Coolermaster Aero7+ Review

The CoolerMaster Aero7+ is designed for socket processors including Pentium 3 and the entire AMD Athlon line up to 3000+ and higher. Here is an overview of the system and testing methodology.

DFI LanParty KT400A
Athlon XP2200+ Tbred (AXDA2200DKV3C)
CoolerMaster Aero 7+
CoolerMaster xDream SE

I used the included BIOS monitoring software to provide temperature information from the system. A simple game of Quake 3 provided the 100% processor usage.

Editors note: Even though the Windows XP task manager reported 100% processor usage we could never attain a 100% of the rated heat output as documented by AMD (see below) when using Quake3 as a basis for that heat production. Knowing this, the game was played until the maximum temperature was attainted and stabilized, or when the round was over.

Other things to consider when judging software induced heat output.
a) Clock throttling by the processor at high temperatures.
b) Normal software isn't designed to produce maximum heat output.
c) Variances of cooling temperature.
d) Variances in CPU load.
e) Inaccuracies in thermal diode readouts.
Of course the list goes on..

My testing methodology is aimed to provide a real world look into this heatsink given the test system provided.

A C/W rating can quickly be calculated using this formula.

C/W = (CPU temp - Ambient temp)/(Variance(%) * CPU Watts)
Allowed variance for this test = 75%
CPU Watts = 67.9W

0.32 C/W = (41C - 24.6C)/(.75(67.9W))

For this next test we cranked the FSB up to 180Mhz and re-ran the tests. To calculate how the C/W rating has changed we will need to factor in the increased processor wattage. The formula and constants for this is listed below.

ocC/W = dCPU Watts * (ocMhz / dMhz) * (ocVcore / dVcore)²
ocMhz = 2084
dMhz = 1800
ocVcore = 1.75
dVcore = 1.65
The variance still applies for our C/W calcuation
Allowed variance for this test = 75%
CPU Watts = 88.5W

0.32 C/W = (46C - 24.6C)/(.75(88.5W))

This is very interesting; the C/W didn't change despite the increased temperature and processor wattage. In previous heatsink tests the C/W will normally go up telling us that the heatsink is having trouble getting rid of the excess heat. This is due in part to not having direct airflow over the center of the heatsink. Anyhow the C/W rating will give us an idea as to how well this heatsink is able to dissipate a given load. The lower this number is the better the heatsink is at cooling.

Keep in mind this calculation is provided for demonstration purposes only and may not reflect the actual lab tested C/W rating, but I think I'm close