Already it has been 18 months since we were first impressed by the Prolimatech Megahalems as it brushed aside the competition. It is amazing to think in that time Prolimatech was born and has already become a household name amongst overclockers. Roughly 6 months after the release of the Megahalems, Prolimatech attempted to excite the market once again with a new product.

Known as the Mega Shadow their second attempt at wooing the enthusiast crowd was a lot less exciting as this new product cost over 30% more and provided no extra performance. That said, the Mega Shadow did look very cool with the shadow chrome paint job. Prolimatech did take some time out from producing rehashed Megahalems designs when they released the impressive looking Armageddon heatsink, which supported dual 140mm fans.

So from the company with the obscure name we were brought the exotic sounding Megahalems and then the not so creative Mega Shadow followed by the sinister sounding Armageddon, which leaves the obvious choice for their next product “Super Mega” of course. With the Mega Shadow already discontinued, Prolimatech look to be filling the $80 price bracket once again, this time with the Super Mega.

As we mentioned earlier, the original Megahalems heatsink was released some 18 months ago now and despite that it is still going strong. For the asking price of $60 US there are few air-cooled heatsinks that provide the same level of performance and value as the Megahalems. That being the case, we wonder just how much better the Super Mega is going to be, keeping in mind it is said to cost $20 US more.

Whereas original Megahalems featured a copper base and six dual copper heatpipes, the Super Mega employs a little more copper. The Super Mega features two main columns of 44 fins which are split in half by the six heatpipes, effectively creating four columns. In that sense there are 176 small fins in total and of that number 32 of them are constructed from copper.

This means just 18% of the fins featured on the Super Mega are copper. Despite this the weight has been boosted by almost 20% from the 790 grams of the Megahalems, to a portly 945 grams. That said, the smaller Thermalright TRUE Copper heatsink weighed in at an insane 1900 grams due to its all copper design.

Given how large and expensive the Megahalems heatsink already is, it would not have been possible or at least feasible for Prolimatech to create a 100% copper version of the Megahalems. Instead Prolimatech has strategically positioned a small amount of copper fins in an effort to better improve heat dissipation of the Super Mega.

Like all Prolimatech products the Super Mega is not a universal cooler and can only be installed on either the Intel LGA775, LGA1156 or LGA1366 platforms out of the box. Those wanting to install the Super Mega on an AMD platform will have to purchase an additional mounting kit at a cost of about $10 US.

This is a little unfortunate, as this would be an excellent product for those looking to overclock their Phenom II processor. However once you consider having to buy a fan and then the mounting kit on top of the cost of the heatsink, you are almost half way to the value of a Phenom II X4 965 processor.

Prolimatech has decided to maximize cooling efficiency by using six dual heatpipes that extend through two separate and very large series of aluminum fins. Interestingly the heatpipes do not pass through the fins in an unusual formation, as they do in most high-end coolers. Rather, they form a perfectly straight line though the middle of the fins.

In total there are six copper dual heatpipes measuring 6mm in diameter that run through the copper base and up through the fins on each side of the heatsink. Although the base has been constructed from copper it is nickel plated, and therefore has a smooth finish.

Apart from the Intel mounting bracket kit, the Super Mega also comes with four fan clips, which will allow the user to install a pair of 120mm fans if they choose. For testing purposes we installed a single 1500-RPM fan, as this was the same configuration we used on the Prolimatech Megahalems and Thermalright TRUE Copper heatsinks.

In fact, the method used by Prolimatech is actually very intelligent, and it allows for very quick and easy installation on the LGA775, LGA1156 and LGA1366 platforms. Sadly its only short coming is its inability to support AMD platforms without having to purchase an optional kit.

Rather than supply three individual mounting kits, Prolimatech has managed to design a single kit that can support all three Intel platforms. The installation method is the same as that used by previous Prolimatech CPU coolers. Although this method appears very fiddly at first, the design actually works rather well and is quite easy to work with.

There are three different sets of mounting holes on the bracket and depending on the platform you are using you will only use one of these sets. For testing purposes we first installed the Super Mega on an LGA775 motherboard, then an LGA1156 board, and finally an LGA1366 board, without a problem. Again the installation process for each platform is exactly the same, with the exception of the mounting holes, which are in a slightly different position for each platform.

