OCZ Technology - Gladiator 3

Posted: 2003-12-28 by MikeC

Tests:

The tests were run on:

CPU : AMD 2800+ Thouroughbred B
Motherboard : Leadtek K7NCR18D-Pro II
Thermal Paste : OCZ Ultra II Premium Silver Compound

I compared the Gladiator 3 to its predecessor, the Gladiator 2, a stock AMD heat sink, a Swiftech MCX462A and a Thermaltake Volcano 11 Xaser Edition. The last two were put in to see how the Gladiator 3 would fair against its bigger heat sink brothers. Idle temperatures were taken after half an hour of only Motherboard Monitor 5.3.4.0 running, and load temperatures were taken after 50 consecutive runs of Sandra SiSoft’s CPU burn in test. All tests were conducted open case.

Idle Tempuratures

Load Tempuratures

Well, as expected, the Gladiator 3 does not fare very well against its larger brothers. The larger heat sinks have the advantage of having much more surface area to dissipate the heat, as well as the ability to use larger fans that move lots more air. Compared to the stock AMD heat sink, the Gladiator 3 clearly takes the lead due to its copper construction and larger fan. When compared to the Gladiator 2 however, there isn't much of an improvement in terms of cooling. However, when matched side by side, the Gladiator 3 produces much less noise than its outdated compatriot.

Conclusion:

As far as available heat sinks go, the Gladiator 3 is not one of the best. However, looking in the 60mm heat sink weight category, the Gladiator 3 does offer some excellent cooling performance with practically zero noise. Not much of an improvement over its predecessor the Gladiator 2, but still an improvement. For those who have smaller budgets and can’t afford a $40 heat sink, or for those who have a smaller motherboard where an 80mm heat sink would simply get in the way, the Gladiator 3 is one to consider.

Pros: