AMD Wraith (FX-8370) Cooler Review

AMD Wraith (FX-8370) Cooler Review

Manufacturer: AMD
UK price (as reviewed): Approx £169.99 (inc VAT) (CPU and cooler)
US price (as reviewed): Approx $199.99 (ex TAX) (CPU and cooler)

It doesn't matter whether you own an Intel or AMD system - if you're using the stock cooler your CPU came with (or your system builder did), then your PC is almost certainly fairly noisy and warm-running. These coolers are good for one thing - to get you up and running. Apart from that, most aftermarket coolers will run rings round them both in terms of noise levels and cooling performance. So much so, that most people simply chuck the cooler their CPU came with in the bin immediately.


With some fairly hefty TDPs compared to their Intel counterparts (the FX-8370 we're using here is at 125W compared to 91W for Intel's Core i7-6700K), AMD's stock coolers have had to be a fair bit more potent and the FX-8370 ships with a fairly sizeable heatsink, which sports two heatpipes and a rather spritely 70mm fan. The latter can get pretty noisy at full load and overclocking using the stock cooler isn't recommended either - in fact, you'll soon be bouncing off the thermal limit if you stray much above the FX-8370's standard settings.


Images of the company's effort at making the FX-8370 a little more pleasant to deal with if you're on a budget and don't want to invest in a £20-30 air cooler have already surfaced; the Wraith - a beefed up cooler that ships with premium models of the FX-8370 and claims better cooling and lower noise levels than the current stock cooler. Best of all is that the additional kit entering the lineup of AMD's CPUs costs the same as the FX-8370 did, with the latter plus the original stock cooler falling in price to $189.99 and the Wraith-equipped kit costing $10 more.


The difference between the two is stark; the Wraith is around twice the size - nearly 30mm taller, over 10mm wider and over 20mm deeper with a much larger, deeper fan too. There's still only two 6mm heatpipes but the heatsink is much larger. All in all, the Wraith should have a big advantage over its sibling in terms of cooling performance and hopefully AMD has managed to tone down the noise as well.

Specifications

• Compatibility AMD: AM3(+), AM2(+)
  
• Size (with fans) (mm) 107 x 119 x 82mm (W x D x H)
  
• Stated Noise up to 39dB(A)