Introduction

Before we go straight into the review, I would like to give you a little information about Tuniq. If you didn't actually know, Tuniq is a sub division of Sunbeam Tech. Although Tuniq is very new to the market, they are making great products. The first of their products is the Tower 120, you will see exactly what it does, and how well it performs in this review.

Packaging

The Tower 120 is a CPU cooler. Because it cools the main part of your computer, the heart and soul of your beast! It's a good thing to know that you won't see a difference from manufacture specifications to the consumer product. Tuniq tests all its products through full tests and if it fails it will not be sold; its just one way Tuniq provides 100% quality!

I got my Tower 120 in its box with a few cardboard rips, but other than that its in perfect condition. The cardboard rips were due to the international shipping in a bag. I have had previous problems with postage for other products I have reviewed and found it didn't affect performance.

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Specifications:

What you get

You get the whole pack with mounting back plates, except a K8 back plate because your motherboard comes with one.

• The Tower 120ManualP4 back plate and screwsLGA775 back plate and screwsK8 screws and springsUniversal K8/LGA775/478 front plate.Thermal paste (good for one serve)
• Fan controller (PCI expansion slot)

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Click to enlarge picture.

The Cooler

The Tower 120 looks very modern, it has wave shaped fins and 3 heat pipes. That's right 3 heat pipes! So its ready to rumble. The conductive surface is copper for fast heat transfer and the heat pipes stretch to the top of the cooler for maximum cooling. The cooler also has a 120mm fan mounted inside, which is very easy to take out and replace. One problem concerned me when both mounting and looking at the cooler was that it's very heavy. Though you haven't got much to worry about compatibility issues with other components on the motherboard, the Tower 120 is high enough even for RAM to fit under.

Features:

• Passive/air cooling
• 3 heat pipes (U shaped)
• Powerful silent cooling performance
• Universal mounting compatibility
• 120mm fan for better performance
• Fan speed controller
• Stylish look

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Click to enlarge picture.

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The Test Computer

• AMD Athlon 64 Socket 939 3000+ (normally stock HSF)
• Gigabyte K8N Ultra SLi
• Mushkin 512MB PC-3200 Level II Version 2 CAS 2
• Gigabyte ATi X600PRO 128MB (stock cooling)
• Single SATA 80GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
• Standard 450W Power Supply (bad voltage on each rail)
• Big Red Button (for powering up)

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Click to enlarge picture.

Installation

Installation does require you to remove your motherboard from its place, but would you prefer that then a torn motherboard? Unfortunately this installation took me a while because I had to get some nuts and bolts due to GigaByte's cheap retention modules! Other then that the installation was easy. Though currently Tuniq is looking into how they can make a universal retention module.

I would also like to say the problem is irrelevant to a single cooler and it affects every cooler which uses screws to attach to the retention module. The only brand of motherboard manufacturer is GigaByte, to my knowledge.

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Click to enlarge picture.

TestingCPU: AMD 64 @ 2430mhz (270mhz x 9)Testing Procedure:

• Machine is out of the case during the testThermal paste provided by Tuniq
• Ground/desk temperature was kept at a constant 18°C, while air temperature was at 17°C. (I don't have an air conditioner to get the exact temperatures)

I am very surprised this cooler does better then a water cooler and that's great because there's a less risk of water leakage. But unfortunately this comes at a cost and because of this cost the heat sink may break your motherboard if your not careful at mounting. I also recommend you do not use this cooler for a LAN machine, but for a performance air cooled machine.ComparisonThe statistics of cooling at around 18°C ambient temperature. All idle temperatures were taken after load (refer to the testing for the procedure). It's hard to test against other coolers if you don't have one at the time of testing (performance air coolers).

Cooling Graph

Conclusion

Overall this passive cooler is really something great, it has great performance.

What striked me odd was that it out performed a water cooler, though I checked it twice and it was still better. If your looking for a performance cooler, which doesn't smash your penny jar into pieces and you want a cooler which does the job, this cooler is just right for you. If you plan to go to LANs or have your computer sitting upright then you wouldn't be a good contender. However you could still use it but to take the risk of a broken motherboard is scary!

This cooler is great if you are an overclocker who doesn't like running water cooling or just doesn't have the money for it, this is the performance cooler you should get.

This cooler stands out from the rest and gets a big beefy reward. Tuniq's Tower 120 receives the 100% Pure Beefiness Award!

I would certainly like to see Tuniq bring out a smaller version with the same attributes maybe with an 80mm fan.

Pros:

• Fan controller
• Noise less design
• Stylish (wave design)
• Copper base
• 3 heat pipes
• Fits on common socket types
• Easy replaceable fan
• Included thermal paste

Cons:

• Too heavy, not to move around
• Maybe too big for your case (height of cooler). Check the Tuniq website for that (should just fit, problems occur with thinner cases).
• If you have a GigaByte motherboard you will need to get a back plate or mod your current one (all similar coolers will have this same problem).

Big Thanks to Ning at Tuniq for making this review possible

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