Conclusions

The Evercool Buffalo looked mighty small in my case compared to the hulking coolers I have had in it in the past. It is a nice, compact cooler that would definitely be more at home in a midtower or smaller footprint case rather than my full tower. Weighing in at a pound, it may be the lightest aftermarket cooler I have ever tested.

The Buffalo has only a pair of heatpipes and a much smaller footprint than the average cooler. This really showed in its performance. It did perform well at stock clock, and gave a very good showing at a mild overclock. It definitely isn’t designed for healthy overclocks or high CPU voltages.

My recommended application for the Buffalo would be for an i7 rig that won’t be overclocked at all, or at best a 10-15% overclock, mainly as a replacement for the loud, inefficient stock i7 cooler.

Considering the price of this cooler, I really don’t consider its performance at higher overclocks as a downfall. The only thing I found that someone may not like is the logo screened on the top of the cooler. I personally have no problem with it, appreciating any addition to what is normally a drab affair, but many people prefer logos having some kind of high-tech subject.

The LGA 775 version of the Evercool Buffalo sells for $16.99 at my favorite retailer, and I have to assume that the i7 version will cost the same or very near that price. Under $20 for a cooler to replace the stock cooler is a bargain, I have spent much more than that for coolers to place on rigs that have never been overclocked. ThinkComputers.org gives the Evercool Buffalo an 8 out of 10 score.

Pros:

- Excellent cooler for replacement of stock cooler on a rig with mild or no overclock
- Light and small footprint
- Costs under $20

Cons:

- Not for use on i7 rigs with more than a mild (10-15%) overclock
- Some may not care for logo on top of cooler

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