One of the best coolers you can get and it can be modified to make it even better, September 7, 2009
If you are shopping for a CPU cooler you should read this before you buy because I did a considerable amount of research before I bought the HDT-S1283 and here are the useful facts that I came up with:
* copper transfers heat twice as fast as aluminum making copper the best metal for heat pipes and fins.(Silver conducts heat slightly...read full review
If you are shopping for a CPU cooler you should read this before you buy because I did a considerable amount of research before I bought the HDT-S1283 and here are the useful facts that I came up with:
* copper transfers heat twice as fast as aluminum making copper the best metal for heat pipes and fins.(Silver conducts heat slightly better than copper but because of the cost they do not make any thing other than thermal compound out of it.)
* Heat-Pipe Direct Touch CPU coolers are the best design because they not only work better, but they are also simple and reliable. The only thing that could go out on them are their fans which are cheap and easy to replace
* You can't go by materials only, because the HDT-S1283 with its aluminum heat fins easily outperforms the more expensive solid copper Zalman coolers.
* It is best not to use the silicone based thermal compound (such as what comes with this cooler) because it reacts with copper. Instead, use a silver based thermal compound such as Arctic Silver 5 which conducts heat better and works with all metals
* Do not use too much thermal compound because it can damage your CPU or motherboard if it gets in the wrong spot. Only use a small amount about the size of a metal Beebe and spread it out evenly with a rubber glove or a piece of plastic wrap around your finger.(One tube of Arctic Silver 5 should do about 10-15 CPU cooler installations)
* You shouldn't use the cooler that comes with your processor, because even the cheapest aftermarket cooler is usually better.
* Shop around before you buy anything, in my experience Newegg has some of the best prices and very fast shipping.
The Xigmatek HDT-S1283's performance, after replacing the provided 120mm 56.3CFM fan with two 120mm 107.13CFM fans(see section 3)(these results were recorded primarily with speed fan):
* No heat buildup, the instant you turn off a game, the heat drops back to idle temp!
* I was going to list results from my most powerful games, but the results were so similar that I didn't see any use, the CPU temp averages about 10-13c above the case temp with no heat buildup when playing games like: Crysis, Medieval 2, Universe at War, Supreme Commander/Forged Alliance.
* The CPU stays 2-3c above the case temp when the computer is on idle with on heat buildup.
Pros for this cooler:
* Well made
* Simple efficient design
* Lite weight
* Lifetime warranty
* Just about the best size/performance ratio you can get.
* Affordable price
* You don't have to use the fan provided, any 120mm fan will work.
* It is fairly easy to replace the fan or add a extra one.
* The provided fan is very quiet.
Cons for this cooler:
* It comes with the wrong kind of thermal compound(it should have came with silver thermal compound)
* The provided fan isn't very powerful, but you can easily replace it.
* It only comes with locking push pins for mounting.
* The provided fan is only moderately powerful with a CMF of 56.3CFM.
(section 1)This is why I had to buy a new cooler:
When I was building my gaming computer about 2 years ago I bought a expensive and well reviewed Monsoon 2 CPU cooler without doing any research(on the assumption that sense it was one of the most expensive it must be one of the best) and about 5 months ago it just died for no reason and the alarm that was suppose to go off in case it failed, didn't, Luckily I just happened to look at my CPU temp gauge before the CPU got damaged. I do not recommend the Vigor Monsoon brand, their coolers some of the most expensive, they only have a 30 day warranty and it didn't cool very well. The heat would keep building up on idle(which is a very bad sign). I couldn't even play older games for any more than 2 hours!
(section 2) This is the reason I bought this cooler:
I chose the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 after researching coolers at several review sites because it seemed to be the best of the more practical sized coolers and it appeared easy to modify. The main competition was the OCZ Vendetta 2, a larger, slightly better copy of the HDT-S1283 but quite few reviewers on Newegg complained about it being to large to fit on their motherboard, so I figured that it wouldn't fit on mine ether because it's nForce 680i cooler is so close to the CPU. The few coolers that cooled better than these were very expensive and so large that they certainly wouldn't have fit on my motherboard.
(section 3) This is how I modified the HDT-S1283:
The only advantage most of the larger coolers had over this one were more, more powerful fans. Sense I have a very hot-running CPU, live in a hot humid climate and I already had a couple of extra SILVERSTONE FM122 120mm 107.13CFM Case Fans, I decided that I might as well try to modify the HDT-S1283 use the two FM122s instead of the provided fan(I've Uploaded several pictures (titled Keith's Mod Pictures 1-6) with notes in customer images, but I didn't think of taking pictures as I was modding the cooler, so all of the pictures are after I installed it (please note that I accidentally installed the main part of the cooler backward, but the front and back are almost the same so it doesn't effect the way it cools and instead of redoing it I just rigged the fans to work that way, So if you want it install it the right way you need to keep this in mind when you look at the pictures.):
* What you need: 2 powerful 120mm fans (I don't exactly recommend SILVERSTONE FM122 120mm fans because their screw holes aren't the standard design causing the rubber mounting pieces you use to attach the fan to the cooler not to work right, so you have to trim the rubber mounting pieces, cram and pull them through the screw holes and glue them in place), super glue, strong glue like Henkel 01-25827 Loctite 2-Ounce Handyman's Choice and 8 of the smallest size of locking ties, optional: 4 silicon or heat resistant rubber washers(I salvaged some from my old cooler)to make sure the second fan doesn't vibrate, but it might not any way.
(1) First make sure you know the air flow direction of your fans (most have a hard to find arrow some where on them)because if you don't get both of the fans blowing in the same direction and turned the right way. you would have to go back and redo them.
(2) Cut the ends off of 4 lock-ties about an inch from the lock and glue them with super glue to one of the fans(see Keith's Mod Pictures 1-5), then glue 4 whole lock-ties to the second fan so that they will line up with the locks on the first fan, (make sure that the lock-ties are aligned properly and the fans air flow direction the same)
(3) The super glue isn't strong enough so now you need to recoat the lock-ties heavily with Loctite Handyman's Choice glue(see Keith's Mod Pictures 1-5), but make sure you don't coat the insides of the locks or the lock-ties might not work.
(3a) You only have to do this step if you are using a SILVERSTONE fan or another with nonstandard screw holes: Trim the rubber mounting pieces, cram and pull them through the screw holes and glue them in place with Loctite Handyman's Choice(make sure you get the mounting pieces on the right fan and facing the right way or you will have to go back and redo this step).
(4) Wait 12-24 hours for the glue to dry.
(5) Remove your old cooler and clean all of the old thermal compound off of the prosessor
(6) Place a small drop of thermal compound on the CPU and spread it out evenly with your finger(while wearing a rubber glove).
(7) Set the HDT-S1283 on the CPU and lock the pins in place,(if your old cooler used a mounting plate and screws you might not have to remove it, if it is the right size you can just remove the plastic Locking pins from the mounting bracket on the HDT-S1283, bend the soft metal mounting bracket so that it will hold the cooler down tightly to the CPU and set the cooler on the mounting plate's screw pins, place 4 small washers on top of the mounting bracket on the mounting plate's screw pins(I used some standard rubber/metal washers that come with roofing screws),then screw the mounting plate's screws down on to the mounting plate's screw pins(see picture 6).
(8) Attach the rubber fan mounting pieces to the one of the fans, make sure it is the right fan or the air flow won't be in the right direction.
(8a) Optional: Use super glue to attach 4 silicon or heat resistant rubber washers to the other fan where it would touch the cooler to make sure it doesn't vibrate.
(9) Attach the steel air director low down on the cooler(close to the motherboard) for the second fan to set on.
(10) Insert the ends of the whole lock-ties on one fan into the locks on the other fan and gradually cinch them in until the fans are about the right distance apart to fit around the cooler(see Keith's Mod Pictures 1-5).
(10a) Slide the fans down over the cooler so that the second fan rests on the steel air director(see Keith's Mod Pictures 1-5).
(10b) Insert the rubber fan mounting pieces into the notches made for them on the cooler(see Keith's Mod Pictures 1-4).
