Introduction 

For many years, manufacturers have tried producing quiet CPU coolers, with limited success. For them, it's finding the right combination of cooling peformance, low fan speed, good thermal transfer and heat dissipation. Only a handful of manufacturers have been successful in achieving this ... Noctua is one such company. Last month, we review two Noctua CPU coolers ... the NH-D14 and the NH-C12P SE14. As far as I'm concerned, they are among the best CPU coolers we've tested that offer both excellent cooling performance and low noise.

There's only one snag ... Noctua's quiet CPU coolers are huge and the NH-D14 can weigh a mind-blowing 1.2Kg (that's the same weight as my netbook!!). There is a reason for this. Low noise fans mean low rpms, this in turn means a lower volume air passing through the heatsink. In order to effectively cool the processor, quiet CPU coolers often have heatsinks that is large enough to compensate for the lower volume of air.

So are there any manufacturers that can match Noctua's dominance for producing quiet CPU coolers? Well, of course there are ... Thermaltake, Coolermaster, Scythe, Thermalright and many others, all have so-called "silent" coolers. But are they any good? ... we shall see.

We now turn our attention to Thermaltake, as we've just been landed a CPU cooler that they claim be silent. Thermaltake is one of those big brand names that everyone seem to know. They have been producing computer chassis, CPU coolers, power supplies and other cooling accessories since the early days of 1999. For those who are not familiar with Thermaltake or its products ... here's something taken from their website.

In this review, we'll be taking a look at the Thermaltake Jing CPU Cooler. It's designed for both AMD (AM2, AM2+, AM3) and Intel processors (LGA 775, 1156, 1366), and features a nickel-plated copper base and large Aluminum fins, along with five heat-pipes for great cooling capacity. Also included are dual 120mm VR fans, which generates excellent air flow to enhance thermal performance. One fan sucks air in, while the other blows air out. The fan speeds are adjustable from 800~1300 rpm using two rheostat controllers. At the lowest fan speed of 800 rpm, it's extremely quiet with a noise level of around 16 dBA according to Thermaltake.

Aesthetically, the cooler has a very distinctive look and feels very retro 90's. The 2 fans attached to the heatsink has a unique design and looks the business ... not your average 120mm fan. Looking at the the specifications of the Thermaltake Jing CPU Cooler certainly sounds impressive. It's much smaller than the Noctua NH-D14, yet it offers low noise and quiet operation. It will be interesting to see how well it performs against other CPU coolers we've already tested in the labs.

We'll be testing the Thermaltake Jing CPU Cooler on our test rig which consist of an Intel Core i5 - 650 @ 3.2Ghz, Gigabyte P55 USB3 motherboard, Geforce GTX 460 OC, 4Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer and a Silverpower 650w power supply. It's the same system we've been using to test other CPU coolers.

OK ... let's not waste any more time and take a closer look at the specifications and features of the Thermaltake Jing CPU Cooler.

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