Cooler Master Aero 7+ CPU Cooler

Introduction

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I bought a Cooler Master HSC-V62 CPU cooler back when I bought my first Athlon, a 1900+. It’s served me well, but I’ve just upgraded to an Athlon 2500+ and I wanted a new heatsink to go with the new (hotter) CPU. Since I really liked my HSC-V62 and had seen some good press on Cooler Master’s Aero product line, I decided to ask them for one to review. I’m pleased to say that they sent me one, even though I probably would have bought one myself (if they hadn’t), but please don’t tell them that!

The Cooler Master Aero 7+ is a massive all-copper CPU cooler. The fan design is far from ordinary: Not only is the blower an eye-catching shade of turquoise, it has a “squirrel cage” design, which gets rid of the “dead spot” underneath the center of a standard fan-based design. The blower speed is adjustable, so it’s very quiet (at low speed settings).

Features

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• Innovative fan design eliminates “dead spot” in air flow.
• 2X air pressure “squirrel cage” axial fan.
• Adjustable-speed fan with manual control.
• All copper, skived fin heatsink for best heat dissipation.
• Tool-free clip for easy installation.

The Aero 7+ blower design really stands out. This unique design improves cooling efficiency. It does seem to work better, especially under “load” (heavy CPU use). It’s quiet (at low fan speeds) and it moves a lot of air. Also, the sound is lower-pitched than most CPU coolers, so the fan noise is less annoying than most other high-performance CPU coolers.

I’m sure some of you are wondering “What the heck are skived fins?” (I’m glad you asked.) "Skiving" is the process of running a blade across a block of metal and shaving a thin layer up, which then curls upward to form a single fin of the heatsink. Using extremely sharp carbide cutters, skiving quickly shaves off a layer of specified thickness. This process is repeated until the heatsink is completely covered with fins. Skiving is commonly used on Copper and Brass Alloys, as well as other soft metals.

The skiving technique is superior to milling on several key points: surface finish, uniform metal stress, and cost. This process has a couple of other advantages too: A solid piece of metal transfers heat more efficiently, compared to multiple pieces that are joined together by brazing (or welding if the heatsink is made of aluminum). Skived parts require little or no additional finishing (polishing). The surfaces are simply smoothed by the tight tolerances during the skiving process.

As you can see, the skiving process leaves a slightly bumpy texture which causes turbulence as the air flowing over the fins, which improves heat transfer to the air. The photo above has a clear shot of the sturdy clip. Unfortunately, the clip is very difficult to seat properly in my system, which I discuss further in the installation section of this review.

The bottom of the cooler is not as smooth as expected of a unit in this price range, but it's "acceptable". For comparison’s sake I would rate the HSC-V62 as "very good" and the stock Athlon cooler as "good". I’ve seen another review of this unit on the web and that unit seems to have a much smoother base than the unit I’m reviewing. It’s possible that my test unit somehow missed the final polishing step at the factory, in which case, I have a few doubts about Cooler Master’s quality control. Regardless, since the Aero 7+ unit I have actually works quite well, I don't think that lapping (sanding it until it's mirror-smooth) the bottom would make that much of a difference. That being said, I'm seriously considering buying a lapping kit, to investigate the matter further. (If I do, I'll update this article or write another.) The following photo clearly shows the tooling marks leftover from the machining process. The top half of the image was illuminated with a blue LED flashlight, while the bottom half was lit with regular room lighting.

Specifications

Heatsink Dimensions: 80 x 80 x 51 mm
Fan Size: 80 x 80 x 70 mm
Rated RPM: 1900~3500 rpm
Rated Voltage: 7~13.8V
Bearing Type: Dual Ball
Air Flow: 10.9~26.9 CFM
Thermal Paste: Dow Corning 340

Bundle

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The bundle with this cooler is better than I expected, but then I wasn’t expecting a bundle at all, since the Aero 7+ is just a CPU cooler. However, the unit came with both front and back cover plates (for mounting the adjustment knob) and also a "Cooler Master Gear" aluminum case badge, which is a nice touch.

The included case badge looks better than this photo. The letters are actually polished mirror smooth, not printed-on, and the background has a sandblasted appearance. I cannot be certain, but to me, it looks laser-etched.

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