X-bit labs

Heatpipe Direct Touch: XIGMATEK HDT-S963 Processor Cooler Review (page 3)

Category: Coolers

by Sergey Lepilov

[ 07/25/2007 | 04:38 PM ]

The fan used with XIGMATEK HDT-S963 has no sticker on the inside, so I can’t really tell you what company made it:

According to its technical specifications, the fan rotation speed is PWM controlled and varies between 1200RPM and 2800RPM with the noise level of 23-35dBA. The fan is connected with a four-pin connector.

There is a little over 4cm between the cooler base and the lower heatsink fin that is why I cannot think of an electronic component in the area around the processor socket that may prevent you from successfully installing XIGMATEK HDT-S963 cooler.

Each heatsink plate has four slits and two stamped bumps on the side opposite to the fan:

XIGMATEK engineers applied this original approach to ensure proper cooling of the mainboard MOSFET (or MOSFET heatsinks). These slits and bumps allow installing the spoiler that comes with the cooler at any height within the fin array:

XIGMATEK engineers believe it will be the primary tool for directing the airflow in the desired way.

The cooler base is covered with protective film with a warning message that it needs to be removed before cooler installation:

The principally new thing that we haven’t yet revealed in any of our previous articles is the H.D.T. – heatpipe direct touch technology. One glance at the photo of the cooler base is enough to understand what it actually means.

The heatpipes are not just passing through the cooler base: they are an indisputable part of it and are in direct contact with the processor heat-spreader cap. I can totally understand the engineers’ desire to get rid of any additional material between the CPU and the heatpipes, because the shorter is the distance between the processor core and the heatpipes, the lower is the heat flow resistance and hence the higher is the heat transfer rate.

In my opinion, it is not a very simple task to fulfill. The heatpipes should be very tightly mounted into the cooler base and should be bent properly to level out ideally with the base. My only question is: how thick are the heatpipes in the base segment?

Although there is no mirror-shine finish on the heatpipes and base segments, the surface quality is quite fine. I believe that by polishing off the surface you can theoretically win a few additional degrees.