On the left of the picture is the old ARKUA 7528 and on the right , the new one . The only thing to change is the fan , from the old paddle style blades to the new forward raking blades that are far more aerodynamically efficient . 

Introduction:

My first experience with Arkua coolers was around October 2001 , when on opening the parcel from ARKUA Taiwan , I was confronted with two of the finest Socket 462 coolers to grace my workbench  . I took an instant liking to the 7528 , and for the last 5 or so months , has been the cooler of choice for my 1ghz T-bird .  I must confess that Im looking forward to testing this updated model , just to see if the fan improves the already acceptable performance levels . The heatsink is made from a extremely high grade aluminum , with what seems to be a black anodized finish , and as before , comes in the most sturdy , and well made cardboard box Ive ever seen .

Specifications:

Fan Dimensions = 70x70x15mm

Fan speed = 4500rpm

Air Flow = 36.26cfm

Noise = 39dBA

The Test:

My system is : Asus A7V133c MB , T-bird 1ghz cpu , 8x133mhz bus = 1066mhz @ default voltage . Room temp is 23deg Celsius .

Old  7528:

The actual specs for the fan have not changed only the design , so lets see what the original can do .

44deg Celsius after playing Return to Castle Wolfenstein for 30min then 3dmark2001 twice before checking the temp .

New  7528:

Ok same test , same everything except for the cooler , 

43deg Celsius , a one deg C improvement , now as to whether this due to the fan or not can be debatable  . Just to make sure I ran a few more 3dmark2001 tests , and found that the temp reading would vary from 43deg C to 44deg C after a 3dmark2001 test , so the actual result may be a half deg C improvement in cooling with the new fan , there was no such discrepancy with the older fan , giving a temp reading of 44deg C after every 3dmark2001 test  .

Conclusion:

I ran both fans against each other on my old AT power supply just to see if the new fan was louder than the old one or not , to say that I was pleasantly surprised when the new fan was noticeably more quiet  than the older fan , would be a understatement . 

Most of the truly high performance coolers available today come with loud 7000rpm fans that sound like a hairdryer trapped in your computer case , or even more powerful fans that are barely tolerable . From day one the ARKUA 7528 has been the quiet achiever , high performance cooling , without the noise , this updated version takes what has already been a great product and makes it even better . Taking noise into account as well as cooling power and price, the ARKUA 7528 has to be the best buy of 2001 , I highly recommend the ARKUA 7528 to anyone looking to upgrade there cooler . I recently saw this cooler for sale at the Sunday Computer market for some $50AUS , so if you see one , dont hesitate to snap it up , for now the new model 7528 is staying in my computer , the old one can take a rest , its done a fine job cooling my cpu for the last 5 months or so . Thank you ARKUA ( Thank you Peggy ) for another seriously fine product to review .

This review was kindly sponsored by : ARKUA

by: Matt Korhonen