Global Win Family Feud
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Remember back in the day when any cooler that didn't say Alpha on it was automatically rejected by overclockers on principle alone? Well times are a changin' my friends. Over the last 18 months or so there have been a plethora (my word of the day!) of respectable coolers make their way onto the scene. One of the biggest players has been Global Win without a doubt. Not only are they making kickass coolers at a competitive price, but they seem to thrive on using themselves as competition!
Global Win Family Fued
Manufacturer: Global Win
CAK-38 Price: $36.00
WBK-38 Price: $24.00
FOP-38 Price: $21.00
FOP-32 Price: $19.00
Available at: Sidewinder Computers
Reviewed: May 2001
Remember back in the day when any cooler that didn't say Alpha on it was automatically rejected by overclockers on principle alone? Well times are a changin' my friends. Over the last 18 months or so there have been a plethora (my word of the day!) of respectable coolers make their way onto the scene. One of the biggest players has been Global Win without a doubt. Not only are they making kickass coolers at a competitive price, but they seem to thrive on using themselves as competition!
We just got in Global Win's latest cooler, the copper CAK-38, and were all prepared to give ya an in-depth review of it. But then it happened, I started thinking, and you KNOW that can't be good. The way I figure it, why not show you guys (and gals) the CAK (pronounced CACK! here in the OCA secret labs) in a direct comparison with its siblings? We don't need Richard Dawson to have a our own version of The Family Feud!
Testing:
Let me tell you exactly what I used and how I came about the temperature results you're about to read. We started with room temperature being 73.6F and stopped testing any time it got more than .6 degree's off that mark. Next we applied a VERY (I said VERY!) thin layer of the standard white goo we call thermal paste, and yes we did clean the CPU core with alcohol the chip between each test session. We then pulled the thermal sensor mounted in the bottom of the socket up slightly so it would make light contact with the core of the CPU. Here's a pic of the sensor:
After insuring good mating between the chip and cooler we fired up the test rig and, for lack of a better description, put the heat on the mofo until it simply would get no hotter. We used Quake3 looped, SiSoft Sandra's CPU Burn In Wizard, and old faithful Prime 95. It generally took around 15minutes to get the temp to max out. For our idle temps we did just that, sat the computer idle until the temperature would drop no lower.
The bottom line is this, all of these coolers were tested in the exact same way, in the exact same environment. While our temperatures may not be exactly the same as yours or another sites, the comparative results are what count here and should be dead on.
Our test system consisted of:
Abit KT7-Raid Motherboard.
AMD T-Bird 1Ghz chip @ 1.2Ghz running 1.75volts.
A bunch of other shiz that had absolutely no impact so why mention them?
Alright, lets get on to the coolers:
Global Win CAK-38:
Lets start with some pics, I'll tell ya right now these are NOT for the bandwidth challenged, you've been warned....
On the outside chance you didn't notice, the CAK-38 is all copper, and all business from the looks of it. The CAK boasts the same Delta 7k 38cfm fan that has been the standard on GlobalWin, and all the other high performance coolers as of late. While the Delta may move a buttload of air, it also makes ASSload of noise, so again, you've been warned! This isn't quite as loud as the WBK38 and the FOP38 for the simply reason that they put the spacers in there and that lifts the massive air off the fins a bit and allows the unit to operate a little less loud. I didn't say quieter because if you've heard any of these units, you know "quiet" just doesn't apply!
A few things I wanted to point out about the CAK, starting with its footprint. This is the smallest cooler of the four in width and length (Kinda like SPeeD!). This unit does stand taller than the rest because of the spacers below the fan, but I can safely say that this units height will not get in the way in any case I've ever seen.
The next thing of note is the same thing we slam all GlobalWin coolers for, the clip. We have a system we use that requires two screwdrivers that works pretty well, but there's just no excuse for GW not improving the clip that is simply too tight. Now to contradict myself, after you feel the weight of this copper beast you may be happy it has such a stout clip!
One thing I was really worried about was the cooler being too soft, which was a major complaint with the all copper HedgeHog cooler. I have installed this cooler three of four times and the base is still as smooth as glass. GW really came thru with a flat bottom this time, and that's an area where they've struggled in the past. Unlike any cooler I've ever used, I didn't feel it necessary to bust out the 800 grit sandpaper on this one.
The last thing I want to mention before I get to the performance may seem silly to some of you, others may appreciate it as much as I do. Packaging. The CAK-38 comes in a box that has foam custom fit to this cooler. Not only does it give the impression of quality, it also protects the copper cooler while in route to your casa. We all know what the UPS man has a tendency to do with boxes!
CAK38 Performance:
Load: 104F
Idle: 75F
Global Win WBK-38:
Most of you are familiar with this cooler, and those of you that aren't can read our full out review of the WBK38 HERE. I do wanna show ya some pics and touch on a few things though...
You'll notice in the first pic about the two screwdriver mounting method we use, not a lot of fun to be sure. This unit, like all the ones in this feud, use the same clip so don't expect an easier installation. Until we got a hold of the CAK the WBK38 was the champion of cool, this is a very impressive unit and should not be overlooked. The WBK38 comes with the same Delta 7k RPM fan so don't expect this one to be church quiet either. Notice that GW dropped the fins from the fan a bit on this one as well, just not as far as they did with the spacers on the CAK38. The end result is a cooler that sounds like a Hoover sweeper instead of a Lear Jet!
WBK38 Performance:
Load: 107F
Idle: 75F
Global Win FOP-38:
The FOP-38 is the cooler that started the Delta 7k RPM fan craze. Global win took a so-so heat sink, strapped a big ass fan on it and WHAMO! great performance! The FOP38 was ahead of its time in terms of performance and pretty much cleaned up the competition until, once again, Global Win out did itself with the introduction of the WBK-38. The FOP38 uses the same clip, notice the trend of complaints here? Let's take a look at this old reliable and show ya the performance.
This was also the unit that made including a 60mm fan grill a standard, now ya gots to love that! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the 7K RPM fan is so damn dangerous you have to register it in 13 states!
FOP38 Performance:
Load: 109F
Idle: 75F
Global Win FOP-32:
The FOP32, what's there to say really. Everything we said about the FOP38, minus the fan, holds true here. The reason for that is it is the SAME cooler, just with a 4200RPM fan attached. This cooler is MUCH, again MUCH!, less loud than its brothers. Hell, this one even qualifies as quiet. The performance looks kinda shaky, but remember, this is being fitted on a 1.2Ghz CPU for comparison purposes.
As you can see in the picture, the FOP32 does NOT come with the fan grill, which is kind of a bummer, damn I love chrome shiz. I'd love to ramble on a bit about the FOP32, but other than saying its the same cooler as the FOP38, that the clip still sucks, and its still a decent performer, there's not much to say....
FOP32 Performance:
Load: 118F
Idle: 76F
Now that you've met all of our contestants, let's head over to the third, and final page to compare em and wrap this up with a witty yet informative conclusion. Oh, and grab a beer while you're at it, the hard parts done...
Next: Conclusion page 2 >>
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