Introduction

This time we tested Nexus LOW-7000 R2, a CPU cooler with four heatpipes, a 120 mm fan and with a height of only 2 3/4" (70 mm), making it compatible with SFF cases. But will it perform like "big" coolers?

LOW-7000 R2 box is big but low, showing the cooler main characteristic. The low height is well advertised, but keep in mind that it is not the lowest cooler on market, as Scythe Big Shuriken, for example, is only 2 9/32" (58 mm) high. In the box there is also a small window that shows part of the cooler.

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Figure 1: Box.

Inside the box we found the cooler, user manual, installation hardware and a tube of gray thermal compound.

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Figure 2: Box contents.

In the next pages we will see this cooler in detail.

Nexus LOW-7000 R2

Nexus LOW-7000 R2 is a horizontal cooler with design similar to other coolers like Scythe Big Shuriken, Thermaltake ISGC-400, SilverStone NT06-E and Noctua NH-C12P. The heatpipes connect the base to a bigger heatsink located over the base but not touching it.

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Figure 3: Side view.

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Figure 4: Side view.

In Figure 5 we have a front view from LOW-7000, where we can see the tips from the four heatpipes. We can also see the smaller heatsink, that is attached directly to the base.

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Figure 5: Front view.

In Figure 6 we can see the back side of the cooler, where we can see the position of the heatpipes.

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Figure 6: Rear view.

Nexus LOW-7000 R2 (Cont’d)

In Figure 7 we have a top view of LOW-7000, where we can see the 120 mm fan.

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Figure 7: Top view.

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Figure 8: Base.

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Figure 9: Thermal compound and spatula.

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Figure 10: Thermal compound tube.

Installation

In Figure 11 we can see the clip used with AMD socket AM2, AM2+ and AM3 CPUs. The cooler comes with an hexagonal screwdriver to help installing the screws.

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Figure 11: AMD clips.

In Figure 12, you can see the clips for Intel CPUs (sockets 775, 1156 and 1366). The clips look like the standard ones from Intel. There is also a tool to help installing and removing the cooler from the motherboard.

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Figure 12: Intel clips.

In Figure 13 we see the Intel clip installed on the cooler base.

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Figure 13: Intel clips installed.

Installation (Cont'd)

In Figure 14 we can see LOW-7000 R2 installed on our motherboard. This was the hardest CPU cooler installation we've seen to date - and it doesn't even have a backplate! With the motherboard inside the case it is impossible to install the cooler and even outside the chassis it was very complicated to install it, because it is hard to access each clip and we needed to use a big amount of force in order to hear the characteristic "click" when pushing each clip.

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Figure 14: Installed on the motherboard.

Actually the pressure applied on each clip is so strong that our motherboard was severely bent, as you can see in Figure 15.

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Figure 15: Bent motherboard.

In Figure 16 we see LOW-7000 R2 inside our case.

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Figure 16: Installed in our case.

How We Tested

We are adopting the following methodology for our CPU cooler reviews.

First, we chose the CPU with the highest TDP (Thermal Design Power) we had available, a Core 2 Extreme QX6850, which has a 130 W TDP. The choice for a CPU with a high TDP is obvious. To measure the efficiency of the tested cooler, we need a processor that gets very hot. This CPU works by default at 3.0 GHz, but we overclocked it to 3.33 GHz, in order to heat it as much as possible.

We took noise and temperature measurements with the CPU idle and under full load. In order to achieve 100% CPU load on the four processing cores we ran Prime95 with the "In-place Large FFTs" option, and three instances of the StressCPU program, all at the same time.

We also compared the reviewed cooler to the Intel stock cooler (with copper base), which comes with the processor we used, and also with some other coolers we have tested using the same methodology.

Temperature measurements were taken with a digital thermometer, with the sensor touching the base of the cooler, and also with the core temperature reading (given by the CPU thermal sensor) from the from the SpeedFan program, using an arithmetic average of the four core temperature readings.

The sound pressure level (SPL) was measured with a digital noise meter, with its sensor placed 4" (10 cm) from the fan. We turned off the video board cooler so it wouldn't interfere with the results, but this measurement is only for comparative purposes, because a precise SPL measurement needs to be made inside an acoustically insulated room with no other noise sources, which is not the case here.

Hardware Configuration

• Processor: Core 2 Extreme QX6850
• Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45-UD3L
• Memory: 2 GB Corsair XMS2 DHX TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX G (DDR2-800/PC2-6400 with timings 4-4-4-12), running at 800 MHz
• Hard drive: 1 TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 (ST31000528AS, SATA-300, 7200 rpm, 32 MB buffer)
• Video card: PNY Verto Geforce 9600 GT
• Video resolution: 1680x1050
• Video monitor: Samsung Syncmaster 2232BW Plus
• Power supply required: Seventeam ST-550P-AM
• Case: 3RSystem K100
  

Software Configuration

• Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
  

Software Used

• Prime95
• StressCPU
• SpeedFan

Error Margin

We adopted a 2 ^oC error margin, i.e., temperature differences below 2 ^oC are considered irrelevant.

Our Tests

On the tables below you can see our results. We ran the same tests with the coolers shown on below tables. Each test ran with the CPU idle and the with the CPU fully loaded. On BigTyp 14Pro, TMG IA1, NH-U12P and ISGC-300 the tests were done with the fan at full speed and at minimum speed. The other coolers were connected directly to the motherboard and it controls the fan speed based on CPU load level and temperature on PWM models. ISGC-400, iCEAGE Prima Boss and Megahalems Rev. B were tested at minimum speed on idle test and at maximum speed on full load test.

The next graph shows how many degrees Celsius the CPU core was hotter than room temperature during our idle tests.

The next graph gives you an idea on how many degrees Celsius the CPU core was hotter than room temperature during our full load tests.

 

Main Specifications

Nexus LOW-7000 R2 main features are:

• Application: Sockets 1366, 1156, 775, AM3, AM2+ and AM2 processors.
• Fins: Aluminum.
• Base: Aluminum, with heatpipes in direct contact with the CPU.
• Heat-pipes: Four 6-mm copper heat-pipes.
• Fan: 120 mm.
• Nominal fan speed: 2,000 rpm.
• Fan air flow: Not informed.
• Maximum power consumption: Not informed.
• Nominal noise level: 24 dBA.
• Weight: 1.05 lbs (475 g).
• More information: http://www.nexustechnologyusa.com
• Average price in the US*: USD 55.00

* Researched on www.newegg.com on the day this review was published.

Conclusions

Nexus LOW-7000 R2 achieved a performance similar to Thermaltake ISGC-400, having a better performance than most cooler with similar design we've tested so far (Scythe Big Shuriken, SilverStone NT06-E and Noctua NH-C12P). On the other hand, it presented a performance worse than most tower coolers we tested so far.

It has some problems as well: its noise level is not high but the cooler is not quiet - especially when the advertising on the cooler box says it is a "silent cooler"; its installation is hard; it bends the motherboard; and it is not inexpensive.

So for the average user with a mid-tower case, there is no point in buying this cooler. But if you have an SFF computer and you are looking for a good performance cooler, Nexus LOW-7000 R2 is a good option.