Conclusion.

The last twelve months have seen a number of innovative heat sinks from the various manufacturers, all boasting extremely high performance figures, yet to the main stream buyer, there doesn't seem to be too much to differentiate them all.  To many people, the Thermalright's 2C lead over the Noctua will undoubtedly generate shrugs, however it is within enthusiast circles where people will appreciate the technical research and development that goes into a product like this to squeeze those extra couple of degrees out.  Here at Clunk.org.uk, we love this kind of thing, call us geeky/nerdy/whatever, but, we do, we love it!

Looking at the current UK pricing, the Venomous X comes in at around £50 and then the Thermalright TR-FDB-12-1600 fan is a further £10.  Together they make an excellent combination of power and quietness - I should add that the fan is not entirely silent, but even at full speed, it was only a touch louder than the dual Noctua fans and it does ramp down well with a controller if needed.

Build quality is excellent, and as someone who has had Thermalright coolers for a number of years (I think the SP-97 was the first), it's great to see them evolve.  As I mentioned earlier, the "X" mounting mechanism on earlier models left a lot to be desired, but now they have addressed this and the new Pressure Vault system is excellent - it's easy to use and also applies enough pressure to provide maximum contact between the IHS and the base of the Venomous X.  The mirror finish on the base is a refreshing change from the usual nickel plated/machined copper that many manufacturers use - Whether this mirror finish does actually make a difference to the performance is hard to call, but I suspect that the many minor changes from the TRUE have made the Venomous X what it is.

So who is the Thermalright Venomous X aimed at?  Well, in my opinion, it is undoubtedly the overclocking enthusiast that needs good temps and also people that just appreciate high quality gear.  Some people (myself included) do actually appreciate well made things and don't mind spending a few extra ££/$$/€€ on them - I suspect that this will be the case with the Venomous X, it performs well in a variety of configurations from near silent to screaming.

That said, the Venomous X will not be for everyone.  For the majority of people that don't overclock, or maybe only have a modest overclock and aren't too fussed about squeezing that last few centigrade out of an air cooler, then there are cheaper and smaller alternatives out there that will do the job.

To sum up, the Thermalright Venomous X is a fantastic CPU cooler, it is extremely well made, it has a fantastic mounting system, looks great and performs as well as/better than any standard air coolers out there at the moment.  Thermalright have raised the bar again, it's really down to you to decide if you can justify the price premium and actually take advantage of all that performance or not.

Pros

• Excellent performance with low RPM Fans
• Excellent performance with high RPM fans
• Pressure Vault mounting system is simple yet effective
• Build quality is top notch
• Mirror finish base

Cons

• May be a little on the expensive side for some
• Doesn't come with any fans
• Some may disapprove of the convex base
  

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