| Thermalright Macho HR-02 CPU Cooler |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cooling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by David Ramsey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sunday, 10 July 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thermalright Macho HR-02 CPU Cooler
Manufacturer: Thermalright Inc. Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Thermalright. If you're overclocking your CPU, you're going to need a better cooler than the one that shipped with your CPU. There are many aftermarket alternatives, but enthusiasts know that Thermalright's products should always be on their short list. The problem is the high-performance coolers can cost quite a lot, with prices of more than $75 for top-end air coolers and well over $100 for good all-in-one water coolers. Thermalright tries to address this problem with the Macho HR-02 cooler, which they pitch as their "mainstream enthusiast" product. At an MSRP of $39.95, it comes in well under most high performance coolers, but will its performance match theirs? Benchmark Reviews puts this product to the test. As CPU design migrates to a 32nm process (such as Intel's new Sandy Bridge processors and AMD's forthcoming Bulldozer CPUs), power consumption and heat production go down, and the need for monster cooling systems decreases. But there are still a lot of very hot CPUs out there, such as the overclocked and overvolted Core i7-950 I use in my heat sink test machine.
Any CPU cooler's primary task is to cool the CPU. Since retail CPUs come with perfectly adequate coolers, the main reason to buy an aftermarket cooler is for conditions that the stock cooler can't handle...namely, overclocking. Air coolers aimed at overclockers can cost more than $75, and with the Macho HR02, Thermalright's trying to bring this level of performance to a lower price point. Thermalright Macho HR-02 Specifications
Closer Look: Macho HR-02 CoolerThermalright doesn't believe in putting lots of specifications and advertising copy on their boxes. You'll get a plain green and black box with a fade-in image of the cooler. There are some specifications on the side of the box, in very small type. Oddly, one of the things called out on the side of the box is the phrase "Fanless design for low noise operation." While this is true of the non-Macho version of the HR-02 heatsink, the Macho version of course comes with a fan, albeit a very quiet one. 
Inside the box is the cooler itself and the accessories package, which is basically mounting brackets and screws for Intel Socket 775/1155/1156/1366 systems and AMD AM2/AM3. The various screws and plastic washers are in non-resealable bags, so be careful not to lose the ones you don't use. The small silver plate in the middle of the bottom row in the image below fits over the heat sink's base and attaches with two small screws to secure the HR-02 to its mounting bracket. This plate is similar to the adjustable pressure plate Thermalright uses for some of its other coolers, but it's missing the large pressure screw in the center.
The actual heat sink is quite large. There are 31 oddly-slotted and widely-spaced aluminum fins which are perforated by six 6mm copper heat pipes. A Thermalright TY-140 fan comes attached to the front of the heat sink.
The nickel plated copper cooler base has a near-mirror finish. Side-to-side (in line with the heat pipes), the base has a noticeable convexity. It seems to be perfectly flat front to back.
Looking at the top of the heat sink, we can see a mysterious large hole near the rear. Also note that while there are mounting holes for another set of fan clips, Thermalright only includes the set holding on the included fan.
A side view of the heat sink shows an interesting design: the base is offset towards one side of the cooler.
This is a big heat sink. How hard is it to mount, and how will it fit? Let's see in the next section. Thermalright Macho Detailed FeaturesFortunately, all of the mounting hardware included with the Thermalright Macho HR-02 heat sink is metal, with the exception of some small plastic washers. The mounting kit includes separate base plates for Intel and AMD systems, rather than a single combo plate.
The mounting system is pretty standard: first, you thread knurled metal spacers onto the screws protruding through the back plate (as seen here near the corner of the processor socket): 
A mounting plate attaches with screws threaded into the spacers. A small plate fits over the heat sink's base and secures to this mounting plate using two small screws. A third hand is helpful here, since the offset of the heat sink's base means that it tends to tip over backwards until you secure the first screw. There are no tension springs on the screws; tension is provided by the springiness of the small metal plate. Unlike some other Thermalright CPU coolers, the Macho has no adjustable pressure mechanism.
