Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer CPU Cooler
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The Tuniq TX-2 paste does not have a cure time and goes on smooth and easily with great performance under high CPU loads and about average performance under idle conditions. I have not tested the thermal paste against others but have read a lot of reviews and found this paste is a preferred one over Artic Silver 5 due to no cure time.
The Core-Contact Freezer also has the four separate heat pipes that contact directly with the top of the CPU for a better heat transfer. The heat pipes are pressed flat onto a core heat sink instead of being passed through a heat sink so the pipes contact the CPU directly for quicker heat dissipation along the four heat pipes.
Weighing in at 590 grams without the fan the Core-Contact weighs less than I expected when opening the package and the fan fits on nicely even though it is a bit loose. The fan will settle to the bottom of the assembly and clips when installing if you have the computer and motherboard laying flat on a table or surface.
When installing you have to use the AMD assembly type that is attached to the cooler and simply install with the two clips for an AMD motherboard. For an Intel you have to install the adapter which is done with four pins that go into the holes on the four corners of the adapter.
These pins push open the four halved pins that go through the motherboard holes that are common on the LGA 775 Intel design and securely mounts the adapter to the motherboard. You then just attach the cooler to the adapter with the two clips like the usual installation on a AMD motherboard.
For those of you used to an Intel assembly with the four hook system or the other Intel methods you are probably going to have to remove your motherboard. Once you have the hardware from the other cooler out of the way it will take a minute to install the new one and the cooler, it goes on quickly on new installs as well.
I tested this out against a Scythe Ninja Copper and was actually surprised at the results of testing using Prime95 for a load of the systems. I first installed the Core-Contact on an AMD system with an ECS KA3 MVP motherboard and an AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ processor and tested the Scythe Ninja Copper against the Core-Contact Freezer.
The Scythe Ninja Copper was reading 22° Celsius for idle and 52° Celsius at load with Prime95 while the Core-Contact Freezer was getting 19° Celsius idle and 42° Celsius under load. This is a ten degree cooling benefit from the Core-Contact over the larger Scythe Ninja Copper which really surprised me.
I then tried my new setup and checked out the cooling efficiency of an Intel system with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 on an ECS P45T-A motherboard. I received 19° Celsius idle and 44° Celsius load results for the Ninja Copper and 20° Celsius idle with 36° Celsius load for the Core-Contact Freezer.
This was not as much of a difference on the Intel system but still a better result using the smaller cooler with aluminum fins. The Core-Contact Freezer is a great performing cooler but I did have to take out the Intel motherboard to do the testing as the Ninja Copper would not install on the adapter used for the Core-Contact.
The Core-Contact Freezer is a great CPU cooler and installs very easily with an adapter that turns an Intel mounting solution into an AMD design for the CPU cooler. This makes future installs of an AMD design possible if you have the right cooler design but that is not all the benefits of this cooler.
The main benefits are the performance that I think is really good for a smaller cooler than the one I paired up for testing with about a 6 to 10 degree cooling advantage. The Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler from Sunbeam is a winner in my book with better performance in a smaller package.