XIGMATEK HDT-D1264 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail

Best Air Cooler You Can Buy, Brutal To Install

Reviewed By: MrLarryLarry on 12/3/2008

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: You simply cannot beat its cooling culpability. I use this on an ASUS AM2/AM2+ (M3N78VM) board with a 5000+. The case is a really old Rosewill that doesn't have tremendous airflow (I'm cheap and didn't fell like spending extra on a new case) and the ambient temp is high. I was getting temps (socket temp, since it's a Brisbane) of low 40s idle and up to 69c!! running P95 for only 15 min with a coolermaster hs/fan. With the Xigmatec my temps went down to mid to low 30s @ idle and NEVER Exceeded 50C under load, even when running P95 for extended periods of time (and this is before the AS has had time to cure - in about 2 weeks should be even lower). As it is, that's a 19c drop in max load temp - can't ask for anything more than that. It's also pretty quiet... (the fan that it comes with is not moving a ton of air, but it doesn't need to. If you didn't mind more noise you could probably get this thing even colder with a better fan)

Cons: There are, unfortunately, many. First, this is by far the most difficult heatsink I have ever installed. Just by the nature of the design, you have to maneuver under the actual heatsink itself while it's on in order to get the bracket to clamp down - no easy task. The heatsink & fan are also huge - the size of a PSU literally so you better have room for it. The metal blades on the heatsink are very sharp and I have quite a few cuts on my hands after install. All of these negatives, however, were worth it and I can't give it less than 5 eggs b/c it's cooling ability is so dramatically unmatched by any other air cooling option.

Other Thoughts: I'm fairly sure the product designers got a huge laugh out of their AM2 bracket for this thing. Masochists!

Also, supplied thermal paste is .. sub optimal...so get some AS to use with this thing.

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Reviewed By: Vhailder on 3/18/2008

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: less than 1 day

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Silent, don't hear it at all. Lowered idle temps 5° and load 15°. I could get that down more with better thermal paste and lapping the CPU. Considering the price it's the best for the money.

Cons: Uses pushpins, but it's light enough that it doesn't matter. Was in the way of the 4 pin power, which was easy to route in between, and one motherboard screw. Had to replace the screw riser with the non-screw one that's usually in the center.

Other Thoughts: There's not much info available on this model, but there is some on the Kingwin version. The review showed this model was the best of all the HDTs. So for $26 shipped/AR you're getting near the best air cooler available. Hard to pass up.

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Stays cool like it's suppose

Reviewed By: Akinit on 1/27/2009

Tech Level: average - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Keeps my Wifes AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma at a chilly 21C at idle. Haven't stress tested, but she mostly just browses the web. It looks good. Not noticeably noisy.

Cons: Large, but you knew that. Tough to install.

Other Thoughts: It barely fit when sliding it on the mobo tray into the case. The heatpipes were bent when I opened the box. I just bent them back. Very satisfied with this product.

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Lightweight, Quality Heatsink

Reviewed By: on 1/23/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 month to 1 year

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: This is a very light, yet efficient heatsink. The low total weight of the sink and fan won't make you worry about it falling off and crushing your other components.

The shape is great for my DFI motherboard since it gives me access to all 4 of the board's ram slots.

I don't have any accurate temps for the processor due the problems with the +4800 Brisbane. The case temp is around 40C. So the processor may be between 40C and 50C.

Cons: The clip was a sort of hard to get on my AM2+ motherboard

Other Thoughts: Using an X2 +4800 @ 2.9 Ghz. I am going to use this with the new PII 940.

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Awesome.

Reviewed By: Flip on 1/21/2009

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

Pros: Cools down my P4 10-18 degrees cooler than my stock heatsink. (Probably because my last installation didn't have thermal compound). It's quiet...let me stress that again, it's realllyyy quiet. Structure's great, the way it's made leaves a lot of room to work underneath it: cleared the bridge heatsink by a few CMs yet isn't tall enough to be a concern when trying to fit it into most midtower cases.

Cons: As with most users who left a review, it really is a pain to install. I was considering on buying their mounting product but thought that it wasn't worth it. The push pins work but it left me an unsettling feeling when I first installed it cus one of the pins didn't go all the way in. (But it's not lopsided, it just means that you gotta focus on simultaneously pushing the pins evenly). The installation is painful enough to get one egg tossed out, sorry guys.

Other Thoughts: This is just a con for my case that's why it's here. Right now, it's really tight in my case but that's only cus I have a short midtower. My psu sits on top and the exhaust fan's only a 92mm fan. So you're definitely in the clear if you have a few mm more than.

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