Installing the fan or fans on the Super Mega is quite a simple process, and Prolimatech has used clips much like you will find with most heatsinks. There are two sets of clips included, allowing for a pair of 120mm fans to be attached to the heatsink. The fans must be installed once the heatsink has been secured to the motherboard, as they will block access to the screws.

When testing the coolers we remount them onto the CPU three times and record the idle/load data. Each time the thermal paste is wiped clean from both the CPU and the heatsinks base. The best result is displayed rather than the average of all the recorded data.

The heatsinks that come with their own fan are naturally tested with that particular fan. The heatsinks that do not come with a fan are all tested with the same fan(s), that fan(s) being the Thermalright TR-1212PSL which operates at between 1000 ~ 1800 RPM.

For testing purposes we lock the fan in at 1500 RPM and monitor this speed throughout the testing process. Heatsinks that take 140mm fans use the Xigmatek XLF-F1453 (supplied and recommended by Prolimatech) and this fan is rated at just 1000 RPM. At this speed the fan moves 63.5 CFM while working at a whisper quiet 16 dBA. At the time of writing this, these fans are retailing for roughly $13 US.

Because we record the temperatures using EVEREST Ultimate Edition, the same version is used every time with the same motherboard using the exact same BIOS revision. Furthermore, the same Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition processor overclocked to 3.70GHz is also used each time. Also please note that all tests have been conducted using vertical motherboard orientation, positioned upright in a traditional tower computer case. Furthermore, the heatsinks that feature heatpipe technology are positioned so that heatpipes span horizontally.

Hardware - Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition (Overclocked @ 3.70GHz) - x3 2GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 (CAS 9-9-9-24) - Seagate 500GB 7200-RPM (Serial ATA300) - Radeon HD 5870 (1GB) - Asus P6T Deluxe (Intel X58) Software - Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit) - ATI Catalyst 10.7

When looking at the idle temperatures, which are recorded after the processor has been stressed for 10 minutes with a 10 minute cool down period, we see that the Prolimatech Super Mega when paired with a single 120mm fan reduced the temperature to just 26 degrees. Adding a second 120mm fan helped to reduce the idle temperature by another 2 degrees, matching that of the Megahalems, Armageddon and Venomous-X heatsinks which also used the same fan configuration.

When stressing the Core i7 965 EE processor for 20mins the Prolimatech Super Mega single fan configuration let the CPU temperature rise to just 64 degrees, matching the Thermalright Venomous X. This meant that the Super Mega was a degree cooler than the Megahalems and Mega Shadow heatsinks.

Adding a second fan reduced the stress temperature by another 6 degrees, making the Super Mega the best performing heatsink of the bunch. With a stress temperature of just 58 degrees the Super Mega beat the Megahalems by a degree and the Venomous X by 2 degrees.

Furthermore, we also weighed the Super Mega and the original Megahalems, which proved that the Prolimatech specifications are accurate. Therefore we can confirm that the copper fins are indeed 100% copper and the Super Mega is roughly 20% heavier than the Megahalems. Having now also tested the Super Mega we can also confirm that it performs much like the Megahalems, which is obviously a good thing.

Having tested and re-tested both the Super Mega and Megahalems heatsinks four times, each time re-seating it on the CPU, we found that on average the Super Mega was just a single degree cooler than the original. While this is an improvement it’s not quite as significant as we had hoped for. That said it is better than no improvement at all, which is what we got when testing the Mega Shadow.

Still, with just a degree separating these two coolers we have to question how many users will be persuaded to spend the extra $20 US or so on this new model. Currently the $60 US price tag that Prolimatech has slapped on the Megahalems seems quite reasonable when compared to the competition, such as the highly regarded Thermalright Venomous X which retails for the same price.

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The other disadvantage the Super Mega faces, other than the asking price, is its weight, at 945 grams it’s a big boy and a real flight risk for those that like to move their PC around when attending LAN party events for example. While the custom mounting kit appears up to the job, the Super Mega still places a great deal of strain on the motherboard.

Still, the upshot being that the Prolimatech Super Mega is the best air-cooled heatsink we have ever tested and while we have not tested them all, we have seen our fair share of high-end coolers. Therefore we will conclude by saying that those seeking the ultimate air-cooled CPU heatsink without much concern for the cost should certainly place the Prolimatech Super Mega at the top of their list. For the rest of us, the Megahalems still appears to be the best all round option from Prolimatech.