Do you have a 9.5", magnetic tip, Philips-head screwdriver? I ask because you will need one to install this heat sink: the rear retaining screw is accessed through that hole in the top of the cooler. The front retaining screw is easy to get to with the fan removed. The mounting screws have a hex head and Thermalright does supply a tiny wrench that could be used to tighten them, but there's no way you could use this wrench with the motherboard installed in most cases.
The cooler's offset base may require odd tools to install, but it brings one significant benefit: unlike most other coolers this size, the Thermalright Macho HR-02 won't impinge upon your RAM slots...at least not on this ASUS Sabertooth X58 motherboard. As you can see from the image below, there's ample clearance for tall RAM in any RAM slot.
For testing, though, Benchmark Reviews prefers to mount CPU coolers with the heat pipes oriented horizontally, with the fan blowing upwards. In this case the HR-02 will occlude a RAM slot or two.
In this orientation, the side of the heat sink is touching the DIMM in the second RAM slot. Heat Sink Test MethodologyBenchmark Reviews is obsessed with testing CPU coolers, as our Cooling Section has demonstrated over the past few years. We've solicited suggestions from the enthusiast community, and received guidance from some of the most technical overclockers on the planet. As a result, our testing methodology has changed with every new edition of our Best CPU Cooler Performance series. Because of this, each article is really its own stand-alone product, and cannot be fairly compared to the others. Benchmark Reviews continues to test CPU coolers using the stock included fan (whenever applicable), and then replace it with a high-output fan for re-testing. Manufacturers are not expected to enjoy this sort of comparison, since we level the playing field for all heat sinks by replacing their included fan with a common unit which is then used for every CPU cooler tested. Many manufacturers include fans with their heat sink products, but many 'stock' fans are high-RPM units that offer great airflow at the expense of obnoxiously loud noise levels, or, conversely, quiet fans that sacrifice performance for low noise. By using the same model of cooling fan throughout our heat sink tests, we can assure our results are comparable across the board. This is one of the more significant changes we have made to our test methodology, since many of the benchmark tests we have conducted in the past have compared the total package. Ultimately we're more interested in the discovering the best possible heat sink, and we believe that you'll feel the same way. For each test, ambient room temperature levels were maintained within one degree of fluctuation, and measured at static points beside the test equipment with a digital thermometer. The Thermalright Macho HR-02 and the comparison coolers used a common Thermal Interface Material of our choosing (listed in the support equipment section below) for consistency. The processor received the same amount of thermal paste in every test, which covered the heat spreader with a thin nearly-transparent layer. The heat sink being tested was then laid down flat onto the CPU, and compressed to the motherboard using the supplied retaining mechanism. If the mounting mechanism used only two points of force, they were tightened in alternation; standard clip-style mounting with four securing points were compressed using the cross-over method. Once installed, the system was tested for a baseline reading prior to testing. At the start of each test, the ambient room temperature was measured to track any fluctuation throughout the testing period. AIDA64 Extreme Edition is utilized to create 100% CPU-core loads and measure each individual processor core temperature. It's important to note that software-based temperature reading reflects the thermal output as reported from the CPU to the BIOS. For this reason, it is critically important (for us) to use the exact same software and BIOS versions throughout the entire test cycle, or the results will be incomparable. All of the units compared in our results were tested on the same motherboard using the same BIOS and software, with only the CPU-cooler product changing in each test. These readings are neither absolute nor calibrated, since every BIOS is programmed differently. Nevertheless, all results are still comparable and relative to each product in our test bed (see The Accuracy Myth section below). Since our test processor reports core temperatures as a whole number and not in fractions, all test results utilize ADIA64 to report averages (within the statistics panel), which gives us more precise readings. The ambient room temperature levels were all recorded and accurate to one-tenth of a degree Celsius at the time of data collection. When each cooler is tested, Benchmark Reviews makes certain to keep the hardware settings identical across the test platform. This enables us to clearly compare the performance of each product under identical conditions. Benchmark Reviews reports the thermal difference; for the purposes of this article, thermal difference (not the same as thermal delta) is calculated by subtracting the ambient room temperature from the recorded CPU temperature. Please keep in mind that that these test results are only valid within the context of this particular test: as the saying goes, your mileage may vary. Intel Test System
