As will run a AM2 setup with this cooler, I had to find installation instructions in the manual for a socket AM2. Start with finding the right mounting clip, mount screws in all four holes on it then mount it on the cooler core and install the four small screws that will hold it in place. On the mounting piece you mounted four screws earlier, now mount the rubber vibration pads on the bottom of the screws also as you will lay the whole piece on the motherboard.
On the back you will have the screws sticking out through the board, mount the plastic washers on the screws and tighten the nuts with the included tool. On the AM2 the installation is quite easy and they are similar on the other sockets types also.
Please click on thumbnails to get bigger pictures
When mounted the cooler takes up abit of space but it does not cover anything special on the testing board atleast. I guess it depends on where the motherboard manufacturer has mounted the ATX connectors etc. Even though the cpu cooler weighs a bit it does not matter since the mounting system keeps it in place.
Ambient temperature during testing was 22 degrees Celsius. Idle temperatures were taken while running Windows in idle mode. Full load temperatures were taken while running SuperPi.
4800+ Stock speed:
As we can see on the graph compared to the Zalman CNPS9500 AM2 this cooler does not have a chance in either idle or full load. I have to admit though that the Mars is almost a bit quieter than the Zalman cooler. I have a very hard time to hear the fan on the Mars if you have the GPU fan and harddrive running at the same time. For such a low RPM the performance is ok on the Coolermaster.
4800+@5200 Overclocked:
All these temperatures are taken while running the fan on low speeds. When overclocked the results are very similar on both coolers. They both perform well under both idle and load.
If we look at the the fans at a higher RPM we got a 2 degree difference on the coolers where the Zalman still performs the best. Overall though the thing is that the Mars runs quieter than the Zalman does.
Conclusion:
Even though it was not able to perform as well as the Zalman cooler it did good in the tests. Noise wise it's less noisy than the Zalman is and the performance is still ok.
At higher RPM they performed quite similar which makes it hard for me to say which is the better one of these two. I am very satisifed with it though and happy to see that Coolermaster has finally released a very quiet cpu cooler that fits for alot of different socket types.
Pros:
+ Quiet!
+ Good performance
+ Well packed
+ Thermal paste included
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