Zaward Sylphee ZCJ003

The age of the heat pipe is upon us. Ever since it broke onto the scene, cooling devices of every style and shape have emerged, some of which seem to defy logic. It is assured to us then that the age of the aluminum block cooler is long gone, hopefully never to be seen again.

The engineers at Zaward are something like a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci, because they have taken to a unique style of functional cooling devices. One of their featured products is the Sylphee aluminum CPU cooler. Benchmark Reviews tested this dual-heat pipe dual-impeller cooler, and it proved to be a very unique product, with results just as uncommon. Read on to see if function came before fashion, or if these looks can kill your system.

I have a feeling that Zaward knows that not everyone is open to trying out something radically new. This seems the case, because the retail packaging does a decent job of disguising the unique shape of the Sylphee. The packaging reveals only hints of what lies within, but hopefully the contents offer a pleasant surprise for consumers.

Sylphee ZCJ003 Features

• Dual embedded silent fans.
• 2 pcs high performance heat pipes.
• Auto fan speed controlled by Thermistors.
• Extremely silent fans at 18dBA, intake air flow from both sides.
• Airflow blows to multi-direction and cools the whole computer system.

Zaward Specifications

About the company: ZAWARD

Zaward Corporation was founded in 1996 as the sole worldwide agent of Globefan Technology Co., Ltd., one of the leading manufacturers of DC fans that has been established since 1986 in Taiwan to provide major personal computer power supply companies with the best quality products.

For their efforts over the decade, the company has built their reliable reputation and gained clients' trust on her high standard of engineering and well-developed quality control system.

As the company grew, it put together a thermal solutions R&D team and started work on big OEM projects primarily for German and Japanese electrical companies. With full support from Globefan, the company has consistently met the strict demands of its customers.

While technology is progressing rapidly, reduction in costs are always called for. Due to market changes, the company has decided to promote their own products.

In 2005, Zaward & Globefan setup the new R&D center and thermal solutions lab in Taipei, Taiwan for OEM customized projects as well as for its own product development.

At the same time, the new noise lab and wind tunnel have been installed in the China factory to fulfill our research and development for high technology, and more advanced products. Meanwhile, to have the complete test equipment for more strict quality control and application purpose.

Closer Look: Zaward Sylphee

Once you get Sylphee out of the retail box, all bets are off. When I first laid eyes on this cooler, I wasn't so sure I had a winner in my hands. The appearance is unlike anything else I have seen in the past, and it has the uncanny ability to look like a Mr. Potato head toy. Thankfully, experience has taught me that first impressions are often wrong in this industry, so I reserved my opinion until after testing.

As I looked deeper into the construction and design details I began to appreciate the Sylphee a bit more. It may be difficult to detect at first, but there is a clear protective shield over the top and corners of this cooler which really proved helpful during handling. Additionally, the Sylphee felt very strong, which may be attributed to the structural reinforcements hidden throughout the cooler.

The twin impeller fan design allows for cool air to be drawn into the cooler from both sides, ultimately improving the efficiency of the device. Notice that the fans require two mainboard power connections, something which may be difficult to accommodate in some computer systems.

Twin heat pipes are built into the front (or maybe this is really the back) of the Sylphee. Judging from the base of the Sylphee, Zaward could have offered a more symmetrical cooler with two heat pipes on each side. This would certainly make better use of the lonely impeller fan on the reverse side, but it would also lend to better cooling performance.

Detailed Exterior Features

So now that the initial shock (or lack thereof) is behind us, I will continue on and get into the nitty-gritty details. To begin with, Zaward has really impressed me with a well engineered design and completely solid construction. Every aspect of the Sylphee is rugged and reinforced. The subtle crossmembers are disguised as metal branding tags, which isn't as original as much as it is clever.

Nylon is used in the tightly-braided cable sleeves, which are slip-fit into silicon rubber tubing at each end. This is another great example of how impressive yet subtle the construction is for the Sylphee. From the side view I began to play engineer with my imagination, and discovered that it would have been possible to extend the aluminum fins farther out in both horizontal directions.

The image above gives a much clearer view of the clear protective shield I mentioned earlier. From the top view it appears as though Zaward has kept the footprint amazingly small for the Sylphee. This may not seem obvious to you, but believe me when I confide how much smaller this cooler was when compared to the others it was tested against. The footprint is even smaller than the OEM cooler supplied with the Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

The mating surface at the base of the Sylphee is not buffed to a mirror finish. I have mixed feelings about this, because part of me remembers the old days where lapping a cooler was necessary for a perfect mating surface. But on the side of this argument are thermo physics, and the knowledge that heat is better transferred to the thermal interface material. This is largely in part to the grooves, which offer a larger surface area; just think of an accordion stretched out wide.

Sylphee Testing & Results

Enough about the silly shape or the extraordinary construction, that's all behind us now. All of that discussion is still worth something, but now it's time for Zaward's little Sylphee to fight for it's right to become a viable cooling solution.

ZCJ003 Installation

This is going to be a very short section. Except for the OEM cooling solution from Intel, the Sylphee has been the easiest cooler I have ever installed. Because it has such a small footprint, the compression clips are easily within reach; making the installation and removal no longer than it takes to turn four knobs and push/pull the cooler. The appearance may not be winning me over, but the ease of installation has me quite pleased, especially since two of the other coolers used in the testing took me over ten minutes each.

Test System

Testing was conducted at a series of temperature intervals, with the ambient room temperature measuring the same for each coolers reading. Lavalys EVEREST rounds up temperature readings to the nearest whole number, however all ambient temperatures were recorded and accurate to one-tenth of a degree Celsius.

EVEREST Ultimate Engineer Version 4.00.976 was utilized to measure all CPU temperatures. It should be noted that temperatures attained through software most always reflect the thermistor readings as recorded by the BIOS. These readings are not absolute or correct, but they are relative since every BIOS is programmed differently.

For each test, the computer system was powered on and left idle for ten minutes prior to recording the idle temperature with EVEREST. After idle temperatures have been recorded, two console versions of the Folding @ Home client were simultaneously run to create full load on both CPU cores. After ten minutes of full load, the temperature was again recorded. This process was identical for all cooling solutions used in this test, and was repeated for each ambient temperature interval.

Sylphee Results

Up first are the results under heavy load. The first item you see in the chart is the ambient room temperature, followed by the CPU cooler used for testing after it. In this test battery, the OEM cooler provided by Intel with the Core 2 Duo E6600 was used as a reference, and ends the chart with the highest temperature readings.

I must admit that the results really surprised me. After everything I said about room for improvement, the small footprint managed to post results nearly identical to coolers two and three times larger (and louder) under full load.

Temperature Readings: Full Load

As you can see for yourself in the full load results above the Sylphee may not be the absolute coldest solution out of the field. However, I give plenty of credit to Zaward for producing such a small cooler with the capability of performing better than my previously tested best cooler (Thermalright SI-128), and the giant size competitor (Themalright MaxOrb).

While the thermistor controlled impeller-fans are subject to regulating themselves, the chart is evidence that Zaward programmed the curve towards the higher end of the temperature spectrum. It would be nice to have the ability to control the fans speed myself, without having to short out the thermistor.

Temperature Reading: Idle Load

Even after examining the idle load results above, I'm still very impressed with the test results. Nestled tightly between the Thermalright SI-128 which is easily twice as large, and the Themalright MaxOrb which is more than three times larger, the Zaward Sylphee has a very reliable cooling solution on their hands. Just imagine what it could do with two more heat pipes and a slightly larger footprint - that's the cooler I want!

Final Thoughts: Zaward Sylphee ZCJ003

It's the little cooler that could! I nearly passed judgment on the Sylphee before I ever gave it the chance to prove me wrong, and I'm glad to have learned to avoid this mistake before now.

Personally, I couldn't get used to the odd look, or the thermistor-controlled impeller fans. Hopefully Zaward starts their next project based off of the (very) successful Sylphee, because with another set of heat pipes and larger fins there would be nothing on the market able to outperform.

At the time of this writing, the Zaward Sylphee CPU Cooler ZCJ003 is primarily available to Asian and European markets; lucky them. Hopefully, the smart people over at NewEgg.com will see these results and open availability up to the the U.S. market.

Conclusion

Zaward may have known exactly how I would feel about the funny-looking Sylphee, which is why the put it in a well misguided package so that I would give it a chance before passing judgment. Smart thinking, because it worked.

Even though I gave the Sylphee more than enough time to grow on me, I just couldn't bring myself to appreciate the appearance. Of course I realize that everyone has their own particular tastes, I know this because I am always amazed at what people will find attractive; but there is some room for improvement here. Even a perfectly square design may have been more palatable for me.

I tried to restrain myself from letting on about the excellent construction found in the Sylphee. I have yet to set eyes on another cooler with nearly the same attention to detail in design as there was in the Sylphee. Improvable design aside, the construction was perfectly implemented and delivered; which is why Zaward deserves the first perfect ten score I have ever awarded.

If anything, the Sylphee is a functional wonder. It still amazes me that it was able to match the performance of far larger coolers while making nearly no noise at all. That is what functionality should be, so I hope others take note.

Because there is currently no availability in the local U.S. market, it would be unfair to judge the Zaward Sylphee ZCJ003 CPU Cooler in regard to value.

If you have a cramped computer system, or plan on building a small form factor system, than the Zaward Sylphee should be at the very top of the parts list. Just make sure to request this product from NewEgg.com, because your only other option is to have it shipped from overseas.

Pros:

+ Highest-quality construction ever seen
+ Excellent cooling performance
+ Durable product assembly
+ Extremely easy installation
+ Perfect for cramped systems
+ Surprisingly small footprint
+ Silent impeller fans

Cons:

- Not the most attractive cooler
- No fan control (thermistor only)
- Room for more heat pipes

Ratings:

• Presentation: 8.5
• Appearance: 8.0
• Construction: 10.0
• Functionality: 9.5
• Value: N/A

Final Score: 9.0 out of 10.

Award: Benchmark Reviews Golden Tachometer.

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