Xigmatek Thor's Hammer + Arctic Cooling F12 PWM

[Dentles]

Hi guys, I was on the lookout for a new cooler to replace the one I currently have (a Zalman CNPS5X that has performed admirably, but seems a little emaciated for my power crazed FX-8320 CPU) and stumbled across Thor's Hammers being sold cheaply (£15.99), as they have reached the end of their product life cycle.
Being the maverick that I am, I decided to purchase this particular beast in favour of the more popular, highly respected (and more expensive) 212 EVO that most people seem to recommend so readily on forums. Don't get me wrong, from what I've read, that little cooler deserves all the praise it gets, but where's the fun in buying something that EVERYBODY likes? I prefer a challenge! Specifically, strapping a couple of PWM fans to it and finding out what kind of temperatures I can get with it. Besides, if I don't, who will?

Therefore, I was wondering whether anybody has any experience of owning this hunk of metal and how well it performs either passively, or with PWM fans attached.
As a footnote, any opinions regarding the Arctic Cooling F12 PWM fans will also be welcome (as these are my fans of choice).

[AETAaAS]

The Xigmatek is cheaper but form what I understand it is sold with no fans so there is an additional expense. However if you have a personal fan preference or if you have a specific build aesthetic in mind, this could be better.

I find it kind of amusing how you go from... 'Bah! who wants to do something that everyones doing? I want a challenge!' - to going - 'Actually, has anyone done this yet?' in the space of one post. To answer your question, it seems to perform about the same as other 12cm class tower coolers and seems to trade blows with the older 212+ inbetween a couple reviews but does gain an edge with a dual fan setup but one review did go passive which was pretty good considering some of the other passive coolers.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coo...rs-hammer.html
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...er-review.html
http://www.eteknix.com/xigmatek-thor...cooler-review/
http://www.pureoverclock.com/Review-...-thors-hammer/
http://www.frostytech.com/articlevie...articleID=2415
http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi..._thors_hammer/

Dunno about the F12s, I've used the F9s and they were pretty much your run of the mill fan. A little noisy but shifts reasonable air.

[Domestic_Ginger]

When comparing the Thors hammer its definately important to see which fan reviewers use. Frostytech uses a 1500rpm and it loses 5oC against the 212.

The thors hammer looks really good to me; its a bit big though :/.

[mikeo01]

I've owned both and I can say they are an OK match.

For an FX-8320? Well, if your overclocking then no way.

The AC F12s as mentioned are really your standard fan; I have two in my top (for aesthetics) they don't push much if there is some resistance.

Thors Hammer is a decent cooler; however it will only install facing up. Meaning you'll have your fans drawing in the lovely hot air from your graphics card exhausting it to the top of the case.

My advice? Look else where. It's good for an Intel system but for an AMD system the orientation really does kill it a bit.

[Dentles]

Thanks for some excellent feedback on the topic guys! Really appreciate the amount of effort you've put it.

I genuinely hadn't considered whether or not this cooler could only be mounted in one orientation (the silly orientation), so that was definitely an oversight on my part :O Thanks for pointing this out, I probably would have spent 3 hours trying to figure out why it didn't fit the proper way and end up kicking my cat into the fire out of frustration. That said, the only 200mm intake fan I have is on the side of my computer case and has it's epicentre (I'm certain this isn't the correct term) directly positioned between the graphics card and CPU cooler, so it wouldn't be a total disaster (especially with the other two side fans that are installed on my case). Admittedly, it's not an efficient or well thought out cooling system, but this is about par for the course in my world.
Does push/pull make much of a difference in CPU temperatures? I assume it probably has some effect, along with the general direction of motion of hot and cold air within the case, but it must be secondary to the amount of airflow moving in and out.

Also, deviating from happy-go-lucky to overly cautious in the space of one post just emphasises how much of a free-spirited, rule breaking kind of guy I am (even when it's my own rules and notions), so to you too, sir. Besides, I may be a maverick, but I'm no fool

EDIT:
Forgot to mention that I'm not planning to overclock this system, unless I get crazy low temperatures (which seems unlikely)

[mikeo01]

Remember when a fan is horizontal it has to push air up and also intake air and exhaust it up also. Usually puts pressure on the fans bearings; but also most fans aren't strong enough. So your more likely to have stagnant air just gently hitting or going through the heatsink only then to flow out each side. This in turn means you'll probably have warm air flowing onto your RAM and back through your case.

