Thermalright Inferno FX-14 CPU Cooler Preview

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FrgMstr

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Thermalright Inferno FX-14 CPU Cooler Preview - Thermalright gives HardOCP an exclusive first look at their new Inferno FX-14 heatsink as we break in our new Core2Duo test bed along with a new cooling editor in the Great Northwest.

Thermalright has long been one of our most appreciated air cooled thermal solution builders. They seem to have once again supplied us with a superior product. Due to the nature of this product not being a true retail sample, we will not run it through the normal gamut of testing. When we receive a retail sample of the product we will of course compare it to some of the newer upper end CPU air coolers on the market.
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looks good...

it would be interesting to see what mobos that backside cooler fits...

I cannot imagine many... and i wonder what cooling benefits it would provide given its relatively small size compared to the monstrosity of the main cooler...
 
Neato review... what ever happened to heatsink fins being perfect rectangles? I know this is not the first heatsink to do this but at what point did the designers say "Gee, maybe if we add more sharp corners to this thing we will get our own warning label:D ,"

Also how do you plan to standardize your tests so viewers can see a performance comparision of all your heatsinks?(that will be reviewed in the future)
 
I'm disappointed in the review. The only reason to buy that monstrosity is to overclock.

So the stock cooler ran higher temperatures, but you never indicated what the overclocking difference was between the 2 coolers. I assume it was unstable at 3Ghz with the stock cooler, but completely stable with the FX-14..

I guess I would want to know what the ceilings were for each cooler, the value comes in processor performance achieved. I guess I don't care that one chills at 70 C and the other chills at 54 C. 3Ghz is your bottomline.
 
Usually, I love the reviews around here. However, this review seems a little dull and of little real importance. Sure, the cooler outperforms the stock intel cooler at idle and load, but that's a given. We don't really need a review to tell us that a $80 aftermarket solution is going to outperform our "free" stock cooler. Moreover, the rather basic review of this cooler seems very un-[H]-like by just giving it some quick numbers. I do understand that this is a quick and dirty "preview," but a little more info would be nice.

What I would really like to see is how it affects your overclocking potential and, if possible, a (quick, if need be) comparison to one of the other very popular and powerful (and cheaper priced) coolers such as the Tuniq Tower 120 and Thermaltake Ultra 120 Extreme on your same test-bed.
 
Please put it up against the Ultra-120 Extreme once you get around to making those comparisons.
 
Am I the only one to spot the [H] sighting right here?!? :rolleyes:

The thing is a giant H, not once was it mentioned.....sheesh... what do Thermalright have to do to get the [H]'s attention?

build big heatsink .... check
make it work well .... check
turn it into a giant [H] .... yeah why not ... check

:D
 
acra2 said:
Am I the only one to spot the [H] sighting right here?!? :rolleyes:

The thing is a giant H, not once was it mentioned.....sheesh... what do Thermalright have to do to get the [H]'s attention?

build big heatsink .... check
make it work well .... check
turn it into a giant [H] .... yeah why not ... check

:D
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I saw that bigass H on the front page, I kept thinking TR was trying to brown nose the [H]. Good review though, I'm surprised the board didn't collapse from the weight of that thing.
 
clockworks said:
I saw that bigass H on the front page, I kept thinking TR was trying to brown nose the [H]. Good review though, I'm surprised the board didn't collapse from the weight of that thing.
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It's not just H. It's H^ looks like an H with a exponent.
 
clockworks said:
Good review though, I'm surprised the board didn't collapse from the weight of that thing.
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I have the Tuniq Tower 120; it's huge. Still, I have no issues with my system, despite the weight and size. You just need to be careful transporting such a system; put it on its side when taking it somewhere, and don't ship said system with it installed.
 
would have been nice to compare it to the top coolers

and some more pics of the hsf installed at different perspectives would have been nice
 
Guys, it was only a preview, it wasn't meant to be a complete review. They promised us comparisons when they get a retail version, so we're going to get them. Have a little faith :cool:

That said, does anyone know when we can expect this cooler to hit the market?
 
From overview to installation to performance measures, that was quite a preview. The performance numbers were impressive, from a singular standpoint.

I'm anxious to see how the retail version stacks-up against other coolers.
 
For the Backside cooler I think a good thermal pad that goes between the MB and the MB tray would probably work just as good, I mean use the tray as a big ass heatsink, even a steel tray would work pretty good, an aluminum one would work awsome.
As for the styling of the main heatsink, I would imagine that the reduction in surface area due to styling effects cooling very little, it will also increase the sales for all the people that have windows so they can impress there friends. Theres alot of heatsinks out now that have odd shaped fins for asthetic reasons, I think as long as it doesn't hurt performance then go for it, you get the best of both worlds, good looks and good performance!
 
scrawnypaleguy said:
Guys, it was only a preview, it wasn't meant to be a complete review. They promised us comparisons when they get a retail version, so we're going to get them. Have a little faith :cool:

That said, does anyone know when we can expect this cooler to hit the market?
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So it's really just free PR for Thermalright?
 
scrawnypaleguy said:
Guys, it was only a preview, it wasn't meant to be a complete review. They promised us comparisons when they get a retail version, so we're going to get them. Have a little faith :cool:
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Henceforth, it's our job to thrash this psuedo-review called a preview, so when the real review comes around they know what questions we want answered.

And sure it may be free PR for Thermalright..but from the looks of things it is well deserved PR.
 
Al Shades said:
Please put it up against the Ultra-120 Extreme once you get around to making those comparisons.
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QFT!

Also, preview or not, it would have been nice to get some, uh, previews of how this cooler stacks up against the other primary contenders. If you've got the hardware in hand...
 
It's like perfect for this Website! What more could you ask for?

Good Review!!!

DM
 
Love the picture. I was fooled and thought it was somebody goofing.

On another note. I have nearly the exact set-up and use an ArcticCooling Freezer Pro 7.
At about 1/3 the cost, my e6300 at 3.01 Ghz is 28 idle and 42-44 degrees under full load.
80 bucks for that Huge sink that requires a bunch of hardware to install seems a big con to me.

Nice article though.:D
 
Pixel Eater said:
QFT!

Also, preview or not, it would have been nice to get some, uh, previews of how this cooler stacks up against the other primary contenders. If you've got the hardware in hand...
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Exactly

How hard would that be?

Also, the cooler is referred to as both "FX-14" (sounds like a CPU to me) and "IFX-14"...I believe IFX-14 is the correct spelling
 
Great article, Wes. Noticed very few typos: :D Not saying [H] reviews contain many typos, but it's a good start: keep it up.

Wow, what a cooler. I'd like to mention that it can/will accept 140mm fans, i.e. IFX-14...

~Ibrahim~
 
I think this review is really a lost opportunity. As far as I can see, nobody else has reviews of this product on the web yet. So [H] had the opportunity to compare this thing to the Tuniq Tower, Big Typhoon, whatever, and really be the definitive first look at this cooler.

Instead, the (p)review can be summarized by saying:
1. It's big
2. It cools better than stock Intel HSF

I knew both of those before this preview was written.

And, again, it would be helpful to at least type the name of the product correctly.
 
jebo_4jc said:
I think this review is really a lost opportunity. As far as I can see, nobody else has reviews of this product on the web yet. So [H] had the opportunity to compare this thing to the Tuniq Tower, Big Typhoon, whatever, and really be the definitive first look at this cooler.

Instead, the (p)review can be summarized by saying:
1. It's big
2. It cools better than stock Intel HSF

I knew both of those before this preview was written.

And, again, it would be helpful to at least type the name of the product correctly.
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How did they 'mistype' the product name? Unless I'm horribly mistaken, even Thermalright calls it the IFX-14...A typo can happen, so what? A rather noticeable typo, but....

Whilst I would've liked a better comparison, they CLEARLY mentioned that they would conduct further reviews with this platform.

Nonetheless, I would greatly appreciate either this test being performed on the old platform or the other coolers tested on this platform.

~Ibrahim~
 
What am I missing, having the heat output of one side dumping into the fan intake of the other side cant be good for maximum cooling.

With a suggested retail price of $79.95 (without fans) this is certainly a high-end cooler.
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I would suggest that should read ...this is certainly an expensive cooler.

Until it is compared to other products the "high end" moniker is open to debate.

Would not have hurt to mention that per Gigabyte Tech support, removing the "crazy cool" back heatsink from a DQ6 voids the boards warranty. Not that it stopped me. ;)
 
All good points guys. This work was lacking even for a PREview. We will make it better next time I promise. Thanks to those pointing our shortcomings in an adult manner, it is appreciated.
 
ikjadoon said:
How did they 'mistype' the product name? Unless I'm horribly mistaken, even Thermalright calls it the IFX-14...A typo can happen, so what? A rather noticeable typo, but....

Whilst I would've liked a better comparison, they CLEARLY mentioned that they would conduct further reviews with this platform.

Nonetheless, I would greatly appreciate either this test being performed on the old platform or the other coolers tested on this platform.

~Ibrahim~
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Well it's not called the Inferno FX. It's IFX or infernal fire extinguisher (stupid name I know), not he Inferno FX-14.

What everyone is dying to know, apart from the coolers previously mentioned, is it's performance compared to the Ultra-120 Extreme. If you believe the anandtech review, and I see no real reason not to, that one already spanks other coolers including the Tuniq, according to their test paramaters. It's cheaper and smaller. So how does this compare.
 
Let this cooler flex its muscles! Put a highly overclocked QX6700 that will do 3.6+ and crank up the voltage to see if it really can pull away from the other champs. Now THAT would be a real test. ;)
 
coynatha said:
I guess I don't care that one chills at 70 C and the other chills at 54 C. 3Ghz is your bottomline.
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But for how long? Perhaps they could have put 70C+*. That would have given the "graph-readers" a chance to understand [H] actually had to STOP the TAT due to rapid temp spiking. As for not caring about temps on a cpu...:(

Zok said:
the Tuniq Tower 120 and Thermaltake Ultra 120 Extreme
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At least throw one of them up real quick! :D

scrawnypaleguy said:
Guys, it was only a preview...
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It was a %#$#** tease!! :mad: :mad:

jebo_4jc said:
..."FX-14" (sounds like a CPU to me) ...
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I'm thinking IFX-140 would have been that much cooler. :cool:

Dataman said:
It's like perfect for this Website! What more could you ask for?
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[H|branding complete w/ maroon, grey, and yellow/orange stripes.

Thanks for throwing this out there guys. I'm glad [H] has decided to use such repeatable controls. Most of us can replicate the runs [H]'s doing and that gives us the "real world" action we've all come to know and love.

-Strict Ambient 24C
-Core Temp
-AS5
-TAT

I think it might be nice to also use Orthos Large or Blend as quite a few of us are using that and it would show stability. We had a very popular thread awhile back that required a 4hr Orthos run to demonstrate this. I prefer 8, but whatever's clever. :p

The other suggestion I have has to do w/ the cooling. Please grab a Scythe SFLEX, a Nexxus/Yate Loon, and perhaps one or two other VERY popular 120mm's for testing. Quite a few of us own these. ;) Also, Silent PC Review's got a recommendation list that compares "actual" CFM/DB and impressions. They also did a 120 round up awhile back w/ the Antec Tricool. That gave me 3 fans I've used to compare w/ their results...they were SPOT ON.

That brings me to my last "wanna have" info...noise levels. We all know what a screamy bitch that stock HSF is, right? ;)
 
Use the scythe s-flex fans, as they are the new fans for the enthusiast, due to high cooling and very low noise due to new kind of sony ball bearing.

check out anandtech.com in any of their cpu reviews for it....

also, is this thing better than ultra-120 xtreme????

f
 
Yeah TAT is great if you want to test a cooler's ability to tame the heat of any given overclock. It will heat a cpu higher than Orthos blend. I'd agree with others that additional high end coolers of repute should be in these reviews for comparison.
 
Well i am disappoint from the performace. Tuniq gives you better performance for less money, and for that price i can have Water cooling that can beat the hell of this air cooler.

Even that water cooling is open box from newegg.

:eek:
 
annaconda said:
Well i am disappoint from the performace. Tuniq gives you better performance for less money, and for that price i can have Water cooling that can beat the hell of this air cooler.

Even that water cooling is open box from newegg.

:eek:
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Did you have a hidden menu with other coolers? Amazing, because I didn't see any other coolers in this preview.


Oh no, you weren't actually comparing results from this preview to another one where the Tuniq was tested, were you?;)
 
Jodiuh said:
...The other suggestion I have has to do w/ the cooling. Please grab a Scythe SFLEX, a Nexxus/Yate Loon, and perhaps one or two other VERY popular 120mm's for testing. Quite a few of us own these. ;) Also, Silent PC Review's got a recommendation list that compares "actual" CFM/DB and impressions. They also did a 120 round up awhile back w/ the Antec Tricool. That gave me 3 fans I've used to compare w/ their results...they were SPOT ON.
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<rant>The only problem with the various SPCR reviews is that they are so bull-headed about cut-off points for quietness that they leave out tests that would otherwise be useful for readers (ie. if I have fan X and I know what it's noise level is and I'm ok with that, it would be nice if it was included in the review - so *I* can determine whether some other fan works better, with less noise).
</rant>

Anyway, here's another very good review of 26 fans of various speeds and noise levels. To me, it looks like the new king is the Sharkoon Silent Eagle 'Golfball' 2000, along with the ebmPapst 4412FGML - both of them outperform the Yate Loon SL and Silverstone FN121 (in both effective CFM and noise levels) when clocked down to the lower speeds of those fans, but have more headroom at higher voltages for even more cooling power (along with more noise, of course).

I hope this guy updates his test with more fans soon (I'd love to see a similar test for 92mm fans).
 
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