Support Equipment
All of the tests in this article have been conducted using vertical motherboard orientation, positioned upright in a traditional tower computer case. Air-cooled heat sinks are positioned so that heat pipe rods span horizontally, with the fan blowing air out the top of the chassis. The radiators of water coolers are mounted as per manufacturer instructions. In both cases, fans are connected directly to the power supply (rather than motherboard headers) and run at full speed during the test. At the start of our test period, the test system is powered on and AIDA64 system stability tests are started with Stress CPU and Stress FPU options selected. AIDA64 loads each CPU core to 100% usage, which drives the temperature to its highest point. Finally, once temperatures have sustained a plateau (no observed change in average temperatures for 5 minutes), the ending ambient room temperature and individual CPU core levels are recorded thus completing the first benchmark segment. The time to reach stable temperatures varied between 10 and 20 minutes for the heat sinks in this test; larger heat sinks typically take longer to stabilize. Update 13 July 2011: Although the Macho HR02 mounting instructions do not specify a heat sink orientation, Thermalright was concerned with our initial performance figures and suggested we re-test with the Macho HR02 installed so that the fan blows out the back of the computer case, rather than the top. We re-tested and recorded significantly improved results with this orientation. We've edited this article to report the improved results and conclusion. The second test segment involves removing the stock cooling fan and replacing it with a high-output 120 mm Delta AFC1212D cooling fan, then running the same tests again. Note: Both the Antec Kühler H2O 620 and the Coolit Vantage A.L.C. are designed to drive their own RPM-controlled fans directly; in the case of the Vantage, an alarm will sound continuously if there is no fan connected. For these coolers, the fans were left connected as designed during stock fan testing. For high-speed fan testing, the Delta fan was connected directly to the power supply (and the alarm on the Vantage ignored). The Accuracy MythAll modern processors incorporate an internal thermal diode that can be read by the motherboards' BIOS. While this diode and the motherboard are not calibrated and therefore may not display the actual true temperature, the degree of accuracy is constant. This means that if the diode reports 40°C when it's actually 43°C, then it will also report 60°C when it's truly 63°C. Since the design goal of any thermal solution is to keep the CPU core within allowable temperatures, a processor's internal diode is the most valid means of comparison between different heat sinks, or thermal compounds. The diode and motherboard may be incorrect by a small margin in relation to an actual calibrated temperature sensor, but they will be consistent in their margin of error every time. Testing and ResultsFor this test, I used the following heat sinks in addition to the Thermalright Macho HR-02:
For heat sinks without a stock fan, I used a Thermalright TR-FDB-12-1600 fan, which puts out 63.7CFM at 28dBa according to Thermalright. This mid-range fan provides good air flow and reasonable noise levels. For "apples to apples" testing, where each heat sink is tested with the same fan, I used a Delta AFC1212D. This high-performance PWM fan is rated at 113CFM at a claimed 46.5dBa at full speed...which means that while it moves quite a bit of air, it's very loud. The Intel Core i7-950 I used in this test runs much hotter than the Core i7-920 I've used previously. At 1.35 volts, with a BCLK of 175Mhz, the 4,025Mhz CPU pumps out enough heat to stress the very best heat sinks. AIDA64 would report throttling once any single core reached 100 degrees Celsius; any throttling resulted in canceling the test and recording a "FAIL". This overclocked and overvolted Core i7-950 represents an extreme that many heat sinks cannot handle. The chart below summarizes the results with the stock fans (hotter temperatures towards the top of the chart, and cooler temperatures towards the bottom). The twin-fan coolers have a real advantage here, since their dual fans generally move more air than the stock single fan of any of the other units. Remember that the lower the thermal difference is, the better the heat sink is performing. Stock Fan Tests
Even connected directly to the computer's power supply (and thus running at full speed), the Macho HR-02's fan is almost silent. The Macho turns in an excellent performance that's bested by only two other single-fan coolers. Delta High Speed Fan Tests
