ID-COOLING IS 40 and IS 60 CPU Cooler Review

[section_title title=”Conclusion”]

Conclusion

The time has come, I have put both the IS 40 and IS 60 through our testing procedures and it is time to see how well the did. While they are both designed for ITX systems, they have their own places in the PC world. Are they worthy of your hard earned cash? Let’s find out!

Jumping into the performance aspect of both coolers and they were tasked a bit harder in our benchmarks than most users would do in everyday use. What I mean, is most users running them will not be trying to cool an overclocked 4770K running at 1.3V. Most users will be using them to cool lower end ITX builds and/or HTPCs, which they will be perfect for. In saying that, they can both handle a stock 4700K, even at load. The IS 60 managed to tame the overclocked 4770K, only just though, whereas the IS 40 was unfortunately not up to the task which was expected to be the case beforehand.

When it comes to the design, both of these coolers are very similar as they are designed for use primarily with ITX based systems. The main difference between the two is the size and the fact that the IS 40 comes with direct touch heat pipes. The IS 40 features 3 heat pipes whereas the IS 60 has 6, thanks in part to its bigger size. They are both designed to be efficient and with the top-down nature, should fit in most cases. While the IS 60 is only 10mm taller than the IS 40, it may not always be feasible to use, which is, of course, why ID-COOLING have given us the IS 40 as well. When all is said and done, as far as design is concerned, you really can not fault either one of these coolers, though I will say it would have been nice to see a couple more heat pipes on the IS 40.

When it comes down to value, the IS 40 comes in at around $25 which, as long as it works, is a fair price for any piece of PC hardware this day and age. The IS 40 seems as it would be best suited for those who want something a bit extra over the normal INTEL and AMD stock coolers, but don’t want to break the bank or go to big.

The IS 60, which comes in around $45, is more geared towards gamer’s and those enthusiasts who want to build a powerful small form factor PC. While I would never recommend running your CPU at 100% load for a long period of time, for a many of reasons, the IS 60 will be able to tame it in most circumstances, which gives it a amazing price to performance ratio for its size in my opinion.

Both of the IS coolers on test here today offer good value for the money and when used for their desired purposes, they should perform as expected and not let users down. As mentioned, while they are very similar, they are designed with a bit different purposes in mind so make sure you choose the one more suited for you needs.

IS 40: Bronze Award – While not totally designed to cool an overclock 4770K, the IS 40 did indeed fail the benchmark testing. However, when using it for it’s intended purpose, cooling a normal CPU, it was more than adequate for its given size, earning it a Bronze Award.

IS 60: Silver Award – I have gone with the Silver Award for the IS 60 as though it is not primarily designed to cool an overclocked 4770K in a gaming system, it managed to pass all of our testing, even if only just. This IS 60 should offer sufficient cooling for most users looking to make use of an ITX build, and as such, is Silver worthy.

I would like to thank ID-COOLNIG for sending both of their IS coolers in for review.