Cryorig C7 CR-C7A Top Flow CPU Heatsink 47mm SFF Mini ITX

Pros: Super low vertical clearance, great for fitting into small mITX systems. As there is no overhang, the C7 does not interfere with memory sticks. Installation process is standard compared to other aftermarket CPU coolers. The price is much lower compared to similar low clearance coolers.

Cons: The fan is attached to the cooler via a proprietary system, so you cannot simply replace the fan if you want. However, registering the product online provides an extended warranty (3 years, I believe).

Overall Review: I purchased this from Newegg ($30) to replace the stock Intel cooler on my mITX system. Seems to perform better than stock, at both idle and max load. I did some crude testing with Prime95. System Specs: CPU: Intel i5 4570 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87N-Wifi VGA: MSI GTX 960 2GD5T 2GB Case: Coolermaster Elite 130 PERFORMANCE: Intel Stock Cooler: Idle: 41-44 C at 1700rpm Prime95 1 min: 85+ C at 2900rpm (max) Prime95 5 min: Did not do, as sensor alarm claimed overheating. Cryorig C7: Idle: 30-32 C at 1225rpm Prime95 1 min: 70 C at 2350rpm Prime95 5 min: 81-84 C at 2575rpm (max) NOISE: I do not have a tool to measure decibels. However, I do feel the system is overall quieter with the new CPU cooler. This is to be expected, given the lower fan RPMs throughout. CONCLUSION: I was debating between this and the Noctua L9x65 ($60). I had read online reviews claiming this to perform at approximately the same level, but at a fraction of the price! Was not disappointed, and would buy again.

Pros: - Relatively quiet (outside of load) - Fits on a Mini-ITX board without interfering with other components, namely RAM - Excellent idle temps (30-35 C) - Great gaming performance (~80C) - Responsive support - Includes plenty of thermal paste - Very low profile!

Cons: - Has some trouble cooling an i7-6700k behind a dust filter under stress (see below) - Install directions are obtuse - Backplate not compatible with some boards (though there are included washers as an alternative) - Kinda loud during load

Overall Review: EDIT: I've updated my pros/cons above in light or more experience with the cooler--it can actually get rather loud under load, especially when compared to the competition. The install directions require you to use a QR code to watch a video on your phone. This is kinda neat, but I'd much rather have just had decent diagrams on paper, and it doesn't help that the diagrams that ARE on the included paper are sometimes misleading or just confusing. I lost a good bit of time uselessly repositioning the offsets only to later find out I didn't really need to do that step. My fan makes a high-pitched electronic whine, which I contacted support about. They understandably asked for a video demonstrating the issue, but it was too high-pitched for my dinky phone mic to pick it up. I sent the video and explained that I'd connected the fan to the CPU fan header on another motherboard whose fans are silent, plus connected a fan that doesn't make this noise to my current motherboard's CPU fan header and isolated it to this thing's fan. They promptly shipped me a replacement fan, which is still on its way from Taiwan; I'll update when it arrives, and I fully expect I just got a bad fan, EDIT: The new fan came in and make no such whine--fantastic! =) As for cooling performance, I'm largely satisfied with it during games and the like--my 6700k gets to a toasty 80-ish Celsius in the RVZ02B, which is warm, but not catastrophic. What is disappointing, however, is that during video encoding, I have to remove my RVZ02B's dust filters to keep it in the 95C range--otherwise, the 6700K'll hit 100C and throttle. Either way, it seems like under stress in a case like the RVZ02B, this thing can't quite keep up with the 6700K, which I am not overclocking and is within the claimed TDP of 100W. This is partly the fault of the case, but I ultimately decided that a 5C difference due to a case dust filter was worth an egg for something billing itself as an SFF cooler for 100W CPUs. This thing is so tiny, though, that even in something like the RVZ02 there's clearance a slim fan, which I'm going to explore to address my temperature issues. EDIT: I purchased one of Cryorig's 140mm slim fans and cable-tied it to the side panel. This pushed temps down another 5C, but it also created tons of noise, so I think I'll have to look for another solution. Overall, I think at this point I would urge others looking to place a high-end core with a higher TDP (the 6700K is nominally 91W) in very slim cases like the Node 202 or the RVZ02 to look elsewhere for their CPU cooler, if you can spare a little bit of height, there are quieter options that can hit the same or better temps. However, if you're using e.g. one of the 65W i5 cores, have a height restriction, or even just some case fans helping out with the airflow, then the C7 should serve you well, albeit sometimes a little loudly .=)

Pros: Stock i5 6600k running cool and silent at the 3.9 ghz boost. Dirt Rally and Skyrim running below 50C in a full tower.

Cons: None at this time. will update when I overclock in the future.

Pros: -Small -Quiet (like super quiet) -Looks cool

Cons: -Backplate makes installation a bee-otch with one person

Overall Review: Bought this to replace a Corsair H80i which had a broken pump or had something else wrong with it. CPU temps were idling at 95C with the H80i, computer was insta-crashing. Now CPU temps are at 37C and my computer is stable. Happy with my purchase. Will use this cooler in a future mini-ITX build, the small form factor will be perfect for it.

Pros: Nice addition to my black and white fan theme. Keeps my i5-6600K cool at around 30C at 22C ambient and was very easy to install on my Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX motherboard.

Cons: Had to remove and replace a heatsink on my MSI A88XI AC V2 Mini ITX to install this cooler. Backplate was a nightmare to install. Had to fiddle with screws to line everything up. Doesn't keep my AMD A10-7850K any cooler than stock but doesn't sound like a jet engine under load.

Overall Review: I used the thermal paste that came with the cooler. Maybe something better would keep the temps down. Considering the amount of time it took to install this thing, I might at a later time try reinstalling with different paste.

Pros: Picked this to replace the stock intel cooler. I was not disappointed. Looks so much better then stock. -Color is good -Size is perfect for any form factor. -Doesn't hog up my pretty motherboards face -Seems to cool a little better then stock cooler so far.

Cons: None

Overall Review: If your like me and can't stand the stock cooler, even though you have a non K cpu, this is for you. I'm not a fan of the big bulky coolers also. It would be either this or a liguid cooler.

Pros: Cools well for a good price. Came bundled with AM4 bracket for free. Included screwdriver and thermal paste. The paste is pretty good and easy to spread.

Cons: Fan responds to PWM in an odd, imprecise way. Anything over 75% and the fan is nearly spinning full speed and extremely loud. The fan does not need to spin 2500 RPM... I don't understand why cryorig would do this. The machining is a bit off and this will be very hard to explain. Sometimes screws would "break through" the imperfections during manufacturing. I had one hole that the screw wouldn't screw into until I put in a lot of force. It "popped" and went in and out smoothly after that. The mounting screws also barely fit through the mounting bracket. I had a tough time getting the bracket into place. I attribute all these things to below average manufacturing.

Overall Review: I would definitely buy again as it is clearly the best small form factor cooler for the money but this felt noticeably cheap at times to me. I have bought phanteks, noctua, bequiet, and scythe products in the past and I'd say the build quality on this is definitely the worst out of these companies, but not by much. Everything still worked out fine.

Pros: Absolutely amazing temps Great low noise Easy-ish to install

Cons: -None

Overall Review: Absolutely loved the H7 and now the C7. I will absolutely continue to support Cryorig given they don't disappoint in the future, they never have.