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Arctic Cooling Silencer 64 Ultra TC L CPU Cooler Review

As both faster and multi-core CPUs are made available, the need for an effective cooling solution becomes prevalent in order to protect these investments. One of these solutions is Arctic Cooling’s Silencer 64 Ultra TC L CPU cooler.

Company:

Arctic Cooling, www.arctic-cooling.com

Price:

$24.00 US

Ratings

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Getting Started

The Arctic Cooling Silencer 64 Ultra TC L works with all existing socket 754/939/940 AMD Athlon64 processors. The Ultra TC L has an aluminum heatsink that is quite effective for its straight forward, simple design. Slightly similar in height to the AMD supplied stock heatsink but the overall area of the heatsink is larger due to the top portion of the heatsink being enlarged. The “TC L” portion of this cooling solution pertains strictly to the fan, as Arctic Cooling uses the same aluminum heatsink for all of the Silencer models. The bottom of the heatsink is perfectly smooth with no manufacturing defects, which will allow for excellent heat transfer from the CPU.

The fan used for this cooling solution is a suspended low noise fan, which minimizes any turbulence and noise that is normally caused when conventional fans are used. This fan is also thermal controlled via a thermal sensor in between the fins of the heatsink. This is an excellent feature as it throttles the speed of the fan when the system is idle or has a low load. The Ultra TC L is the lighted version of the Silencer series, sporting 4 blue lights in each bracket that is suspending the fan. This is an excellent feature for those who look at cooling solutions not only for the ability to reduce heat, but the look it adds to the case.

Click on picture to enlarge image

Usability

Unlike most other installations, the Silencer 64 Ultra TC does not require any special tools to install. Each side must clip onto the stock mounting plate and the tension clips must also be secured. The Silencer 64 Ultra TC L was installed into our FX-55/ DFI nF4 D motherboard, the CPU was clocked at 2500 MHz.

As you can see, the stock heatsink did a good job cooling the system when it was idle, but as soon as we went to full load its inability to effectively cool became apparent. With the Silencer 64 Ultra TC L, idle temperatures were slightly slower, but its true cooling effectiveness was shown at full load, with a temperature quite a bit lower than the stock cooling solution.

The Silencer 64 Ultra TC L is very quiet. Virtually inaudible over a standard 120MM fan in the system. This is strikingly opposite of the stock cooling solution that is easily noticeable, even with two 120mm fans in the system.

Features and Specifications

Adding It All Up

If you’re looking for a quality solution to cool your system’s processor while maintaining an appealing look, the Silencer 64 Ultra TC L is an excellent choice for you. The effortlessness of its installation coupled with the 6 year manufacturer’s warranty is a true testament of what Swiss Engineering is.

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