Hardware review: Coolermaster N520
It has been 2 weeks since I have posted anything for Hack Week. So here we go, a mini hardware review for a CPU cooler from Coolermaster even though this product has been out for close to a month.
From what I gather from Ban Leong, distributor for Coolermaster products, that Singapore was the first country in the world to actually receive the N520!
The N520 is the latest addition to the Hyper family, smaller cousin of the N620, which is slated to replace its older Hyper 212 counterpart. The pricing for the N520 is place quite close to the Hyper 212 to cater for the entry-level enthusiast crowd who does not engage in hardcore overclocking and those who are looking for a value-for-money solution to replace their stock cooler.
It features 5 copper heatpipes and 2 90mm fan (One intake, one exhaust) to draw the heat off the aluminium fins. Besides these 2 subtle differences, the N520 lacks the ability to control the fan speed through the PWM unlike the bigger sized N620 which features 6 copper heatpipes and 2 120mm fan with controllable fan speed. One interesting thing to note is that the copper heatsink has been lapped before shipping by Coolermaster! What this means is that with a smoother surface, maximum contact between the heatsink and the CPU heatspreader is ensured thus improving heat transfer between them.
An array of backplates, mounting brackets (those metal ‘bars’ which are in pairs are the mounting brackets) and assorted accessories (Screws, nuts etc…) comes with the HSF for you to mount it on a variety of CPU on, not forgetting a small tube of thermal paste just in case you don’t have one!
The size of the N520 is huge that it will easily dwarf your entire palm and the weight makes it a challenge when mounting it on to the motherboard.
Like any other 3rd party cooler out there, some assembly is required so keep that Philip screwdriver close if you are fixing this baby up. For those who are looking to replace their stock heatsink for the first time, it will be quite daunting because you will have to install the mounting bracket on to the bottom of the lapped heatsink and secure it to the rear of the motherboard with the screw and nuts! If your casing features a motherboard tray with a access hole to the underside of the motherboard then securing the nuts to the heatsink will be relatively easy. For those whose casing does not have that fancy casing feature, then tough luck because you will have to remove your motherboard from the casing to install this baby!
You can imagine how complex and difficult it would be mounting this heatsink but once it is installed. The sense of satisfaction is great!
Now, on to the benchmarks for the HSF.
NOTE: Apparently, the stock thermal paste which came with the HSF is better at bringing down the heat than another generic coolermaster thermal paste! Using the stock thermal paste, the idle temperature is around 42 °C as compared to 45°C with the generic thermal paste. The bottomline is: Even if you have a very good 3rd party HSF, the type of thermal you use is as important to bring down the temperature!
Stock HSF without load
N520 without load
Stock HSF with load
N520 with load
Leave a Reply