Some time ago we reviewed the Cogage True Spirit which was the first cooler from Cogage which is a new brand introduced by Thermalright. We were really impressed when we tested the True Spirit because of its light weight, compact size and yet decent enough performance considering its lower price.
Now Cogage has come out with a brand new cooler which is supposed to be superior to the True Spirit and is also attempting to take on the mighty TRUE that has held the performance crown for quite some time now. This new cooler is called as Cogage Arrow and is a dual radiator design. Looks wise its like the IFX-14 just a wee bit bigger
It remains to be seen whether this massive cooler is really capable of achieving the high goals it wishes to accomplish.
Specifications and Features -
Cooler weight: 825 g (excluding Retention Hardware and Fan)
Heat-pipe: 8mm Sintered Heat-pipe*4 units
Cooler Base Material: C1100 Pure Copper with Nickel Plating.
[BREAK=Box, Packaging, Contents, etc.]
The Arrow supports all the major Intel platforms, ensuring maximum compatibility. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to support the AMD platforms out of the box. It would have been great had they included AMD mounting kits for even more compatibility. You can purchase the AMD mounting kit separately.
As you can see from the basic specs mentioned on the box, it’s not exactly a lightweight cooler like its predecessor, the True Spirit. Not a biggie considering its size and expected performance.
Bear in mind when coupled with dual fans or a single high CFM fan the total weight will touch 1 kg. Be sure to check your motherboard mounting to prevent any mishaps!
The cooler is packaged meticulously with sufficient padding from all sides and a sturdy box to protect it from getting damaged during transportation.
The cooler is fastened to the box with 2 cable ties so that it doesn’t move around and remains firmly secured. The holes in the cardboard allow you to pull out the cooler while the eight small holes are for safeguarding the heatpipes
The packing in between the twin radiators is extremely crucial because if at all the box is subject to excessive pressure due to careless handling by the courier guys, there is a possibility of the heatpipes getting bent and the cooler getting damaged.
[BREAK=Product pictures]
The Arrow has nickel plated heatpipes unlike the True Spirit, a good and useful feature for people living in coastal areas.
The fins are slightly bent towards the edges, this allows air to circulate a bit longer which leads to better heat dissipation.
The finishing has improved but there is still scope for improvement.
Finishing of the base is much better than the True Spirit with hardly any machining marks
The heatpipe endings could have been finished in a better way, like the small caps used in the True Spirit. Only one end of the heatpipe is capped with the other end in the normal pinched form.
Please note that we say this from a purely aesthetic point of view, this does not affect the performance.
The fins of the radiators are comparatively thinner compared to the ones on the True Spirit and TRUE. So they're also more prone to bending, care has to be taken while handling the cooler.
The installation kit includes mountings for LGA 1156, 1366,775 along with a tube of Thermalright’s Chill Factor TIM, a spanner, few damping strips, bezel sticker and manuals.
Separate manuals for all three Intel sockets.
Since the mounting holes of Socket 775 and 1156 are very close to each other Cogage has made oval holes for the mounting clips allowing them to give a single set of mounting brackets for both sockets.
The bundled 120MM fan is the same that comes with the TRUE Spirit.
Along with the Arrow, Thermlaright was kind enough to send us something else which aided us in the testing process.
Its their new X-Silent 140 fan. This is a 140mm fan which can be used with this cooler since this cooler can accommodate 140mm fans.
Don’t be fooled by its low RPM rating, it will be silent yet capable of moving some serious air thanks to its large translucent blades.
Accessories include molex adapter, screws and rubber grommets
Sleeved cable, nice!
Since it’s a 25mm fan it fits between the dual radiators with plenty of room to spare.
Now that we are done taking a close look at the cooler, let’s proceed to the actual installation. For demonstration purpose, we have used EVGA Classified motherboard which is a LGA1366 platform.
[BREAK=Installation]
The Arrow shares its mounting mechanism with the Ultima 90i and the IFX-14 but with some significant improvement. Once both screws are fully tightened the mounting is very secure without any hint of movement. This type of mounting also allows you to swap the CPU without removing the whole motherboard.
