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2CoolPC Turbo
Review by: James "Agg" Rolfe
Manufactured by: 2CoolPC (South Bay Engineering) (USA)

See the two plastic scoopy things in the picture below? Spot the difference!

Sorry, it's a bit of a trick question. Yes, the sticker is slightly different, but apart from that there isn't really a visible difference.. unless you look closely at the fans themselves:

2CoolPC-Plus

"Top Motor" DF1209BB
12V DC, 0.25A, 2700RPM, 50CFM
2CoolPC-Turbo

"ADDA" AD0912UB-A71GL
12V DC, 0.39A, 2900RPM, 60CFM

Apart from the fan and the sticker, the 2CoolPC-Turbo is exactly the same as the 2CoolPC-Plus I reviewed a few months ago here. The plastic scoop is exactly the same, which means the same mounting considerations. Same sheet of instructions. Same useful pass-through power connector. Same little sticky velcro feet to hold it in place. In fact, you may as well just read the earlier review to get a general idea of how these devices are used.

But what about performance? Does the extra 10CFM of the Turbo unit make a noticeable real-world difference? I tested it in my current games box, a P3-550E @ 733MHz on an Asus P3V4X wrapped up in the Macase K10 midtower. This box contains a GeForce SDR video card which gets pretty toasty, an SBLive! and a cheapy SkyMaster network card which also runs hot. Add in 2x 7200RPM HDD's, 2x CDROM's and associated cables and the internal airflow drops to a crawl. Even with the Macase's front-mounted fan, this machine has some heat issues.

I recorded the CPU's internal temperature, the temperature reported by the motherboard sensor and that reported by an external thermal probe attached to the back of the video card, under the GeForce chip. Each was recorded after an hour of looping the Unreal Flyby intro sequence and the machine was allowed to cool between runs. The ambient temperature was 24C.

Interestingly, even the 2CoolPC Plus has a dramatic effect on the machine, moreso than when I originally reviewed it - the Macase is a lot more populated now and the stagnant airflow obviously makes it run a lot hotter. The difference between the Plus and the Turbo is less dramatic, but still noticeable. If you've a heat problem, these simple devices definitely make a difference. If you've already got a Plus unit, I wouldn't rush out and upgrade to the Turbo - but if you're buying your first, the extra USD$5 for the Turbo over the Plus is probably worth it. Be aware that the Turbo is noticeably louder than the Plus. A final note - I mentioned this in the last review and the situation hasn't changed - perhaps I'm factoring in the weak Aussie dollar at the moment, but USD$40 does seem a touch expensive for these devices. However, there's no denying they do the job advertised and do it well. You can get them directly from 2CoolPC.com.

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