The ThermoLab Baram 2010 heatsink is the successor to the original Baram, which was released late in 2008. For the most part ThermoLab has just improved compatibility to support the Intel LGA1156 and LGA1366 platforms right out of the box. However they have also taken this opportunity to fine tune the original product, by increasing the heatsink fin count from 54 to a more impressive 64 fins.

Other than the new platform support and extra fins, the only other difference between the two can be seen visually. Whereas the original featured a nickel plated base, the Baram 2010 has been left raw and ThermoLab claims that the base is now more precise for better contact.

As it stands ThermoLab is currently offering just four CPU coolers, including the Baram 2010. The other coolers are not quite as high-end, and include the BADA 2010, Nano Silencer and Micro Silencer, which look much more like standard heatsinks. The Baram 2010 was clearly modeled off a heatsink such as the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme.

However the ThermoLab Baram 2010 is priced at just $40 US, which is dirt cheap for a universal CPU cooler. Meanwhile, products such as the Thermalright Venomous X and Prolimatech Megahalems are priced at $60 US. It should be noted that none of the products just mentioned feature a fan, while all can support either single or dual 120mm fan(s). The Baram 2010 is truly an affordable heatsink, and should it perform anything like the more expensive alternatives, we feel ThermoLab has a really winner on its hands.

The heatsink itself stands tall, measuring 160mm, while it is also 132mm wide and 67mm thick. These are the exact dimensions of the original Baram heatsink, so what this means is that the gapping between the fins has been reduced to accommodate for the 19% increase in fins.

The fins have been constructed from aluminum, while the base and heatpipes are made from copper. This makes for a total weight of 625 grams, which is very reasonable for a large high-end CPU cooler and is surprisingly the same weight claimed for the original.

The Baram 2010 is a truly universal cooler, meaning it can be installed on either Intel LGA775/1156/1366 or AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3 motherboards. The original launched without support for the LGA1366 platform, while the LGA1156 platform was still a year away from release. Nevertheless, the heatsink design did allow Thermolab to support these platforms with the Baram 2010, without any major changes.

ThermoLab claims that the Baram 2010 has a maximum thermal design of 250 watts, which is impressive. They have achieved this thermal efficiency by going with a slightly unusual heatpipe arrangement. Rather than run the heatpipes up through the fins in a straight line as is often the case, ThermoLab has gone with a different design. The Baram 2010 heatpipes form an “X” shape through the fins, allowing the heatpipes to disperse the heat more evenly.

This not only evenly distributes the heat across the fins, but it also maximizes airflow through the heatsink, as the air is not breaking around the row of heatpipes. Further improving airflow is a unique fin design which should minimize air resistance. Every second fin steps out a little bit further, creating room for more airflow. In total there are five dual heatpipes that run through the copper base and up through the fins on each side of the heatsink.

The problem here is Thermolab has gone with rubber grommets to temporarily hold them in place while the user tries to install the heatsink. When trying to install the Baram 2010 we found the grommets would not hold the fixing bolts and they would just fall out.

The best solution is to install the fixing bolts into the correct holes for your particular platform and then lay the mounting bracket flat on a desk and place the motherboard over it. This is hardly practical, especially if the motherboard is already installed into the case.

What Thermolab needs to do in order to solve this issue entirely is make the fixing bolts screw into the mounting bracket, which is the preferred method by most CPU heatsink manufacturers that use this kind of design. It is a shame after all this time to find that although compatibility has been improved, the mounting system is still very difficult to work with, and it does not need to be.

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, that fan 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 10.4

When sitting idle at the Windows desktop we see that the standard Intel box cooler does a poor job of keeping our overclocked Core i7 processor cool, as temperatures reach 46 degrees. Even one of the worst performing after market coolers that we have tested is a significant improvement on this. However, to say that the ThermoLab Baram 2010 is a significant improvement over the standard cooler would be an understatement.

With just a single 120mm fan in place the Baram 2010 was able to reduce the idle temperature by a massive 41%. However even more impressive than that is the fact that the Baram 2010 is operating within just 2-3 degrees of the very best air-coolers the industry has to offer.

Now under full load temperatures soar, yet the ThermoLab Baram 2010 manages to keep things in check, with a maximum operating temperature of 65 degrees. This is the same temperature produced by the much more expensive Prolimatech Megahalems, while it is even better than the Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme. Furthermore, the Baram 2010 was found to be just a degree warmer than the Thermalright Venomous-X, which is widely considered to be the best performing air-cooler money can buy.

That said, it’s not all great news, particularly if you plan to actually install this new cooler. This is really where the Baram 2010 falls over, just as the original did. While ThermoLab’s lack of experience in designing CPU coolers could have been to blame for the original design, the fact that the new design is no better is very disappointing. Sadly once again the installation process is quite a mess, if I am honest.

Regardless of whether you are installing the Baram on an Intel or AMD platform, the process is not practical. The Baram is not an overly heavy heatsink, so really why not just use the standard Intel mounting clips and the standard AMD retaining mechanism? They have worked well with bigger heatsinks, and they eliminate the need for motherboard removal, which is a huge plus. Still, the real issue comes down to how the fixing bolts are attached to the mounting bracket, had it been possible to screw them in we feel this product would be significantly easier to install.

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Nevertheless, if you are experienced enough to comfortably install the ThermoLab Baram 2010, then this issue is not so much of a problem. If you are confident enough to take on the installation process then we feel the Baram 2010 is a very good value product that provides an exceptional level of performance at a very competitive price.

Those that are happy with the price and performance have just one other hurdle to overcome, that hurdle being availability. Finding the Baram 2010 online is not an easy task, and the chances of finding it locally are even harder. Still, availability of ThermoLab’s products has improved over the years, and we suspect that this will continue. Overall the ThermoLab Baram 2010 is a well put together heatsink that offers superior performance, but for the time being suffers from a slightly flawed installation process.