Asus Triton 79

Asus is the Goliath in the end user computer market, they branch out from their mainboards to video cards, cases, laptops, and also CPU coolers; we feature no less than four different models in this roundup alone, all high end products with one aim: performance.

If you happen to not know Asus (chances are small, but it happens):

ASUS comes from the last four letters of Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology that represents the inspiration of art and learning. ASUS embodies the strength, creative spirit and purity symbolized by this regal and agile mythical creature, soaring to new heights of quality and innovation with each product it introduces to the market.

---

Asus Triton 79

---

Asus Triton 79
- Intel S775 / AMD AM2/939
- 1x120mm fan, custom design
- ~1300rpm
- Heatsink With Fan: 683 gram
- PWM Fan Connector
- ~$75

The first Asus cooler featured in this roundup goes by the name of Triton 79 “Amazing”, looking at the price it better be. This is a limited edition and comes with the most over the top product packing ever seen, you can easily re-use the package for your wife’s jewelry!

Back to the interesting part: the Triton 79 is an exquisitely finished tower cooler with four U-form heat pipes, aluminum fins, copper base, all nickel plated to give it good looks. Further *bling* is provided by the 120mm fan which is integrated in the middle and features blue LED lightening. Tachometer measured 1220rpm at 12v, 335rpm at 5v.



With most high performance tower coolers featuring 6 heat pipes nowadays, it’ll be interesting how this 4 heat pipe unit will perform, part of the performance equitation is mounting method. Asus opted for easy installation with S775 push pin mounting bracket which are attached to the Triton 79.



Now that we get a better idea of the base size compared to the push pins, it’s clear this heatsink will not be getting a S1366 mounting bracket; the base wouldn’t cover the Core i7 IHS completely. The finishing on the base leaves room for improvement; machine lapping traces are clearly visible.



Installation is plug and play and went quickly, orientation is simple, point the arrow with the word “air” written in the middle towards the rear of the case for correct airflow. The blue LED on the 120mm is quite discrete, less bright than expected.

At an expected retail price above $70 we’re pitting the Asus Triton 79 against some tough competition, Thermalright Ultra-120 and Xigmatek HDT-S1283.



Good things first, the integrated 120mm fan at full speed is moderately noisy and temperatures are quite good, out of the box a slightly better price/performance than the Xigmatek. At slow fan speed (335rpm!) there is more noise than expected, this fan doesn’t take kindly too classic undervolting, a PWM fan controller is needed. Temperatures at this low fan speed are too high.

Without the possibility to easily swap the integrated 120mm fan the testing ends here. The other two heatsink equipped with different fans are more flexible in offering the performance/noise ratio you’re looking for.

---

In summary here are the strong/weak points of the Asus Triton 79 heatsink:



+ Compact size
+ Good performance/noise balance
+ Easy installation

- Priced way too high