Test Configuration

As we've covered test configuration in detail in the past, we won't belabor it here. Our test bed remains the same as it was in March: a Rosewill R604-P-SL case with a Corsair HS620W power supply and a fanless motherboard/video card combination to eliminate stray noise sources.

Cooling Performance Test Configuration
Processor Intel Core 2 Duo X6800
(Dual-core 2.93GHz, 4MB Unified Cache)
RAM 2x1GB Corsair Dominator PC2-8888 (DDR2-1111)
Hard Drive(s) Hitachi 250GB SATA2 enabled (16MB Buffer)
Video Card MSI NX8600GTS (fanless) - All Standard Tests
Intel TAT Version 2.05.2006.0427
CoreTemp Version 0.95
Video Drivers NVIDIA 163.71
CPU Cooling Kingwin Revolution RVT-9225
Noctua NH-U12P
Arctic Cooling Alpine 7 (with PWM)
Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV 120
Cooler Master Hyper 212
OCZ Vendetta
Scythe Kama Cross
Swiftech H2O-120 Compact
Corsair Nautilus 500
Thermalright Ultima-90
ZEROtherm BTF90
Xigmatek AIO (AIO-S800P)
Evercool Silver Knight
Enzotech Ultra-X
3RSystem iCEAGE
Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX
Thermaltake MaxOrb
Scythe Andy Samurai Master
Cooler Master Gemini II
Noctua NH-U12F
Asus Silent Square Pro
Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B
OCZ Vindicator
Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
Thermalright Ultra 120
Scythe Infinity
Zalman CNS9700
Zalman CNS9500
Cooler Master Hyper 6+
Vigor Monsoon II Lite
Thermalright MST-9775
Scythe Katana
Tuniq Tower 120
Intel Stock HSF for X6800
Power Supply Corsair HX620W
Motherboards Asus P5K Deluxe (Intel P35)
Operating System Windows XP Professional SP2
BIOS Asus AMI 0501 (06/26/2007)

Room temperature is maintained at 74°F (23°C) throughout testing. We are still using the Far Cry River demo as our benchmark for the purpose of consistency, and thus we can include historical results for reference. CoreTemp is used for temperature monitoring.

Installation Cooling at Stock Speed
Comments Locked

34 Comments

View All Comments

  • Bieszczad - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link

    This cooler is identical to Xigmatek HDT-S963 that I have, even the typo on the base label is the same. I have mounted the Xigmatek using the Crossbow kit they sell and Arctic Cooling 5 and my temperatures dropped about 7 degrees C when compared to Intel stock cooler. I am running E8400 at rated speed in a cramped case.

    The pushpins are not enough for that cooler, it is actually 70 grams heavier than Intel specifications for the pushpins. The Xigmatek Crossbow will fit on the Kingwin, get the Crossbow and retest, please.

    Tekkie
  • strikeback03 - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link

    There are plenty of heavier coolers that use the push pins and get better results than this. If the stated 410g is correct, the stock Intel HSF is heavier than this cooler.

    I'd guess either this cooler is defective or they fill the heatpipes with an insufficient medium.
  • Bieszczad - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link

    http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleI...">http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleI...

    They review the identical heatsink sold by Xigmatek. The fans on Kingwin and Xigmatek also have identical specifications. So either Anandtech got a defective unit or the cooler was not mounted properly.
  • strikeback03 - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link

    I'd agree it is probably a defective unit, but it is possible the Kingwin component choices for the design are different. Regardless, Newegg has the Xigmatek unit for $25-$10MIR, so not much point to looking at the Kingwin anyway.
  • Bieszczad - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link

    "Component choices for the design are different"

    I beg do disagree, those heatsinks are identical not only cosmetically, it is the EXACTLY the same cooler, it is just being sold under different brands. No material differences between them.
  • strikeback03 - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link

    And you know this how? Has the actual maker of the unit stated that both are absolutely identical?
  • Bieszczad - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link

    I cannot remember where but I did read somewhere that Kingwin is the actual original maker of these (Xigmatek designed and engineered the cooler), it would not make any sense for them to use better materials for other brands and shoot themselves in the foot by offering an inferior solution.
  • mikemcc - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link

    Hmmm... Granted, this has only a 92mm fan, but I would have expected better results than this. This looks a lot like the top-rated Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and OCZ Vendetta 2. How was the thermal paste applied? Application of thermal paste on these exposed heatpipe coolers does not follow the same bb-sized, rice-sized, or pea-sized glob in the center of the IHS recommendation that you would use for a normal cooler. As another poster mentioned, the bottom of the heatsink looks pretty rough, and a good lapping might be in order, but I don't think that will make up for these horrible results. I use the Xigmatek mentioned earlier with a 120mm fan and like many others, get superb cooling. (Check out the "Cases and Cooling" forum to see what others say.) Does the 92mm fan make *this* much difference? Or does Kingwin implement the cooler design (or use different materials) in a different way than the Xigmatek or Vendetta?
  • Matt Campbell - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link

    Thermal paste was applied over the entire surface of the CPU, spread to a thin layer. It shouldn't be an application problem, but I will verify when I remove the cooler and take pictures of the surfaces with an article update if I note any problems.

    As I mentioned in the article, I was also surprised at the performance, and checked the mounting pins, airflow, etc. several times during testing. It may simply be that we received a bad sample. If I discover any issues, I'll update in the next couple of days.
  • Max G - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link

    I just bought a Cooler Master Hyper Z600 cooler with 12 heatpipes and it's awesome! I have a feeling it's gonna outperform the ThermalRight Ultra 120 Extreme and maybe even the Noctua NH-U12P as it is HUGE!! I hope it will be reviewed here soon.

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now