Although the orientation isn't a huge disaster; just be careful with it; especially because the graphics card is below it.

The fan type you are looking for should have high static pressure to be able to push air through the fins. The Arctic Cooling fan in my experience does a poor job at it.


For a case fan it's not too bad because it's just pulling air out of the system.

It's true that you should control the flow of air, it's quite easy to move. Push/Pull does really help temperatures in my case. For me it's a difference up to 5c minimum. I have noticed just adding another second higher static pressure (combine with high CFM) I was able to drop the temperatures by 10-12c (for my OC ). But again it does depend on the case layout and what may be affecting the airflow.

[Dentles]

Thanks again for your input Mike.
I did some more research and put some extra thought into this and I was wondering whether having a CPU cooler taking the exhaust air from the back of the graphics card and dissipating it through the rear CPU fan would create a more efficient cooling system for said graphics card? I know this isn't what a CPU cooler is designed for and it may well be counter-productive in the efforts to keep its temperature down, but it's just something that occurred to me.
I also looked into the AC F12 PWM fans more extensively and it seems some people really love them and some people really hate them. That said, I've been interested in Nanoxia fans for some time, as their manufacturer stats seem to be the cat's whiskers, but there don't seem to be many reviews of them (I've created a separate thread about this, too).
Does anyone have any experience of using Nanoxia fans?

[mikeo01]

Definitely not the best idea. Air doesn't really work like that, it'll probably end up causing more issues that it would solve.

The best graphics cards' coolers have a sort of heat chamber that'll exhaust out of the back of the case. A lot of cards just have a single fan with a "fan" shaped heatsink which are awful.

The general direction you want is air being pulled in through the front and side, whilst your CPU draws that in a horizontal direction to the rear. That said you could experiment with your side fan with most intake and exhaust to see if it has any effect on the GPU/CPU temperatures.

As for the Arctic F12s, yes they're decent for case fans but their static pressure aren't great for a CPU cooler.

Never heard of Nanoxia, but for a CPU their stated static pressure is 1.18mm H2O at full blast. That is OK but isn't the best for a heatsink.

For a CPU fan you want the highest static pressure reading as possible because that's the force the blades can generate, and that's what's going to push the air through the heatsink.

[Bluecube]

I'm not sure if you'll be able to do this with your "power crazed" CPU but I run my Thors Hammer on an i3220 with no fans at all. Even when playing games it never gets toasty.

[Dentles]

How about if I remount my fans, so that the top 200mm one and the CPU fan facing it become intake fans and the 200mm side fan and the CPU fan facing the graphics card become exhaust fans? That way, I have a push/pull system and my CPU cooler gets a supply of cool air.

[Bonebreaker777]

I'm not sure if you'll be able to do this with your "power crazed" CPU but I run my Thors Hammer on an i3220 with no fans at all. Even when playing games it never gets toasty.

I am running my i5-3470 (TDP 77W) with no FANs too and I never even hit 50. Maybe even less, haven't tested since I exchanged my previous i5-2400 (TDP 95W).

How about if I remount my fans, so that the top 200mm one and the CPU fan facing it become intake fans and the 200mm side fan and the CPU fan facing the graphics card become exhaust fans? That way, I have a push/pull system and my CPU cooler gets a supply of cool air.

Try and see. Run a 12h test with the current configuration and make sure your record your temperature readings. And the try to run a 12h test with the newly proposed configuration.

EDIT: Tested with Intel Burn Test running for 12h. Core Temp (1.0 RC5) was showing that the CPU used at full load around 55W and so was the average temperature (55°C) during that 12h. The case FANs were spinning at 500 & 750 RPM.

[mikeo01]

The FX-8320 does pump out 125W. That's 8 modules over 4 cores (I5).

However you could test it. It is a beastly heatsink and is rated high for passive cooling.


As for the orientation, it's similar to trying to push air up, in that it's difficult to push down. However, if that 200mm fan is unobstructed you could push some nice air into the case and change the flow direction. You'll have to try it out.

Although making that side fan an exhaust could cause potential problems.

But yes, best thing to do is test different fan positions as this is all based on assumptions. I remember when I had it, spend ages moving fans around.

You may find that a certain setup can yield unexpected results, give it a go