OCZ Vindicator: Heatpipe Tower Cooling from OCZ
by Wesley Fink on April 5, 2007 4:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Readers who have been around the enthusiast market for a while may remember OCZ heatsink/fans from the past. OCZ was a big player in the enthusiast cooler market several years ago, but OCZ cooling solutions have been few and far between in recent years. We took a look at the somewhat traditional OCZ Tempest last year, but we could never get the Tempest to mount properly on our test bed. We did try an alternate test board but performance was not really any better than the stock Intel cooler so the cooler didn't justify a special review in our mind.
OCZ has recently introduced another enthusiast cooler, which they call the OCZ Vindicator. Those familiar with current coolers will recognize a striking resemblance to the Scythe Ninja Plus Revision B, a cooler that is also in our schedule for review.
When we asked OCZ if the Vindicator was just a relabeled Ninja Rev. B they told us the Vindicator is built for OCZ. OCZ stated they did not have any agreement with Scythe and that the Vindicator is not a rebadging of the Scythe Ninja. Regardless, the designs are very similar. The good news is the OCZ Vindicator comes preconfigured for Intel Socket T, where the Scythe requires installation of a bracket before it can be used on that socket. Mounting socket plates on both coolers are similar in design, but they differ slightly in the screw layout used to attach the plates to the base cooler.
OCZ ships with an Intel 775 mount installed and an AMD AM2/939/940/754 adapter in the package. The Ninja Rev. B includes the same assortment with a slightly different design. The Ninja Rev. B also includes an Intel Socket 478 adapter.
Where OCZ and Scythe differ quite a bit is in the included fan. The OCZ fan is rated at 1000 RPM, 40 CFM, and a very low 18.5 dB-A. This compares to the Ninja at 1200 RPM, 49.6 CFM, and 20.9 dB-A. Both are very quiet fans, but the OCZ is specified at almost half the sound pressure of the Ninja Rev. B. The Ninja, on the other hand, is capable of moving more air.
In the end the question is whether the OCZ fan, which is definitely quieter, is capable of moving enough air to keep up with other coolers in overclocking - a domain that is certainly a part of almost everything OCZ markets. That is a question that will be addressed in this review, when the performance of the Vindicator is compared to the other heatpipe towers we have tested in recent months.
OCZ has recently introduced another enthusiast cooler, which they call the OCZ Vindicator. Those familiar with current coolers will recognize a striking resemblance to the Scythe Ninja Plus Revision B, a cooler that is also in our schedule for review.
When we asked OCZ if the Vindicator was just a relabeled Ninja Rev. B they told us the Vindicator is built for OCZ. OCZ stated they did not have any agreement with Scythe and that the Vindicator is not a rebadging of the Scythe Ninja. Regardless, the designs are very similar. The good news is the OCZ Vindicator comes preconfigured for Intel Socket T, where the Scythe requires installation of a bracket before it can be used on that socket. Mounting socket plates on both coolers are similar in design, but they differ slightly in the screw layout used to attach the plates to the base cooler.
OCZ ships with an Intel 775 mount installed and an AMD AM2/939/940/754 adapter in the package. The Ninja Rev. B includes the same assortment with a slightly different design. The Ninja Rev. B also includes an Intel Socket 478 adapter.
Where OCZ and Scythe differ quite a bit is in the included fan. The OCZ fan is rated at 1000 RPM, 40 CFM, and a very low 18.5 dB-A. This compares to the Ninja at 1200 RPM, 49.6 CFM, and 20.9 dB-A. Both are very quiet fans, but the OCZ is specified at almost half the sound pressure of the Ninja Rev. B. The Ninja, on the other hand, is capable of moving more air.
In the end the question is whether the OCZ fan, which is definitely quieter, is capable of moving enough air to keep up with other coolers in overclocking - a domain that is certainly a part of almost everything OCZ markets. That is a question that will be addressed in this review, when the performance of the Vindicator is compared to the other heatpipe towers we have tested in recent months.
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41 Comments
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yyrkoon - Monday, April 9, 2007 - link
These 40 posts are a mostly 'bitches' from people who 'claim' Anandtech reviewers are 'wrong' ?In case it is not already obvious, Anandtech is an enthusiast site, which means they cater to the overclockers, and people who care about computer hardware in general, not people who can not sleep when someone drops a pin over in china . . .
Seriously, I can understand pointing out typos, and a disagreement or two on the finer points, and what not, but complaining because you think their data is incorrect, based on data given by another site(which obviously is not even in the same class of a site), is plain stupid. Do you actually know for a fact that the data from this other site is correct ? If so, how do you know ? If 30dba is what is considered a quite room, wtf does it matter if Andantech 'claims' the fan used here is 14dba or not ? Personally, I think some of you guys, are entirerly too anal, and need to learn how to socialize a tad better. something like: 'I do not think 14dba is possible on a computer fan(Correct me if I am wrong), but <insert some other point here>' probably would have worked just fine, without sounding like you are bashing the reviewers of the site.
There are many ways to say that you think the data given is incorrect, without sounding like a horses ass, and in the long run, no one is twisting your arm to come here and read the reviews. If you really, really like this other site so much, that you feel it nessisary to come here and bash the Anandtech crew, I think we all can agree, it would be a much better place here, if you just stayed away.
Affectionate-Bed-980 - Friday, April 6, 2007 - link
Real world testing is great, but isnt this how someone's Core 2 duo article got FLAMED to death because there was a bottleneck?When we test fans, yea it's great to know that 14 dB fan won't do jack in my system when my PSU is running around 30.
Just like it doesn't matter that my sticks of RAM can clock to DDR600 because my Opteron 170 won't let me go past 250 HTT anyways, so I can only go to DDR500 anyways unlesss I really want a lower multiplier.
There are limits left and right, but EVERYONE wants to know the specifications and capabilities of THE PRODUCT IN INTEREST. This is similar to high school science or junior high or whenever you learn that in experimenets, your goal is to isolate one variable and test it.
I don't give a damn that my PSU is going to be loud. What if i used a fanless system? There are people out there who want to know how loud this damn SilenX fan is, and we wnat to know how loud it REALLY IS compared to the specs.
I'm tired of hearing how really only REAL WORLD performance matters. Give us the LAB numbers and then give us how real world performance might come into play.
As an engineer, when you look up materials properties like strength tests, hardness numbers, stress concentration data, it's ALL lab samples that are perfect. It's your job when you choose a material to use in applications to understand the real world implications.
Similarly, it's your job to understand that when you pick up a 14 dB fan, that your PSU may still be louder and that your system may not be that quiet.
DrMrLordX - Friday, April 6, 2007 - link
The "product in interest" is the HSF itself, not the add-on fan. The whole point of adding the fan, I suppose, was to show that the included fan produced as much (or more) noise while yielding significantly inferior results.The HSF still wasn't that great even with the add-on fan, so it's all rather academic to me. Unless this HSF sells for a very low price, I can see no reason to shell out ~$50-$60 for it + the SilenX fan when you can get a cooler that performs better for the same amount of money. Choose wisely, and you might even get one that's just as silent.
People need to stop making a mountain out of a mole-hill here. Geez.
strikeback03 - Friday, April 6, 2007 - link
then go read over at SPCR. They try and tell you how loud each component is, Anandtech tries to tell you whether it matters. no point in repeating tests easily available elsewhere.Affectionate-Bed-980 - Saturday, April 7, 2007 - link
Yes I know that. It's great going to SPCR to see good sound testing, but it's just a PITA that I have to hit up like 10 different hardware sites to get information.poohbear - Thursday, April 5, 2007 - link
wow socket A support for this cooler?!? it prolly costs more than the socket A cpu and mobo put together! lolWesley Fink - Thursday, April 5, 2007 - link
Socket A is not supported.bob4432 - Thursday, April 5, 2007 - link
skt 468...sh!t, i missed a whole family of cpus... :(Wesley Fink - Thursday, April 5, 2007 - link
Typo corrected :)scott967 - Thursday, April 5, 2007 - link
I like the noise testing, but at least in my systems I have a problem with hi freq fan whine. It would be nice in your fan review if you could get a spectrum analyzer and look for noise spikes as well as average dBa.