(10c) Then cinch the lock-ties down tight with some needle-nose pliers.
(10d) Finally, cut most of the excess off of the lock-ties.
(section 4) Also I had to bend some of the fins on one of the botom corner of the cooler because the nforce cooler was in the way, this doesn't effect the cooler as long as you don't have to bend too many fins(see Keith's Mod Picture 5).
(other thoughts) If you live in a hot and humid climate like Durant OK, with the temp 95-110F in the summer and humidity 80% year around you should try to get a case that cools better than my windtunnel because I've had to cut out the very inefficient decorative side fan cover add several extra fans for cooling my video cards. I would recommend a case that uses five or more 120mm fans since, if the fans that come with the case aren't powerful enough you can easily replace them with some very powerful fans like the SILVERSTONE FM122 or FM121 120mm 107.13CFM Case Fans which produce only a low deep noise that is fairly quiet for their power while smaller fans are annoyingly shrill and seam apt to rattle and larger fans are hard to replace and aren't very powerful. The new XClio supertower cases 777,1000 or 2000 appear much better designed than my windtunnel but they still use large hard to find 180mm fans and I don't know what their CFM ratings are.
* Windows Vista Home Premium 32 and 64bit
* EVGA Nvidia nForce 680i SLI 775 A1 Version
* Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 2.40GHz
* XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm CPU Cooler modified with dual
SILVERSTONE FM122 120mm 107.13CFM fans
* Corsair Dominator 4GB 1066Mhz PC2-8500 DDR2
* 2(SLI) EVGA Nividia GeForce 8800 GTS Superclocked
* Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty with 64MB of X-RAM
* 640GB Western Digital 7,000 RPM storage Hard Drive
* 2 Western Digital Raptor X 150GB 10,000 RPM Hard Drives in Raid 0 Array minimize
high ratings from hardware sites, January 31, 2009
Quiet, cool, and easy to install. It uses the push pins, but I don't mind.
Performs as well as coolers twice its price!
Be sure to check benchmarkreviews.com for their tips on how to install thermal paste on this heatpipe direct touch cooler for best results.
Made to fit an LGA 775 motherboard, November 6, 2009
The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 is a quiet, effective cpu cooler. It easily fit my Gigabyte EP45-UD3P motherboard and brought the temperature down to 32 C for the Intel Q9550.
The only negative was Amazon's shipping. I realize that USPS (the mail) is slow but I believe there is a certain amount of delay at Amazon's warehouse. This package came in...read full review
The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 is a quiet, effective cpu cooler. It easily fit my Gigabyte EP45-UD3P motherboard and brought the temperature down to 32 C for the Intel Q9550.
The only negative was Amazon's shipping. I realize that USPS (the mail) is slow but I believe there is a certain amount of delay at Amazon's warehouse. This package came in days later than items ordered from other sellers and shipped USPS. minimize
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler, August 1, 2009
I bought this cooler to keep my Q9650 core 2 quad cool . It comes with a huge fan (120mm) which can be added to the heatsink for maximum cooling . So far this is one of the best coolers I have used to date ! It has dropped my CPU temps from 47C TO 31C , 33C , 33C ,32C , (4 CORES) and it never goes past 49-51C with a full load !!! I replaced the...read full review
I bought this cooler to keep my Q9650 core 2 quad cool . It comes with a huge fan (120mm) which can be added to the heatsink for maximum cooling . So far this is one of the best coolers I have used to date ! It has dropped my CPU temps from 47C TO 31C , 33C , 33C ,32C , (4 CORES) and it never goes past 49-51C with a full load !!! I replaced the xigmatek fan with a SCYTHE SFF21E fan and OMG ! It is near silent and works VERY WELL ! I highly recommend this CPU cooler for anyone with an LGA 775 gaming rig ! minimize
GREAT. BUY IT, January 21, 2009
I just installed this on my q9300. Temps are really low. I switched the fan out before install, and it didnt work, but in bios the temps were barely above 31c. Great heatsink. I lapped mine and it works great. The little exhaust shield is perfect for my motherboard mosfets (maximus 2 formula). running nice and fast.
(7 total reviews)