X-bit labs

Two Solutions from SilverStone: Tundra TD01 Liquid-Cooling System vs. Nitrogon NT06-Lite CPU Air-Cooler (page 7)

Category: Coolers

by Sergey Lepilov

[ 03/05/2008 | 02:47 PM ]

Design and Functionality

The heatsink of SilverStone Nitrogon NT06-Lite cooler is not new to us, we have seen similar design by Enzotech Ultra-X or Thermalright SI-128. Look for yourselves:

It is based on three copper nickel-plated heatpipes 8mm in diameter that come out of the copper base. The heatpipes hold an array of thin aluminum plates covered with a metal casing on the sides. The casing is decorated with the cooler name and the manufacturer logo.

There is a small aluminum heatsink in the lower part of the cooler right above the heatpipes. The heatpipes do not go through the heatsink plate array linearly:

It may have been done not only to ensure more even distribution of the heat flow, but also to reduce the resistance to the airflow generated by the cooler fan. The latter is not included with the cooler (that is why there is this “Lite” word in the model name). However, the casing covering the cooler sides has four retention holes that will fit perfectly for any 120x25mm fan:

In fact, you can even install a 120x32mm fan on top of it, or even a 38mm tall fan, but in this case you will need to find long screws, because the ones included with the cooler will only fit for the 25mm fan.

The black anodized aluminum heatsink in the lower part of the cooler is shaped very unusually:

It may be intended to press the heatpipes at the top rather than add to the overall cooling efficiency of the system. The heatpipes are flattened out a little bit in the cooler base thus increasing the heat dissipating surface area.

The copper plate at the bottom of the cooler is 5mm thick and has fair finish quality: