Verdict: As flexible as a rubber hose
It's strange how motherboard manufacturers haven't diversified into processor HSF production before now, as they have so much expertise and experience with CPUs.
Step forward Gigabyte, with its first processor HSF, the snazzily named Cooler-Pro PCU21-VG. It's no ordinary HSF though; it can support every modern desktop processor type - Pentium 4, Athlon XP, Athlon 64 and Athlon 64 FX - thanks to the three sets of mounting clips included in the box.
The design is very unusual in that there isn't a base heatsink at all, just a mounting block into which four heatpipes are sunk. The heatpipes rise vertically off the base a couple of inches into a giant heatsink. The fins of the heatsink are cooled by a variable-speed blower fan. Fan speed can be adjusted from 2,000 to 4,000rpm. When the fan is set to minimum speed it's incredibly quiet, but at maximum speed it's extremely noisy.
We tested the Cooler-Pro on a 3.2GHz Pentium 4 overclocked to 3.36GHz. At the minimum fan speed we recorded an idle temperature five degrees hotter than the Intel reference HSF and four degrees hotter when the CPU was fully loaded. We then switched the fan to maximum speed to see if it cooled any better. With the CPU idle the temperature was still hotter than the Intel HSF - two degrees to be exact - but when the CPU was loaded it was two degrees cooler.
Two major flaws on the main unit cause the average cooling performance. Firstly, the heatsink base is very poorly finished and heavily scratched, so it doesn't make good contact with the CPU heatspreader. Secondly, the mounting clips don't hold the unit firmly enough onto the CPU, so it rocks about in the processor socket.
CONCLUSION
Although the Cooler-Pro can fit any current desktop processor, its thermal performance leaves a lot to be desired.
