It looks like OCZ has hit another home run with the Vendetta CPU Cooler. The exposed heatpipes do exactly what they are supposed to do and add definite coolness factor. With the shiny brushed aluminum finish, logo punched into the surface, and V-shape, it looks very nice mounted in my rig. The 92mm fan makes it smaller than many coolers. Actually, it is smaller than some coolers that also have a 92mm fan.

Besides blowing away the stock cooler, the Vendetta's temps are consistent with another exposed heatpipe cooler that I have tested, and a little better than a similarly configured cooler without exposed heatpipes. The Vendetta is significantly lighter than either.

The only shortcoming I had with the Vendetta is the lack of capability to direct air towards the motherboard. In my case, that isn't a big deal since I have an internal fan, but I'm sure that my next case won't. I really don't have NB cooling problems even without the internal case fan, but my Asus board has some pretty massive heatsinks and is specially designed to run fairly cool.

The OCZ Vendetta sells for $34.90 USD at a popular online retailer and I actually found it for just under $29, which puts it in the same price range as a couple of my favorite coolers, the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro and the Kingwin Heatpipe Direct Touch Cooler. I now add the Vendetta to that list of great “bang-for-the-buck” coolers that I constantly recommend.

Pros:

Looks good
Smaller and lighter than some other 92mm coolers
Exposed heatpipes work and add coolness value
Excellent temps for air cooling
Priced right

Cons:

No provisions for directing air towards motherboard for passive NB cooling or capacitors
Sleeving over fan power wires would have been nice

The OCZ Vendetta earns the OCIA.net Seal of Approval.