Thanks to EVGA’s humongous NB cooler, the Arrow just fits on this board. But only one type of orientation is possible; fans blowing towards the top of the cabinet unlike the conventional way. But this is not a problem since most of the new gen PC cases have the PSU at the bottom and nice big exhaust fans on the top.
This shouldn't be a problem on other LGA1366 boards though.
Just look at the sheer size of this cooler! The Classified looks like a mATX board with this monster mounted on it. The Classified isn't a normal Full ATX board, its slightly bigger and this should give you fair idea as to how big this cooler really is.
This is what the monster looks like when it’s completely outfitted with the maximum number of fans it can accommodate.
We thought 2 x 120mm high CFM fans is an overkill in most systems except for Nehalem based ones but looks like Thermalright thought the other way round, ‘Two is passé, we should have 3!’
You can use 3 fans with this cooler! Who needs that anyway? OK, maybe the hardcore benching guys would but we don't see the average Joe going for such a setup.
[BREAK=Test Setup and Testing Methodology]
Test Setup -
Intel Xeon W3570 CPU
EVGA Classified Motherboard
3 x 1GB Crucial Value DDR3 1333MHz CL9 Memory
Corsair HX1000 PSU
Seagate 500GB SATA II Hard Drive
Galaxy Nvidia Geforce 9800GT GPU
Windows 7 64Bit Ultimate Edition OS
For full load testing we used LinX software which can stress the CPU more than any other application available at our disposal.
[BREAK=Results]
Since the TRUE has been our favorite for extreme AIR testing till now, we decided to include it in our testing so that we could gauge as to how the Arrow fares against the mighty TRUE.
As you can see in the above graph, thanks to the 2 radiators of the Arrow, it beats the TRUE under load but at idle the TRUE does a better job when both the coolers are used in passive setup.
Then we bumped up the CPU to 3.6 GHz and we see that the Arrow starts showing its potential here, comprehensively beating the TRUE in both idle and full load scenarios.
Now with the CPU running at 4GHz and both coolers being cooled by a single low CFM fan, both coolers are close to each other at idle but the Arrow edges out the TRUE under load
Keeping everything same, we just put a single high CFM fan instead of a low CFM one. Let’s see how much of a difference it makes. More or less the same scenario as we saw above, just that the temperatures have dropped at idle as well as for full load for both the coolers. Shall we say, we are already liking this cooler? Alright, not so fast, the REAL test is yet to come.
At 4.3GHz, we are really pushing the coolers. We are using 2 low CFM fans now for both the coolers. Again the TRUE beats the Arrow at idle whereas the Arrow continues its dominance at full load.
The final test, with 2 high CFM fans on both coolers, the TRUE still manages to edge out the Arrow at idle but sadly loses out at full load tests.
Since Thermalright sent us the X-Silent 140, we decided to run a few tests to see how well it fares. We ran tests at 4GHz and 4.3GHz and the results are in the above graph. Not bad for a silent fan is it?
[BREAK=Conclusion]
These tests just show that the Arrow manages to comprehensively beat the TRUE where it really matters! Should we say that we have found a worthy successor to our beloved TRUE? I guess we have.
Although the TRUE ruled the extreme AIR cooling segment for a very long time, it was quite obvious that there would be a cooler which manages to beat the TRUE.
The Arrow manages to do just that. Although we have still not tested the Noctua D14 cooler which was launched recently, we would like to test that one to see whether it has the same potential as the Arrow and would also be keen to see who emerges the winner between the Arrow and D14.
Edit - Technic 3D has reviewed the same cooler and in their testing the Arrow beats the D14 by a decent margin.
Whether or not this cooler becomes a success depends on how well Thermlaright prices it. One of the reasons for the TRUE’s success lies in its price. It was excellent VFM for the kind of performance it delivered.
Lets hope Thermalright repeats that with the Arrow too. Expected pricing is ~3.5K which will make it a worthy replacement for the TRUE in terms of pricing as well
So all those benchmarking enthusiasts out there, you know what to buy for your AIR based benching endeavors!
Thanks to Thermalright for the review sample.
