Conclusions
[ad#content_main]To be honest, I don’t review a lot of CPU coolers, and most of those that I have reviewed lately are high-dollar models. I haven’t tried the bulk of the coolers available that fit LGA 1366, so I really have no idea how many of them will keep an i7 down to reasonable temperatures at extreme overclocks. As I mentioned in my introduction, the i7 gets hot when under load and the stock cooler has a tough time keeping stock clock load temperatures below 80C. Loading the CPU with Prime95 as I did in my testing, it may not keep it under 80C at all.
The Evercool Transformer 4 is a large cooler, and I had hopes that it would perform in the realm of the coolers I have been using with my i7 920, two from Zalman, one from Noctua, and the Kingwin I used as a comparison in this review.
The Transformer 4 did great at stock clock, and at my last overclock of 3.2C, which is a little more than what I would call a “mild” overclock, it did hold its own. But it just didn’t quite make the trip at an extreme overclock, allowing the CPU to get very close to shutdown temperatures. I double-checked my installation, even checked another cooler I had reviewed in the past to make sure that the sensor was reading correctly, and also that Prime95 Torture Test, a burn-in that I normally don’t use when reviewing coolers, didn’t heat the processor up more than Sandra’s burn-in, which I normally use. But that wasn’t the case, something about the design or build of the Transformer 4 prevents it from cooling that extreme overclock enough.
The Transformer 4 will work fine as a replacement for a stock Intel cooler on a rig that will be run from stock clock to a medium overclock. And it should work great on processors that generate less heat than the i7. But at $43, which is the price of the cooler at my favorite online retailer, there are better choices, since no one really knows when building a rig how much overclocking the future will bring. ThinkComputers.org gives the Evercool Transformer 4 CPU cooler a 7 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Totally silent running
– Large expanse of chrome looks great in your case
– Will fit basically all rigs built in the last five or so years
Cons:
– Though it works satisfactorily at lower overclocks, it just doesn’t cool well enough for higher overclocks
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