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Coolermaster
HHC-001 CPU Cooler
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Author : Wayne
Date : 11th March 2002
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Oh great! yet another HSF review. Admit it, that's
what you were all thinking. Fortunately this is no ordinary
heat sink. Oh no, this baby comes in pure copper and features
twin heat pipes to help ship heat away from the base. Twin what?
Let me explain......
The idea of heat pipes is nothing new, in fact
they can be found in a variety of things from dehumidifiers
to notebook computers. The role of a heat pipe is simply to
move heat from one end to the other along its length, a process
which I hear happens at near sonic speed. The only requirement
is that the pipe be filled with some kind of liquid which has
a very specific boiling point below the ultimate operating temperature
of the cooler. The part of the heat pipe nearest the heat source
must be the lowest point so that the liquid collects here and
is heated to boiling point by what ever the heat source may
be, in this case the CPU core and HSF base. As the liquid boils
it changes from a liquid to a vapor which makes its way along
the heat pipe, cooling and giving off its heat as it goes. Eventually
it will have cooled to the point where it becomes liquid again
at which point it flows back to the source and restarts the
whole process over. I doubt that Coolermaster are going to give
away exactly how their heat pipes operate but it's unlikely
they will deviate from this model. The only differences are
like to be the addition of a wick or some kind of secondary
chamber within the pipes but both ways the principle workings
remain the same.
My biggest concern was that in certain orientations
it's possible the liquid wouldn't settle in the part of the
heat pipe nearest the base but I tried it various ways up and
the performance remained pretty much unchanged. Perhaps there's
some kind of vacuum or wick arrangement to overcome this problem
but either way it seems to work.
Actually this is Coolermaster's second attempt
at building a cooler with integrated heat pipes. The first design,
though innovative and impressive for its size and fan rating
really didn't pack enough of a punch to make it a must-have.
The HHC-001 looks like being a different story completely.
The Original Coolermaster CH5-5K12 Heat Pipe
What you get :
The
HHC-001 comes nicely presented in a great looking plastic blister
pack. This gives a teasing peep at the all copper fins, large
fan and finger guard. First impressions often matter and on
that score Coolermaster has got things just about spot on. Pop
open the pack and inside you find, in addition to the cooler
itself, a small pack of silicone based thermal grease and a
small pack of Silica Gel to stop moisture tarnishing the finish.
Speaking of the fan, let's see the claimed specs :
Specifications :
Sound impressive enough. The Coolermaster branded
fan pushes a fairly high 36.11CFM at 6800RPM although the downside
is noise with a discernible whine not dissimilar to that found
on the infamous Delta though probably not quite as loud. At
0.35Amp my biggest concern is that it comes fitted with your
standard three pin motherboard Molex so I strongly suggest you
make sure your motherboard is happy to cope with this directly
from its fan headers. I think a much better option would have
been to also supply an adapter allowing it to be powered directly
from the power supply, not that you couldn't pick one of these
up yourself, more that it's an inconvenience.
It's good to see that this fan is a ball bearing
variety and will therefor offer a longer lifespan than inferior
sleeve bearings. It was also a nice (and important) touch to
have included a finger guard, not only a good move cosmetically
but also a welcome feature as anyone who has ever inadvertently
stuck a finger into a 6000RPM+ fan will testify.
Let's move on and take a look at the heat sink
itself.
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