In the ever changing and growing area of air coolers, one would think that everything has been done, and the only thing left is to make nifty designs. While it is starting to look that companies are shooting more for quiet (as seems to be the new trend among computer enthusiasts), there is still a large area for those that want quiet and cool. With such a large amount of companies sending cooler designs out of R&D and onto store shelves and e-warehouses, it has become a daunting task for many to decide on what fits their budget, while also accommodating their needs. 

     About a week and a half ago Cooler Master sent over a small press release announcing a couple new air coolers and a laptop cooler. I’m not going to go into details about all of these products as they aren’t pertinent to this review. Today Cooler Master’s new air cooler, the Eclipse, is put on the bench for some serious heat dissipation.

     Before delving into this massive hunk of aluminum, copper, and solder, I’ll let you glance at the specs and the applications for the Eclipse.

Specifications:

Applications:

• AMD: All Socket 754/939/940/AM2/F

• Intel:   All LGA775

Dimensions:

• 132mm*120mm*105mm

• 670g

HS Materials:

• Copper base, Aluminum fins, 4 copper heatpipes

Fan Specifications:

• Dimension: 66mm*68mm Blower Style

• Speed: 900RPM-3300RPM

• Max Air Flow: 39.8CFM

• Life: 40k Hours

• Bearing: Sleeve Bearing

• Power: 12v

• Noise: 17dBA(Min), Average 24dBA

• Connector Type: 4pin fan header

• Adjustment:
  1. Silient Mode ~ 1800RPM
  2. Performance Mode ~ 3300RPM
  3. PWM Mode 900RPM ~ 3000RPM(Runs off     motherboard speed controller)

     As you can see just from the specifications, this is a rather beefy cooler. When I first opened up the box delivered straight from Cooler Master, I had high hopes for some uber clocks immediately.

     In the white corner  we have The Newcomer—Cooler Master Eclipse and in the blue corner we have the Intel Pentium D stock cooler! Hmm…Just doesn’t seem to have the same bang that it does in professional boxing.

     With looking at the picture, you can tell this is certainly a much more capable cooler when compared to the stock Intel.

Mounting Hardware:

     The Eclipse comes with the necessary mounting hardware for all of the current platforms, as mentioned in the specifications department.

     From left to right we have the two LGA mounting brackets, the Socket 754/939/940/AM2 locking mechanism, washers, nuts, and the second piece of the AMD platform mounting hardware. The kit also includes a Philips screwdriver to socket tool so that you can turn and tighten/loosen the nuts. I guess that most of us computer nerds don’t have socket sets (I know I don’t for something this small).

Installation:

     The install manual was very clearly written, without too many grammar mistakes that are common with computer equipment instructions and this is defiantly a surprise.

     The cooler was installed on top of a Pentium D 940 sitting in an abit AW8D motherboard. As we all are well aware of, the Pentium D series of processors are some serious heat pumps, especially so when you start to overclock these chips.

     Here you can see the LGA775 brackets installed onto the cooler. Simply install some screws and washers, put the bolts through the holes on the motherboard, add in another set of washers and nuts, tighten, and put back in your computer case. Yes, with a cooler this size, you are defiantly going to need to remove the motherboard from your case for installation.

Cooling Control and Performance:

     The Eclipse has three cooling modes that obviously offer varying levels of performance and sound levels. With three settings (low, high, and PWM), you have the standards. Per the specifications listed, I tested each setting for idle at stock clocks/volts, load at stock clocks/volts, as well as idle/load at 4.4GHz/1.42v.

     The stock cooler from Intel couldn’t handle anything over 3.8GHz, with throttling occurring at stock volts. Idle on the cooler hovered around 38C at a 21C ambient temperatures. At load up to 3.8GHz, the cooler would skyrocket up to 70C, with throttling occurring.

     Testing was performed at 21C ambient. I know this seems cool for a house, but the two intake fans on the side of my case are sucking in cooler air straight from the AC vent in my house.

Fan Acoustics/Performance:

     The above readings where gathered from abit’s utility that comes with the motherboard. The results posted above are from the PWM mode. The temperatures didn’t fluctuate that much at idle or at load between low, high, and PWM modes. During idle at stock clocks and volts, the temperature remained the same, with a one degree drop in load from the low setting to the PWM mode.

     The high setting on the cooler resulted in the same temps under idle and load for both stock and overclocked settings.

      At high speed, this cooler is very audible and to be completely honest, not needed. I can’t imagine anything hotter than a Pentium D running at 4.4GHz, and the cooler still only running at less than half speed.

General Notes/Comments:

     I am completely satisfied with this cooler and its performance. At low and PWM modes, the cooler isn’t audible over your average case 80mm case fans. Now, I have 5 fans total, but my assembly is very quiet. At high setting, the cooler is very loud, and I found myself having to turn the volume up on my computer. I wouldn’t recommend using high setting for any application.

     4.4GHz was the speed of choice as my RAM was keeping me from pushing further speeds. When I get my hands on some faster RAM, I will update this review with new clocks. Obviously this chip and cooler have much more to give.

     Looking around the internet, and from personal experience with a custom Danger Den water system that I had on my old s754 A64 3200+ Clawhammer, this air cooler seems to match, and even exceed some high end water cooling systems.

     At roughly $50 MSRP for this cooler, I can’t recommend it to someone that is already running a decent air cooler. However, if you are running a stock cooler/wanting some extra clocks, this is the right cooler for you. It would seem that air is catching up to water, and doing a damn good job of it. I highly recommend this cooler if you can afford it and want the best.

     The Eclipse is a BEAST of a cooler, and will fill up a lot of space inside a cramped case. You can get a idea of its footprint inside of a case in the following picture: