When it comes to CPU coolers there is a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and styles. There are monstrous coolers that only fit in the largest of PC cases, there are those that are made with a low profile shape to perform just as well as large ones in a smaller space, there are also some that are just built small and don’t really look like they could do much. In this review I will be testing the Evercool Buffalo Heat Pipe CPU Cooler. I will be upfront and say that I was disappointed when I first saw this cooler, thinking that it wasn’t going to do much, but it really came through and we were amazed by this little guys abilities. Click read more to find out why we found this little CPU cooler was more than it should have been:

Price: USD $20.79

Closer Look:

The packaging for the Evercool Buffalo Heat Pipe CPU Cooler I thought had a perfect layout for the product. The front and back display pictures of the cooler and I thought that the red and black background was very eye catching. One side of the package displays the features and specifications of the CPU cooler, the other side shows how to install the cooler and shows whether the box contains the Intel or AMD model of the cooler.

Once inside the package there really isn’t much to say. Inside there is a small tube of thermal compound and the cooler itself and that’s it.

In the intro when I said I was a little disappointed I meant that it’s just a little CPU cooler, but after the tests you will see why looks can sometimes be very deceiving. The cooler itself like I said is quite small and resembles most CPU Coolers that I had seen in the past, with a bunch of heat dispersing fins, four heat pipes, and a fan. The shape and size of the Evercool Buffalo Heat Pipe CPU Cooler makes iteasy to fit in most rigs out there.

The base of the Evercool Buffalo Heat Pipe CPU Cooler is made of copper, it’s finely lapped and perfectly flat making for excellent heat transfer. The heat pipes are well designed and from the Evercool website they are reported to have a seamless transfer of heat to the fins for maximum heat dispersion.

When it came to installing the Evercool Buffalo CPU Cooler it was one of the easiest I had done so far. Unlike some of the easy to use Intel clips on some CPU coolers, I found these clips to be the easiest I have ever used. I found that I didn’t have to fight to try and get them to pop into place or feel like I was going to break something trying to get the last clip into place.

Now let’s move on to the specs and features:

Overall Dimension : 110 x 72 x 142.7 mm DC Fan Size : 100 x 100 x 25 mm Base Material : Heat Pipe Bearing Type : Ever Lubricate Bearing (Long Life bearing) Speed : 1800 ±10% RPM Noise Level : <23 dBA Rated Voltage : 12 V Weight : 500 g

Now let’s move on to the testing:

• CPU: Q6600
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
• Memory: 2 x 2GB Kingston
• Video Card ATI Radeon EAH 4550
• Power Supply: Thermaltake Litepower 450W
• Hard Drive: Seagate 500GB SATA
• Optical Drive: LG DVD-RW With Lightscribe
• OS: Windows XP Home SP3

Testing:

For testing I will be using our standard test of recording the idle and load temps of the CPU. To get the CPU temp up I will be using Prime 95’s burn-in test. The ambient temp in the room will remain a constant 23°C (73°F) to ensure a fair test for all of the coolers partaking in this test. I will be putting the Evercool Buffalo Heat Pipe CPU Cooler against my Noctua NH-C12P Cooler and a Nexus LOW-7000 Cooler. I will be running this test with my CPU at a stock clock of 2.4 GHz and overclocked to 3 GHz.

So from these results you can see what I meant when I said that looks can be deceiving. When I first saw the Evercool Buffalo CPU Cooler I had little to no faith that it would give me even a half decent result, but from these temps I have to say that this cooler put me in my place. Me and Munk couldn’t believe the numbers that this cooler gave us so we had to re-run the test and sure enough it delivered the same results. While not leading the pack with the lowest temps this cooler is should certainly be near the top of your list of choices, and if the temps don’t make you want to put it there, then maybe you should take another look at the price we found for it again.

Let’s move on to my final thoughts:

So in the end what did I think of this cooler? Simply put I thought it was great. For its small size and low price, and let’s not forget the impressive numbers that I got for this little guy I really don’t know what I can say other than that I was impressed. Really move on to the last bit, I can’t say anything else about how great this cooler was.

So would I recommend this Cooler? Hells ya I would. For its small size it disperses heat at an alarming rate, and with its super easy to use clips I found it a breeze to install in a motherboard just on its stands in under 5 min, currently with my Noctua between trying to get every mother board screw in place and get the cooler securely attached with the rear x-bracket on the motherboard it can take 20-30 min depending on how much the screws feel like fighting with me, and then I have to try and fit the fan on in the limited room I have in my case. So really from these few small things I think it’s worth taking a serious look at the Evercool Buffalo CPU Cooler. From a small, light design to amazing heat dispersion and easy to install build I find it had not to recommend this cooler, and don’t forget the amazing low price either.

Pros:

• Small, Easy to Find Room For It In Most Rigs
• Low Cost
• Works Great
• Silent
• I Really Like The Red Fan
• Easy To Install

Cons:

• Can’t Think of Any That Really Matter

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