The word heatsink has always been one of those unusual words that doesn’t quite fit what it actually is. Let’s break it down. Heat is a form of energy associated with the motion of atoms or molecules and capable of being transmitted through solid and fluid media by conduction, convection or radiation. To sink is to fall or drop to a lower level, especially to go down in stages, or to make weaker or less forceful. Hmmm… I guess heatsink does work after all.
Regardless of my lame attempt to fill an introductory paragraph, there are many many vendors of CPU coolers (aka heatsinks). Most of them do an adequate job, but only a fine few are worthy of being in a PC enthusiast’s rig. Enthusiasts (such as the fine readers of OCmodshop) want a cooler that performs beyond the call of duty, because they are usually overclocking their rigs, pushing them to the thermal breaking point.
Gelid is a relatively new manufactuer of third party PC hardware, and they have released their heatsink, the Silent Spirit. Let’s take a looksee…
Features and Specifications
- Quad Sintered Heatpipes
- Unique Fin Architecture
- Special Heatsink Angle Design
- Optimized Air Flow Concept
- Intelligent PWN Fan Control Curve
- Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts
Gelid Silent Spirit Heatsink Specifications
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On the next page we send our Scout Probe on a scanning mission…
The heatsink looks very similar to many other heatpipe coolers today. There are three major parts to this sink. The base is looks like a small aluminum chipset cooler, but has four heatpipes jutting out from it that connect to the top radiator. The radiator is much larger, and forms many folded aluminum fins, which appear to be soldered together. Attached to this radiator is a nice looking fan which is clipped and buffered with rubber gromets to reduce vibration. I say the fan is nice looking because (a) they didn’t use a stock “square” fan, (b) the colors aren’t hideous like some horrible color schemes I’ve seen vendors use, and (c) the fan cable is sleeved in a nice black nylon mesh.
The fan is clipped on rather than using screws, which allow the fan to actually be lifted off. Taking a closer look at the radiator, we can see a pretty standard fin arrangement. Each fin grabs onto its adjacent neighbor, and the overlap acts as a spacer, which keeps the fins from being crushed together. Of course, the more fins you have, the more surface area, and theoretically the more efficient the cooler. Gelid has also increased the surface area further by adding a slight texture to each fin.
The base unit is secured to your motherboard using a flexible mounting mechanism. By default, the base comes with four metal feet (in an “X” formation). The end of these feet have the same standard pushpins that Intel’s stock cooler uses. I have a love/hate relationship with pushpin mounts. On one hand, they allow heatsinks to be installed easily without attaching hardware to the underside of the motherboard (usually requiring motherboard removal). On the other hand, plastic pushpins can break or bend, and I’ve had more than one BSOD caused by the heatsink prying itself loose (especially in tower cases where heatsinks are mounted vertically).
The base looks rather small, in comparisson and at first doesn’t look all that impressive. The underside of the base has a smooth copper contact point, which has a slight milling texture. Included on the base is a pre-applied square of Gelid’s own GC1 thermal paste. Based on our preliminary testing, this thermal compound keeps up very nicely with Arctic Silver 5, a standard thermal compound amongst hardware enthusiasts.
On the next page we test the cooler’s performance…
We tested the GELID Solutions Silent Spirit against several other popular coolers that we’ve reviewed in the past. Some of the other coolers in this lineup have more weight, and we expect the results to pretty much line up with how heavy each of the coolers are. The included fan was also designed to be silent, with an RPM range of 900 to 2400. Based on its weight, fan speed, and pricepoints, we expect the Silent Spirit to fall right in the middle, and certainly outperform the stock cooler from Intel.
Test platform was an Asus P5W DH Deluxe, with a core 2 duo e6600 overclocked to 2.8ghz. I kept the fan on the radiator on its normal setting and room temperature was kept at a constant temperature. Although this cooler comes with its own thermal compound, this is not what we used when testing our other coolers, so it was wiped and we used Arctic Silver 5 to ensure an even playing field for all the contestants.
GELID Solutions Silent Spirit Performance
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
As expected, GELID’s Silent Spirit performed rather well for a midrange cooler. It couldn’t outperform Noctua’s NH-C12P or the Zalman CNPS9700, which are both heavier and more expensive. The Silent Spirit does perform much better than Intel’s stock cooler, but that’s a feat that should be expected from any third-party cooler. One thing to note is that the Silent Spirit was completely silent at idle, and could barely be heard under full load. I’m sure it’s possible to improve this cooler’s performance if you were to slap on a different fan. As far as third-party coolers go, the Silent Spirit is rather attractive at its $29.99 price.
GELID’s Silent Spirit Cooler does a decent job considering what you’re getting. It has one of the better heat-to-price ratios, especially for a mid-range cooler. This heatsink is adequate for even the latest Intel i7 line of processors… I just wouldn’t do any overclocking with it. Since it is so quiet, it would be perfect in a HTPC project. If you have a spare rig that doesn’t need to be absolutely pushed to the limit then Gelid’s Silent Spirit may be just what you need.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oh, and by the way, I did find an appropriate definition of heatsink: