When we read the interesting specifications sheet of the Zaward Vapor 120 cpu cooler we were very anxious to put it under testing. The results were fair enough, with the cooler to keep the temperature of our Core i7-920 system low even under overclocking conditions. Zanward has made a good job with the design of the cooler, and the heatsinks, the direct contact technology combined with the rather powerful 120mm fan was a smart and efficient combination. On the other hand, this cooling efficient design was not so efficient in terms of noise. The cooler was not so quiet and according to our measurements, the produced noise was average for the category. Have in mind that you can always enable the Q-Fan under the BIOS to keep the overall noise down.

To sum up, we have a product that looks good at specs, it performs very well but would cost you more than relative cooling solutions. The idea to add a second 120mm fan sounds interesting but it would push the overall cost higher. The competition is very hard for this category of CPU coolers and we feel that the Zaward Vapor 120 deserves your attention before visiting your local computer store.

Retail package
Design
Motherboard compatibility
Installation time
Copper Base quality

Pros:

+ Good retail package
+ Compact volume -fits in most PC cases
+ Dual fan installation option
+ Good performance with stock/overclocked processor
+ Included fan has PWM function to keep the noise low
+ Compatible with AMD/Intel platforms

Cons:

- Noise levels were average at full speed
- Competition offers a better performance at lower price
- Installation requires reading instructions and takes time