Thermalright hr 02 review: Thermalright Macho CPU Cooler Review — Tom’s Hardware

23 февраля, 2023

Thermalright Macho CPU Cooler Review — Tom’s Hardware

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For the past three years, Thermalright’s HR-02 Macho has been a stalwart in the competitive CPU cooler segment. We’ve seen various Macho models offer good price-to-performance ratios, and as fan speeds are reduced, they show their real strength. In a recent review on Tom’s Hardware Germany, we documented this by testing the black nickel-plated HR-02 Macho Zero, which doesn’t even ship with a fan.

Over the years, most of the changes to the HR-02 Macho family were minor adjustments. Sometimes the bundled fan was replaced by something newer. Occasionally, the heat sink’s looks were updated. Moreover, Thermalright created smaller and larger derivatives of its box-shaped cooler.

The Macho 120 (we called it the Mini Macho) offers reduced height, helping it fit into slim, budget-priced enclosures. The huge HR-22 was intended to break into the semi-passive segment. Surprisingly, though, the standard-sized Macho Zero wound up beating it.

More recently, Thermalright introduced the HR-02 Macho Rev. B, the latest iteration of the standard model with a 14cm fan. Compared to its predecessor (the HR-02 Macho Rev. A), the updated model not only comes with a few design improvements like nickel-plated heat pipes and a black paint job for the topmost cooling fin, but it also sports two technical innovations.

Until recently, Thermalright used its own TY-147 fan, which is replaced by the TV-147A. The new cooler complements the good performance of the HR-02 Macho at low fan speeds by offering a much wider RPM range (from 300 to 1300RPM) than its predecessor, which had a 900RPM floor.

The second technical innovation is the CPU contact plate. Thermalright’s HR-02 Mach Rev. B uses a significantly larger base. In fact, it’s the same one that adorns the Macho Zero. This is intended to improve cooling performance for the latest LGA 2011-v3 processor generation.

Inspired by the introduction of Thermalright’s refresh, we arranged a family meeting of the various Macho models. Mounted on top of an Intel Core i7-5820K, they can demonstrate their individual strengths and weaknesses.

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Thermalright HR-02 CPU Cooler Review


Article NavigationPage 1: IntroductionPage 2: Features and SpecificationsPage 3: Packaging and ContentPage 4: Closer LookPage 5: Closer Look (Continued)Page 6: Comparison ShotsPage 7: Test SetupPage 8: ResultsPage 9: Results (Overclocked)Page 10: Other ObservationsPage 11: Conclusion

Thermalright HR-02 CPU Cooler Review


?by Sahil Mannick
 Comments
?23-09-10

Results (Overclocked)

4GHz


Raw result with idle and load delta temperatures

Dealing with an overclocked i7 is certainly a challenging prospect for many coolers and doing so passively is unimaginable, but Thermalright are adamant that it is possible. The results here show that they were right. Passively, the HR-02 pulls ahead of the Noctua NH-C12P SE14 by a 3.5C margin! It fails to match other tower heatsinks but for a passive cooler, it’s a very impressive result. Adding a fan improves performance significantly. Even with a low RPM TR TY-140 attached, it outperforms many top end air coolers from last year such as the Noctua NH-U12P, Corsair H50 in its many low RPM configuration and the Coolink Corator DS. The best performing HR-02 setup is with two TR TY-140 fans attached. In that situation, it outperforms the likes of the Prolimatech Megahalem and falls just short of the all liquid coolers with two high RPM SWiF2-120P fans. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough for it meet the standards set by the Silver Arrow, Venomous X and Noctua NH-D14.

Fan comparison

A number of fans were used on the HR-02 from Noctua and Thermalright themselves. Comparing Thermalright’s TR TY-140 to Noctua’s NF-P14, the former takes a slight lead of 0. 25C. Both perform very similarly despite the TR TY-140 being marginally faster at maximum speed. Both fans were also very quiet during operation. The NF-P12 fell behind by around 1C, demonstrating the benefits of 140mm fans nowadays. Similarly, two TR TY-140 outperformed two NF-P12s by a marginal 0.75C.

HR-02 VS Venomous X

Based on internal tests, Thermalright claim that the HR-02 can match the performance of their Venomous X with a low RPM fan installed. Unfortunately, we no longer had the Venomous X to test so for a fair comparison of heatsink efficiency, we can look at both using two NF-P12 fans. The result is that the Venomous X leads by 3.75C. On the same note, only the Ultra Extreme 120, Venomous X, Silver Arrow and Noctua NH-D14 can beat the HR-02 on efficiency.

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Page 1: IntroductionPage 2: Features and SpecificationsPage 3: Packaging and ContentPage 4: Closer LookPage 5: Closer Look (Continued)Page 6: Comparison ShotsPage 7: Test SetupPage 8: ResultsPage 9: Results (Overclocked)Page 10: Other ObservationsPage 11: Conclusion

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Thermalright HR-02 Macho Zero CPU Cooler Review and Test

Contents

  • Introduction
  • Evolution Thermalright HR-02 Macho
  • Review Thermalright HR-02 Macho Zero
    • Packaging and contents
    • Radiator
    • Base
  • Specifications and rivals
  • Installation and compatibility
  • Test Bench, Software and Test Method
  • Test results
    • Noise level
    • CO test on open bench with fan
    • CO test in case, no fan
  • Conclusion

Introduction

To be honest, I have a special, warm relationship with the Thermalright brand. In my opinion, their products, despite all the shortcomings, are the best on the market for air cooling systems. Of course, now the company is practically standing still, it missed the last two CES 13/14 exhibitions and does not please users with frequent new products. Although recently the ice has broken. nine0041

But that’s not the point, because Thermalright gave the world a lot of good coolers, which are still working in the field of cooling processors and video cards. And its developers have set a high bar for air cooling systems, which remains relevant today.


And we have to give the company its due — it still hasn’t stepped in the direction of closed dropsies, remaining true to air cooling. There are few such manufacturers now, to count them, perhaps, the fingers of one hand are enough. Yes, and people from Thermalright create interesting products under the banners of other brands, continuing to develop the industry in this difficult time for the computer industry. nine0041

Of course, few people would argue with the fact that today air coolers have reached a dead end in their development, and there is practically no point in creating something new if you can slightly modify the cooler model by changing its appearance and adding a chip or two. Whether this is right or not is a moot point, and we will not discuss it now.

recommendations

This article is about the Thermalright HR-02 Macho Zero introduced last year.

Evolution Thermalright HR-02 Macho

The history of the Thermalright HR-02 radiator began quite a long time ago, the first time it appeared in our laboratory back in 2010. A year later, the cooler came out again, in a slightly lighter revision of HR-02 Macho Rev.A, and already equipped with a fan. From that moment began a long history of different versions of the HR-02 Macho.

We will return to its variations, now it is worth remembering where, in principle, it all began. The Thermalright HR-02 came to replace the HR-01 “tower”, which is now remembered only by enthusiasts, while this “monster” shone in our country in 2008. Since then, this epic has been going on for seven years, and for the last four years the HR-02 Macho has remained virtually unchanged. nine0041

Changed fans, their number, radiator coating, its color. And this situation could be called unfortunate if the HR-02 had not evolved two years ago into the HR-22 cooler, which is one of the best passive CPU cooling systems. At the same time, a more compact version was released — Macho 120, which recently received a black and white revision of Macho 120 Rev.A. And just recently, succumbing to the minimalist trend, the little Macho 90 appeared. And the list is completed by the last version of the HR-02 to date — fanless, equipped with a «trunk» HR-02 Macho Zero. nine0041

Here’s a group shot of all variations of the Thermalright HR-02.

For clarity, we present their technical characteristics together.

nine0079


2.90

nine0079


6
Parameters / Model

thermal right

HR-02 Macho Zero

thermal right

HR-02

thermal right
nine0081HR-22

thermal right

HR-02 Macho Rev.A

thermal right

HR-02 Macho Rev.A (BW)
Radiator dimensions (LxWxH), mm

140 x 102 x 162

110 x 140 x 160

150 x 120 x 159

140 x 102 x 162

140 x 102 x 162
Radiator weight, g

710

860

1120

710
 nine0044
710
Dispersion area

~9 000

~9 000

~12 000

~9 000

~9 000
Fan size, mm nine0044
140/120

140/120

140/120

140/120

140/120
Construction type

Tower

Tower

Tower

Tower

Tower
Number of sections, pcs.

