does the thumbnails on page 1 show the fan mounted the good way and when you click on them it shows the same picture (with a slightly different angle) with the fan mounted the wrong way ?

    Thumbnails (fan pushing) :

    [​IMG]

    Clicked one (fan pulling and slightly diff angle and overexposure):

    [​IMG]

    Thumbnails (fan pushing):

    [​IMG]

    Cliked one (fan pulling and slightly diff angle and overexposure):

    [​IMG]

    Only the pictures with the fan mounted are that way ... purposly reshoted them when you noticed it was mounted the wrong way ?

    If I'm right, I'm really disapointed ....


    Thumbnail (no fan) :

    [​IMG]

    Clicked (no fan ... oooh it's the same):

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: 5 Oct 2012
  17. Combatus

    Combatus Bit-tech Modding + hardware reviews Lover of bit-tech Super Moderator

    Joined:
    16 Feb 2009
    Posts:
    2,761
    Likes Received:
    89
    I must have missed this comment after we discovered the issue - we'd actually received an email from Phanteks a few days prior to your comment and retested then added an amendment to the article and updated the results, which were better.

    It looks like you caught us mid-way through taking new photos too - they all show the cooler with the fan pointing in the correct direction now!
     
Tags: Add Tags

Share This Page