The Delta high-speed 120mm fan attaches easily with the standard fan clips. Performance improves by a significant 5.8 degrees, but at a high cost in noise (the Delta is a very loud fan!) The results of this test are impressive when you consider the prices of the coolers that beat the HR-02, the least expensive of which (the Cooler Master V6 GT, at the time of this writing) cost 50% more. I'll summarize my opinions on this cooler in the next section. CPU Cooler Final ThoughtsI've noticed high-end air coolers trending towards one of two basic designs: a rather thick fin array that supports one or two fans, as typified by the Thermalright Venomous X and the Prolimatech Super Mega, and a thinner fin array with dual higher-speed fans included, as with the Cooler Master V6 GT. The Thermalright Macho HR-02 belongs in the first category. Unlike most other companies that manufacture heat sinks, such products are all Thermalright offers. There are no cases, power supplies, or other computer-related things, just heat sinks, mounting kits, fans, and related items. And all the CPU coolers they do offer are aimed at the desktop computer market; there are no low-profile server coolers on their web site. Whether or not this laser-like product focus is good or bad I can't say, but judging from the performance of their heat sinks, Thermalright's obviously doing something right. The Macho HR-02 seems to be based on Thermalright's existing HR-02 heat sink. The differences (as far as I can discern) are:
So it looks as if Thermalright did cut a few features between the HR-02 and the Macho version. But the standard HR-02 retails for about $79.95, whereas the fan-equipped Macho HR-02 has an MSRP of only $39.95. Half the price and you get a fan! What's not to like? Honestly, all I have are niggling details: I'd like re-sealable bags for the screws and other bits, an extra set of fan clips (which you can buy from Thermalright), and most of all an easier way to mount the cooler's rear screw. The performance is excellent, especially considering this cooler's relatively low price, and one could argue that a clumsy installation is a small price to pay for eliminating worries about RAM clearances.
As I mentioned in the testing section, this review has been updated with new results after Thermaright recommended we re-test with the heat sink oriented so that the fan blows out the back of the case, rather than the top. Considering the dramatic performance difference (almost 5 degrees), Thermalright should make sure that this orientation is specified in the mounting instructions. The performance of this cooler is close enough to Thermalright's much twice-as-expensive Silver Arrow cooler that I'd have to wonder under what circumstances the latter would ever be justified. If I needed slightly better performance from the Macho HR-02, I expect that simply adding another TY-140 fan would do the trick. Thermalright Macho HR-02 ConclusionPlease remember that these test results reflect our experience with each cooler on a specific motherboard, with a specific processor, BIOS revision, BCLK and voltage settings, and test programs. The results of this test cannot be directly compared to other tests since many factors will have changed. The construction quality of the Macho HR-02 is is very good, although there was some solder joints along the edges of the heat block where the heat pipes enter it that could use some finish polishing. Thermalright's only concession to appearance seems to be the unplated copper heat pipes, but when the cooler's installed in a case, you'll only see the tips of the pipes at the top of the cooler. Still, its sheer size gives it some visual heft. The performance of the cooler was exellent, especially given its $39.95 MSRP. The HR-02 is quieter, better-performing, and much cheaper than low end water coolers and some air coolers costing substantially more. Just be sure you mount it with the fan blowing out the back of your case! Without the aforementioned long magnetic-tip screwdriver, I don't see how you could successfully mount this cooler on a motherboard inside a case. If you removed the motherboard you might be able to start the rear mounting screw by reaching under the cooler with your fingers. Thermalright supplies a tiny wrench that could, theoretically, be used to tighten this screw. Value-wise, the Macho HR-02 is an amazing buy, and sets a new standard in CPU cooler bang for the buck. Pros:
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Comments
Noise is a performance feature.
Personally I always make a choice based on noise and cooling power.
I dont care if a cooling system can get the cpu an extra 5 degree c cooler
IF it sounds like an aeroplane taking off
or like an industrial pump empting a swimming pool.
Noise benchmarks matter.
** Also , benchmarks would greatly benefit if they encompassed a wider range of products.
Eg... comparing Sandybridge cpu with latest AMD phenom.. ok a direct comparison.
BUT
compare them both to an older P4 and AMD Athlon , and a few laptop based cpu's.
Reviews comparing green paint with another shade of green paint are boring. And useless as far peripheral vision of the whole landscape is concerned.
In your apple to apple comparison you use a high rpm Delta. How is that relevant for this kind of product?
I'd use any of those fans, really. I'd probably pick the cheapest one, since they are all cooling at or below 75C. Thanks for your efforts.
