Thermolab Bada 2010 Review

Performance Analysis

Despite its size, the Bada 2010 wasn’t the worst cooler in either of our systems. It managed a delta T of 59˚C in our LGA1155 system – this is slightly better than the Xigmatek Dark Knight, and 10˚C cooler than the reference cooler. It’s also only 5˚C higher than the Gelid Tranquilo.

The Bada 2010 found it a little harder to deal with the heat produced by our 6-core Phenom II, but it still managed to top the Gelid Tranquillo by 4˚C with a delta T of 38˚C. This was also 27˚C lower than the reference cooler, but a long way behind the Thermaltake Frio and Alpenfohn Matterhorn.

The Bada 2010’s fan also proved far quieter than we’d anticipated, although the Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced
still puts it to shame. However, your graphics card will probably produce more noise, as the Bada is one of the quieter coolers on test.

Conclusion

The Bada 2010 is only worth considering if you can’t fit a larger cooler, such as the Tranquillo or Dark Rock Advanced, into your case. The Tranquillo is a better buy for LGA1155 owners. It’s cheaper, produced better cooling and was much quieter too. For owners of AMD processors, the Frio and Dark Rock Advanced are slightly more expensive, but both offer far superior cooling, with the latter also proving to be much quieter.

AMD Socket AM3 Scores

• Cooling
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• -
• 6/10

• Design
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• 9/10

• Value
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• 8/10

• Overall
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

Intel LGA1155 Scores

• Cooling
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Design
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• 9/10

• Value
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• 8/10

• Overall
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• 8/10

Score Guide