Score Card -
Features : 9/10
Performance : 10/10
Value For Money : 9/10
Overall : 9.5/10
Now Cogage has come out with a brand new cooler which is supposed to be superior to the True Spirit and is also attempting to take on the mighty TRUE that has held the performance crown for quite some time now. This new cooler is called as Cogage Arrow and is a dual radiator design. Looks wise its like the IFX-14 just a wee bit bigger
It remains to be seen whether this massive cooler is really capable of achieving the high goals it wishes to accomplish.
Specifications and Features -
- 4 X 8mm large sintered heat-pipes efficiently remove excessive heat away from the CPU, allowing for great Overclocking potential
- Nickel Plated Base and Heatpipes, increase the longevity of the heatsink by slowing oxidation and deterioration rates… maintained performance over time
- Double fin stack design, provides each tower with an impressive 147 x 103mm of surface area for heat dissipation
- Special Arrow fin design, which allows cool air to pass through while rapidly moving heat away and maintaining a quiet operating volume
- Soldered Heat-pipes, Fins and Copper Base, ensure all components maintain the higest of Thermal Efficiency
- Support for Multiple-Platforms: Intel Socket 1366/1156/775 (AMD Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3 optional)
- Includes a Quiet 120 x 25mm PWN controlled fan
- Capable of supporting up to three fans for the Ultimate Enthusiast (38mm will fit between the two towers)
Cooler weight: 825 g (excluding Retention Hardware and Fan)
Heat-pipe: 8mm Sintered Heat-pipe*4 units
Cooler Base Material: C1100 Pure Copper with Nickel Plating.
[BREAK=Box, Packaging, Contents, etc.]
As you can see from the basic specs mentioned on the box, it’s not exactly a lightweight cooler like its predecessor, the True Spirit. Not a biggie considering its size and expected performance.
Bear in mind when coupled with dual fans or a single high CFM fan the total weight will touch 1 kg. Be sure to check your motherboard mounting to prevent any mishaps!
The cooler is fastened to the box with 2 cable ties so that it doesn’t move around and remains firmly secured. The holes in the cardboard allow you to pull out the cooler while the eight small holes are for safeguarding the heatpipes
The packing in between the twin radiators is extremely crucial because if at all the box is subject to excessive pressure due to careless handling by the courier guys, there is a possibility of the heatpipes getting bent and the cooler getting damaged.
[BREAK=Product pictures]
The Arrow has nickel plated heatpipes unlike the True Spirit, a good and useful feature for people living in coastal areas.
The fins are slightly bent towards the edges, this allows air to circulate a bit longer which leads to better heat dissipation.
The finishing has improved but there is still scope for improvement.
Finishing of the base is much better than the True Spirit with hardly any machining marks
The heatpipe endings could have been finished in a better way, like the small caps used in the True Spirit. Only one end of the heatpipe is capped with the other end in the normal pinched form.
Please note that we say this from a purely aesthetic point of view, this does not affect the performance.
The installation kit includes mountings for LGA 1156, 1366,775 along with a tube of Thermalright’s Chill Factor TIM, a spanner, few damping strips, bezel sticker and manuals.
Separate manuals for all three Intel sockets.
The bundled 120MM fan is the same that comes with the TRUE Spirit.
Along with the Arrow, Thermlaright was kind enough to send us something else which aided us in the testing process.
Its their new X-Silent 140 fan. This is a 140mm fan which can be used with this cooler since this cooler can accommodate 140mm fans.
Thermalright X-Silent 140
Accessories include molex adapter, screws and rubber grommets
Sleeved cable, nice!
Since it’s a 25mm fan it fits between the dual radiators with plenty of room to spare.
Now that we are done taking a close look at the cooler, let’s proceed to the actual installation. For demonstration purpose, we have used EVGA Classified motherboard which is a LGA1366 platform.
[BREAK=Installation]
The Arrow shares its mounting mechanism with the Ultima 90i and the IFX-14 but with some significant improvement. Once both screws are fully tightened the mounting is very secure without any hint of movement. This type of mounting also allows you to swap the CPU without removing the whole motherboard.
Thanks to EVGA’s humongous NB cooler, the Arrow just fits on this board. But only one type of orientation is possible; fans blowing towards the top of the cabinet unlike the conventional way. But this is not a problem since most of the new gen PC cases have the PSU at the bottom and nice big exhaust fans on the top.
This shouldn't be a problem on other LGA1366 boards though.
Just look at the sheer size of this cooler! The Classified looks like a mATX board with this monster mounted on it. The Classified isn't a normal Full ATX board, its slightly bigger and this should give you fair idea as to how big this cooler really is.
This is what the monster looks like when it’s completely outfitted with the maximum number of fans it can accommodate.
We thought 2 x 120mm high CFM fans is an overkill in most systems except for Nehalem based ones but looks like Thermalright thought the other way round, ‘Two is passé, we should have 3!’
You can use 3 fans with this cooler! Who needs that anyway? OK, maybe the hardcore benching guys would but we don't see the average Joe going for such a setup.
[BREAK=Test Setup and Testing Methodology]
Test Setup -
Intel Xeon W3570 CPU
EVGA Classified Motherboard
3 x 1GB Crucial Value DDR3 1333MHz CL9 Memory
Corsair HX1000 PSU
Seagate 500GB SATA II Hard Drive
Galaxy Nvidia Geforce 9800GT GPU
Windows 7 64Bit Ultimate Edition OS
For full load testing we used LinX software which can stress the CPU more than any other application available at our disposal.
[BREAK=Results]
Since the TRUE has been our favorite for extreme AIR testing till now, we decided to include it in our testing so that we could gauge as to how the Arrow fares against the mighty TRUE.
As you can see in the above graph, thanks to the 2 radiators of the Arrow, it beats the TRUE under load but at idle the TRUE does a better job when both the coolers are used in passive setup.
Then we bumped up the CPU to 3.6 GHz and we see that the Arrow starts showing its potential here, comprehensively beating the TRUE in both idle and full load scenarios.
Now with the CPU running at 4GHz and both coolers being cooled by a single low CFM fan, both coolers are close to each other at idle but the Arrow edges out the TRUE under load
Keeping everything same, we just put a single high CFM fan instead of a low CFM one. Let’s see how much of a difference it makes. More or less the same scenario as we saw above, just that the temperatures have dropped at idle as well as for full load for both the coolers. Shall we say, we are already liking this cooler? Alright, not so fast, the REAL test is yet to come.
At 4.3GHz, we are really pushing the coolers. We are using 2 low CFM fans now for both the coolers. Again the TRUE beats the Arrow at idle whereas the Arrow continues its dominance at full load.
The final test, with 2 high CFM fans on both coolers, the TRUE still manages to edge out the Arrow at idle but sadly loses out at full load tests.
Since Thermalright sent us the X-Silent 140, we decided to run a few tests to see how well it fares. We ran tests at 4GHz and 4.3GHz and the results are in the above graph. Not bad for a silent fan is it?
[BREAK=Conclusion]
These tests just show that the Arrow manages to comprehensively beat the TRUE where it really matters! Should we say that we have found a worthy successor to our beloved TRUE? I guess we have.
Although the TRUE ruled the extreme AIR cooling segment for a very long time, it was quite obvious that there would be a cooler which manages to beat the TRUE.
The Arrow manages to do just that. Although we have still not tested the Noctua D14 cooler which was launched recently, we would like to test that one to see whether it has the same potential as the Arrow and would also be keen to see who emerges the winner between the Arrow and D14.
Edit - Technic 3D has reviewed the same cooler and in their testing the Arrow beats the D14 by a decent margin.
Whether or not this cooler becomes a success depends on how well Thermlaright prices it. One of the reasons for the TRUE’s success lies in its price. It was excellent VFM for the kind of performance it delivered.
Lets hope Thermalright repeats that with the Arrow too. Expected pricing is ~3.5K which will make it a worthy replacement for the TRUE in terms of pricing as well
So all those benchmarking enthusiasts out there, you know what to buy for your AIR based benching endeavors!
Thanks to Thermalright for the review sample.
Score Card -
Features : 9/10
Performance : 10/10
Value For Money : 9/10
Overall : 9.5/10