Some heatsinks perform much better at low rpms. Expressing a judgement after just one particular situation, which doesn't really suit all needs or products, is a bit wrong.
How long does it take to test with a low rpm fan?
I cannot say this is true since I don't know all the details and equations, but those are some of the usual explanations. This is rather complex science, where common sense may not be applicable, and a strong background in the physics of this is necessary to truly provide an accurate analysis.
There are two ways (that come to mind) to increase the mass flow rate of the air. One is to move the air through the heatsink faster, the other way is to make the air moving through the heatsink denser (increased static pressure?).
Presumably the low-rpm fans that have a reputation for quiet operation and good cooling are fans that have a noticeable effect in terms of increasing the pressure (aka density) of the air they output.
It'd be enormously educational if they ran a 3rd fan trial using some fan known for high static-pressure and low rpm (like an Air Penetrator? I'm not actually even sure what fans have this quality...), but I personally doubt that 120mm fans can provide a wide enough range of performance that they increase air density appreciably based on any other factor but fan speed. Also that would be a whole extra test on every heatsink - lots of time invested for a result that isn't likely to change any performance orders (and won't increase performance) compared to a high speed fan test.
they have released AP121 series: ##silverstonetek.com/product_fan.php?tno=0&case=c_120&area=usa
maybe you can compare it with some standard 120mm fans with similar speed, so we can see the effect of the directed airflow...
also maybe you can include some of the corsair H-whatever coolers to see if it helps on the radiator side.
thanks in advance :)
The result of these differing patterns of air flow when the fans are used with a CPU cooler could be inconsistent volumes of air passing across all the fins of the cooler. The diffuse pattern fans would seem to have less air moved across the center of the heat sink, and more to each side. The focused air flow fans would seem by common sense to be superior in this application.
All subjective, non-scientific impressions and conclusions, which IMO seem to make sense, but only real testing would reveal any difference.
AP120 pull CM R4 push = 29c idle and 52c loaded
CM R4 pull AP120 push = 25c idle and 49c loaded
You had both HR-02 and HR-02 Macho in the test. You did start with "horizontal pipes", but then measured "vertical pipes" for Macho and had the difference.
How about the original HR-02? Do you know whether it suffers too?
What if I had both original and Macho and would swap the towers, attaching the original with Macho's bracket to AM3 in FT-02, and then place the Macho tower in recommended orientation to regular case with original's bracket on LGA1155? Both with TY-140.
So yes, it worked better with the heat sink oriented horizontally, blowing out the rear of the case.
Now hopefully these things actually start to become available for purchase and I'll be all over it. :)
thermalright told me to work out what was wrong myself - 1 was the design - 2nd was screw length. couldn't even confirm proper screw length to me.
When sockets are changing yearly Thermalrights refusal to support, and the inability to send out proper parts to support expensive coolers is totally unforgiveable.
thermalright clearly have no environmental concern, and want customers to throw their coolers away and just buy another regardless of the total waste. Supporters of this company are ignorant of the environmental damage boutique companies cause the planet with its planned obsolescence, which is totally avoidable.
if you perform just 1 green act this year buy yourself a different cooler from a different company that supports its coolers, and enable reuse - o hand you'll save money too!
What you're describing is the linearity of a temperature sensor - unless you've sighted the data plots for the specific sensor on a chip, you're simplifying (and misleading) on this point.
The idea is that I would put the noctua on the push side because the focused flow is designed for more concentrated pressure and the included fan on the pull side.
Anyone have any ideas?
I am currently running a zalman 9700nt on a phenom II x4 940 at 3.4 gh. While the 9700nt holds the temp at 45c the fan kicks in to full and is pretty loud at its rated 36 db. I was thinking that these two fans (even together) will be quieter than that is.
I also have the antec 300 case with 3 antec 120 tricools set to medium as intake and the included 120 and 140 fans set to low for exhaust for some positive air pressure in the case.
Anyway... the macho and the ram come tomorrow so I can start installing. I am trying to decide on whether to open the noctua focused flow or not. I am kind of set on 2 quiet fans in push-pull because I think it will be quieter than a single high power fan.
Any advice or stories of previous experience would be appreciated. Thanks.