CPU coolers can come in a number of shapes and sizes. The most common and inexpensive coolers are simply a block of fins pointing up from the CPU with a fan blowing down over them. Further up the chain you have towers and heatpipes, which take their fins alignment and air movement and rotate in 90 degrees. From there you get into weird fin shapes and configurations, and different materials and fan types. Most every company has tried their hands at these more unique coolers, with mixed success. Thermaltake is one company that keeps putting out coolers that both look interesting and actually work. One of their coolers seems to take its influence for the ninja.
Features and Specifications
The SpinQ Heatpipe CPU cooler is easily associated with the assassins of feudal Japan due to the row of cooling fins that look like a series of throwing stars. This cooler is a slightly different take on the tower CPU cooler design we’ve seen on Futurelooks many times before. Rather than a simple tower of fins with a standard fan blowing over them, the SpinQ has a series of radial fins with a fan blowing air outward. Heat is fed directly to these fins by way of 6 heatpipes. The design has the dual benefit of being remarkably quiet and efficient, and being able to help cool other nearby components as well.
The fan is variable speed, and has a control attached directly to it allowing manual adjustments vs a PWM design which adjusts automatically based on CPU temperature. If you overclock, you’d want to have it cranked anyway so this may or may not be an issue to you. However, you will have to open your case to reach it as there is no external bracket for you to reach the control once the case is closed.
For full specifications, you can check out the product home page. As for pricing, the Thermaltake SpinQ finds itself at a slightly higher level then many air coolers. Newegg currently has the cooler listed for $60 USD, which is between $10 and $30 more expensive than some coolers from Zalman and the like. Hopefully we get some extra benefit for our money.
A Matter of Compatibility
One of the benefits of the Thermaltake SpinQ is something that shouldn’t be a benefit; out of the the box the cooler is compatible with both Intel and AMD sockets.
Since I take care of most of the AMD side of things for Futurelooks I like this, but I really shouldn’t have to point it out. There are however coolers out there that are only coming with mounting for Intel sockets, as either a cost cutting measure or because of Intel’s majority market share. Some coolers include AMD mounting brackets that are pretty half-assed. I’ve actually managed to bend a cooler due to it’s horrible AMD mounting clip. That isn’t the case with the SpinQ though, as both the Intel and AMD mounts included this cooler are solid and easy to install.
Ooo… Shiny…
Thermaltake took care in putting some features in the SpinQ that are important to cooling performance. Take the bottom surface mounting plate on the CPU for example, which is the most important part as it’s also the one that contacts the CPU. Unlike many other coolers, Thermaltake has machined and polished the bottom surface to a mirror finish. This is a process referred to as lapping, and many enthusiasts will do this to their coolers to improve contact between the cooler and the CPU and improve cooling performance. Since Thermaltake already does this for you, you’ll get maximum performance from the contact surface and you won’t suffer from “CPU Heatsink Lapping Elbow”.
Taking a Closer Look (And Trying Not to Cut Myself)
The Thermaltake SpinQ doesn’t quite follow the design of many other radial fin coolers. Your typical radial fin cooler is a basically a round fan of fins with a standard 92mm or 120mm fan blowing over them front to back. Heat is transferred to these fins via a couple heatpipes that will usually run the circumference of the fins. Zalman’s line of coolers are a good example of this design, and show how the SpinQ differs.
As noted earlier, Thermaltake’s cooler consists of a row of fins with a hollow centre. Heat is transferred to them by way of six heat pipes, which are copper coated with some material to make them shiny. The whole rig is cooled with a radial fan that is used to blow air outward over the fins, similar to the way the cooling fan works on most modern video cards.
The fan is powered by a 3-pin connector that plugs into your motherboard. Thermaltake decided to skip using a PWM fan, which would be controlled by the motherboard and be affected by how hot the CPU got. Rather they connected it to a manual dial, allowing you pick whatever fan speed you wanted. Though the tiny dial does have a broad range of speed adjustments, it’s left to simply dangle in your case. This is unusual for Thermaltake, as many of their previous coolers would include a fan speed controller that could be mounted outside the case in a rear slot. It’s also somewhat annoying, as you have to open your case to adjust the speed on what is a rather expensive cooler.
At least you can wedge the controller into one of the many fins to keep it out of the way.
Installation
Installation was remarkably easy. The Thermaltake SpinQ utilizes the default AMD retention bracket found on all Socket AM2, AM2+, and AM3 processors. The included clip doesn’t attach to the cooler the say way the Intel clip does, but it does do a very good job of holding the cooler down and in place. This clip and retention mechanism is similar to the one found on another one of Thermaltake’s most recognizable designs, the fan like Thermaltake V1 Cooler.
Intel installation will of course require removal of your motherboard, unless you stumble across a case that grants easy access to the back of the CPU socket like a CoolerMaster HAF 932. Cutting a hole in the back of a motherboard tray. Go figure.
The Test Rig
To test the Thermaltake SpinQ Heatpipe CPU Cooler we hooked it up to our standard test rig, which consists of the following components.
- AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU
- GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P AM3 790FX Motherboard
- Kingston HyperX 4GB DDR3-1600 Dual Channel Memory Kit
- ASUS EAH5850/G/2DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 5850 Video Card
- Kingston SSDnow V-Series 128GB Solid State Hard Drive
- HighSpeed PC Top Deck Tech Station
- Ultra Products X4 1050W Modular ATX Power Supply
We used OCCT to test the thermal performance of the SpinQ. This tool allows us to push the CPU to a full 100% load for any amount of time we deem suitable. For the purposes of this test, the system was left to idle for 30 minutes to get it’s idle temperature. I then put the spurs to ‘er, running the CPU at 100% for 60 minutes to get the load temperature. This was done for both high and low speed, and the results were compared against what AMD considers it’s “stock” cooler.
Thermal Results
Well it’s quite easy to see that the Thermaltake SpinQ holds quite an advantage over the stock cooler. Even at the lower speed setting, the SpinQ managed to keep the CPU in our test rig 12% cooler then the stock block at idle and 16% at load. Ramping the speed of the fan up to high made an even bigger impact, with a jump of 21% in performance at idle and 25% at load. These are impressive numbers, and only seem to be dwarfed by the two water cooling rigs I’ve reviewed, the Corsair H50 and the CoolIT Domino A.L.C. Funnily enough, those two coolers are in the same price range as the SpinQ making the choice between a Ninja Gaiden inspired cooler vs an advanced self contained water cooling system a little more difficult (or easier depending on how you look at it).
Noise Levels
Noise is always a concern with air coolers. Sure you could get absolutely amazing performance from an air cooler, but you could also get it sounding like a jet engine. For the good performance provided by the SpinQ, it certainly doesn’t produce a lot of noise. At low speed, the noise from the fan in the SpinQ is near imperceptible over the din of the rest of the system. Cranking the fan speed up to high did produce and audible effect, but only caused my testing equipment to jump 1.5dBA according to our trusty noise level meter.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
The Thermaltake SpinQ Heatpipe CPU Cooler is a very good cooler for those looking for maximum performance with a unique design, and quiet operation. The design of the cooler is both eye-catching, and functional. With the fin design and radial fan, the CPU is able to be kept cool with minimal noise and effort. The large number of independent heatpipes ensure even cooling and efficient heat transfer. The design also cools adjacent components. The mounting options provided don’t disappoint either, and even the little extras like the fan controller add value.
The SpinQ isn’t without it’s flaws, be they minor or major. The first one I’d like to point out is the price. This cooler is around $15 to $20 more expensive than the competition. It is a great cooler, but the price combined with a couple of minor noted quirks make this a bit of an issue. First is the lack of an external fan speed controller. Thermaltake has provided this feature to other coolers before, and at this price point I would expect it to make an appearance. The second is a bit of an after-though, but one of personal safey.
You see, when I compared this cooler to a ninja shuriken, I wasn’t kidding. The fins on these are sharp, and have lot’s of protruding edges. You’ll want to be slightly more careful when installing this cooler compared to other high end coolers.
In the end, the SpinQ is all about performance using air. The numbers produced show that. There’s a few minor bugs to work out and add on in another revision, but overall I could see myself using this cooler if I needed something that was an air cooler, looked interesting, and provided good performance.
Pros
- Looks very cool
- Quiet while performing well
- Manual fan speed controller
- Includes mounts for all modern CPUs
Cons
- A little too pricey
- No external fan controller
- Noticeably sharp cooling fins
Overall Rating: 8.5/10.0
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Thermaltake SpinQ Heatpipe CPU Cooler Photo Gallery
