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Intel Core i7 Heatsink Roundup Q309

Thermalright TRUE processor cooler has been king of the hill for quite some time. Today we bring in four new challengers to see if any of them have what it takes to make our short list of coolers to buy for your next enthusiast box build.

COGAGE TRUE Spirit

I was a little confused when I first received this cooler for testing. Is it from Thermalright? Is it a new line of coolers? Is it a completely separate company producing this cooler? There were just some of the questions I had when I first laid eyes on this cooler.

It turns out that technically COGAGE is a separate company but that the cooler was designed by Thermalright engineers. This would explain where the "TRUE" in the name comes from as well as the origins of its familiar design.

Looking like a mini-TRUE this cooler has a lot to live up to.

Package & Specs

The TRUE Spirit comes in a colorful box full of information. It only supports Intel’s LGA 1366 socket at this time and take more than a few cues from its bigger brother the TRUE-120.

Dimensions: 133 (L) x 38 (W) x 156 (H) mm

Weight: 670 g

Material: Copper base and heat pipes with aluminum cooling fins

Heat Pipes: 4 x 6mm full-length heat pipes

Compatibility: Intel LGA 1366

Fan:

• Size: 120 x 25mm
• Speed: 1000 ~ 1500 RPM
• Noise Level: 19.3 ~ 37.4dB(A)
• Max Air Flow: 35 ~ 66.5 CFM

Contents & Flatness

The TRUE Spirit is only compatible with Intel’s socket 1366 and as such doesn’t include the large amount of mounting hardware other coolers do.

The finish on the base of the TRUE Spirit is not polished and shows a very odd wavy pattern of our test grid. It is not that the base is warped but rather the machining process creates a finish that causes this odd reflection.

Photos

Some photos of the TRUE Spirit from various angles.

Installation

Installing the TRUE Spirit is a breeze thanks to the push-pin mounting system employed. Furthermore, it is the only cooler in the roundup today that does not impose on the first DIMM slot on our motherboard. While it does sit a bit close, there is ample room to fit more RAM if we wanted.

The TRUE Spirit makes solid contact with our CPU as shown by our last photo. While it may have appeared in our earlier photo that our base was warped, the even contact it makes is proof that it is little more than an optical illusion.