one

one

one

one
 nine0044
one
Fins

nickel plated

aluminum

nickel plated

aluminum

nickel plated

aluminum

Aluminum

Aluminum
Number of fins

31

31

35

31

31
Distance between ribs, mm

2. 90

2.90

2.90

2.90
Fin thickness, mm

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5
Heat pipes

Nickel plated

copper

Nickel plated

copper

Nickel plated

copper

Copper

Copper
Heat pipes diameter, mm

6

6

6

6

6
Number of heat pipes, pcs.

6

eight

6

6
Base

Nickel plated

copper

Nickel plated

copper
nine0045

Nickel plated

copper

Nickel plated

copper

Nickel plated

copper

nine0079


Tower

nine0079


one

nine0079


2. 90

nine0104

nine0079


Nickel plated

copper
Parameters / Model

thermal right

HR-02 Macho Rev. B
nine0045

thermal right

HR-02 Macho Black

thermal right

Macho 120

thermal right

Macho 120 Rev.A

thermal right

Macho 90
Radiator dimensions (LxWxH), mm nine0044
140 x 102 x 162

140 x 102 x 162

120 x 102 x 150

120 x 102 x 150

102 x 102 x 135
Radiator weight, g

720

710
nine0045

600

600

450
Dispersion area

~9 000

~9 000

—

—

—
Fan size, mm

140/120

140/120

120

120

90
Construction type

Tower

Tower

Tower

Tower
Number of sections, pcs.

one

one

one

one
Fins

Aluminum

nickel plated

aluminum

Aluminum

Aluminum
nine0045

Aluminum
Number of fins

31

31

thirty

thirty

—
Distance between ribs, mm

2.90

—

—

—
Fin thickness, mm

0.5

0.5
 nine0044
0.5

0.5

0.5
Heat pipes

Copper

Nickel plated

copper

Copper

Nickel plated
nine0081 copper

Nickel plated

copper
Heat pipes diameter, mm

6

6

6

6

6
Number of heat pipes, pcs.

6

6

five

five

4
Base

Nickel plated

copper

Nickel plated

copper

Nickel plated

copper

Nickel plated

copper

The table clearly shows the absence of large-scale changes. And there can be only two reasons for such actions on the part of the company: either it is a simple “mower of money” similar to other manufacturers, or the HR-02 Macho is so good that nothing needs to be changed in it. nine0041

In fact, the hero of the review is still the same HR-02 Macho, only now there is no fan in the kit — instead of it there is a special “trunk” or, more precisely, an extractor hood (Fan Duct model). In fact, we have already tested the performance of the new chip together with the HR-22. Well, let’s not delay and start reviewing the Thermalright Macho Zero.

Overview Thermalright HR-02 Macho Zero

Packaging and Contents

The Thermalright Macho Zero cooling system is shipped to stores in a separate black box, inside which the heatsink itself and a set of fasteners are hidden. Additionally, the manufacturer offers to purchase one of two types of hood to choose from: for a 120 or 140 mm form factor fan. nine0041

This is a small package with a black glossy finish that contains a lot of information about the product and its characteristics.

Standard hood is purchased separately, it comes in a black box with the same design, only half the size.

Macho Zero itself is encased in a black square of foam rubber, which provides reliable protection against damage, and is additionally packaged in a plastic bag. In addition to the radiator, a black box with fasteners is hidden in the box. nine0041

Trunk 120 mm is waiting in the wings without any bags and protection from external influences (except for the carton).

Thermalright HR-02 Macho Zero includes:

  • HR-02 Macho Zero Radiator;
  • Fan Duct;
  • Proprietary screwdriver;
  • White gloves;
  • Mounting plate;
  • Mounting kit for Intel LGA 2011;

    • nine0005 Mounting kit for Intel LGA 115X/1366;

  • AMD connector fixing kit;
  • Plastic washers;
  • Pressure plate;
  • Rubber anti-vibration pads;
  • Pair of fan brackets;
  • Sticker;
  • Instruction.

As you can see, almost all accessories are in black.