Test Setup

Epox 4PDA2+ i865 Motherboard
1GB Coarsair TwinX 4000
Intel Pentium4 2.06GHz (533FSB)

Performance Results

As a comparison I used the new Intel stock cooler which is actually a well made and surprisingly efficient cooler. It uses the same principle of a copper base supplemented by aluminium fins and should be a good competitor.

The graph below represents a period of zero activity followed by 10 minutes running Hot CPU Tester Pro 3 and then a further period of zero activity to examine the time taken for temperatures to settle again. The test runs left to right.

As you can see, as soon as we turned the heat up the stock cooler was impacted almost immediately while the Aeroflow was able to sustain the idle temperature for significantly longer. When we shut down HotCPU the Aeroflow was first to begin lowering temperatures though they stabilised fully at similar times. Further testing at different ambient temperatures seems to give the Aeroflow a two degree advantage (C) both stressed and idle, which considering that problem with the base is pretty impressive.

I wasn't able to overclock any further using the Aeroflow than I was with the stock cooler which was a touch disappointing, but again this might be that base.

Conclusion

The 3DVelocity 'Dual Conclusions Concept' Explained: After discussing this concept with users as well as companies and vendors we work with, 3DVelocity have decided that where necessary we shall aim to introduce our 'Dual Conclusions Concept' to sum up our thoughts and impressions on the hardware we review. As the needs of the more experienced users and enthusiasts have increased, it has become more difficult to factor in all the aspects that such a user would find important, while also being fair to products that may lack these high end "bonus" capabilities but which still represent a very good buy for the more traditional and more prevalent mainstream user. The two catergories we've used are:

The Mainstream User ~ The mainstream user is likely to put price, stock performance, value for money, reliability and/or warranty terms ahead of the need for hardware that operates beyond its design specifications. The mainstream user may be a PC novice or may be an experienced user, however their needs are clearly very different to those of the enthusiast, in that they want to buy products that operate efficiently and reliably within their advertised parameters.

The Enthusiast ~ The enthusiast cares about all the things that the mainstream user cares about but is more likely to accept a weakness in one or more of these things in exchange for some measure of performance or functionality beyond its design brief. For example, a high priced motherboard may be tolerated in exchange for unusually high levels of overclocking ability or alternatively an unusually large heat sink with a very poor fixing mechanism may be considered acceptable if it offers significantly superior cooling in return.

The Mainstream User ~

A great design, a great fan and general high quality make this a very tempting proposition. It outperforms the already good stock cooler and does so without adding too much to the noise levels or the weight. My only concern would be the way that copper slug doesn't sit flush with the aluminium base but as I haven't heard mention of it anywhere else maybe we were just unlucky and the rest of them are not like this. I'd certainly ask the retailer about it before you buy. Having said that the results were still good even allowing for this so it's hardly a deal breaker, more an annoyance that needn't be.

At a price of £21.29 + VAT it's a well made cooler with a good performance, well controlled noise levels and a unique design that has a very neat and tidy appearance to it. Certainly one to consider.

The Enthusiast ~

Most heavy duty PC enthusiasts have made the transition to all copper or even water cooling so the merits of a hybrid copper and aluminium HSF are unlikely to appeal to them for anything but situations where weight savings are important, perhaps in LAN boxes and the like. The fan is certainly something even an enthusiast would find appealing. A 5800RPM fan that pushes nearly 36CFM of air at 5800 RPM without sounding like a rock drill is always likely to be a welcome touch.

The Aeroflow would probably appeal to the less adventurous overclocker but for those tryng to corner that new benchmarking record it's not really the beast for you.

A Closer Look

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