Power Cooler PCH141 Review - PAGE 1

PCH141 is another socket cooler from POWERCOLER. This is my second review on this manufacturer. The first one was for the model PCH123(7020), and oh my, was that a BIG one. But guess what? Yes, this one is even bigger.

Theoretically, bigger heatsinks yield better performance since bigger usually means more surface area and hence better heat dissipation. But is that always true? Let’s find out if that theory applies here.

Specs

This unit ships with a Tx70202H fan. This fan is big, alright, (70x70x20mm and equips with 14 blades) but it delivers little… No more than 30.0CFM of maximum airflow is mediocre. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a 6800RPM Delta fan? But then someone would object due to the imposed noise. However, the Tx70202H fan isn’t quiet either -- especially on top of the PCH141 heatsink. The noise it makes is loud to the point that it stands out from the other noises in a closed case. I suspect this is due to air trapping in between the heatsinks (though I don’t have any proofs for that =p).

Yes, you read it right. This unit comes with more than one heatsink. It’s, in fact, composed of two heatsinks – a blue one turned up-side-down sitting on top of an ordinary silver-coloured one with their fins interlaced with each other’s (refer to the picture for actual implementation). There’s something you can’t see from the picture, however, and that is what lies right beneath the fan – the base of the blue heatsink. Of course, there must be some openings in the blue base to allow air to be drawn by the fan. So if you look right down at the fan, you will see through the top heatsink to the bottom one (and of course, you’ll see the blue fins, as well, since they remain attached). Because of these holes and cavities between fins, I came up with my assumption for the cause of noise.

The PCH141, like the PCH123(7020), ships with a “thin” layer thermal pad. So I had to do two tests again – one with the thermal pad, and then again with my own silicone grease. You’ll see the comparison in the test results.

Installation

Installing this cooler is easy, but you’ll need a screwdriver that fits the screwdriver slot. Once you get the tool ready, the rest is just a normal drill. It does take a little effort to push the clip down, but that’s it. And removing is, again, the normal procedure.

There is one negative aspect to this unit though; and it could be a big one if you have a small box. I have to admit that I had a hard time getting the clip in place because of limited space in my mid tower case. Hence, I would not recommend this to people with a mini tower or the likes.

Test Procedures

The PCH141 was run against a Intel PIII socket370 stock unit. Idle temperatures were taken after 10 minutes of 0% CPU usage, and full load temperatures were taken after 10 minutes of 100% CPU usage.

Test Results

As you can see, there’s a big difference between the original thermal pad and third party thermal compound tests. However, the idle temperature is still disappointing either way. On the flip side, the full load temperatures show a satisfying 7 degrees between the stock cooler and my version of PCH141.

Conclusion

Other than noise, size, and the need for thermal compound replacement, the PCH141 makes a good competitor in the market; just like the PCH123(7020). Wait a second! If you take a few moments and look at my review on the PCH123(7020), you will see that the last row of the two tables are almost identical. This indicates that the double heatsink design is not as efficient as one may think it is. This didn’t surprise me since I never understood the purpose of the top heatsink, which had little contact with the bottom one.

Unless you are particularly fond of the blue and silver combination, you’d be better-off with the PCH123(7020).

Rating

Overall Score: 85%