Coolermaster IHC-H71 Copper Pentium 4 Heatsink Review

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It's relatively rare to see good looking Pentium 4 heatsinks. Because the size requirements are so large for these types of heatsinks most manufacturers tend to shy away from all-copper solutions which would weigh on the PCB like a brick. But as problems occur when the transistors and other minute electronics on a silicon die begin to reach high temperatures computer stability, and even the lifespan of the processor can be affected by overheating. Thus it makes sense that manufacturers and consumers are always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to keep CPU temperatures down.

The Coolmaster IHC-H71 fulfills this role by bringing highly conductive copper, heatpipes, and a good sized fan together. The large copper heatsink features twin heatpipes coming from the base, poking out the side, and then wrapping back in towards the upper fins. The fan is a nice weighty 6000RPM, but not incredibly noisy. The big question is of course how much of an effect the twin heat pipes have on the overall performance of the heatsink, and thermal tests are the only answer to that question, so let's begin.

	Heatsink Specsheet: Model: IHC-H71 HS Material: Copper, heatpipes, aluminum Fan: YS-Tech, 6000RPM, 12V, 6.24W, Fan Dim: 25x60x60mm FHS Dimensions: 91x70x73mm Made by: Coolermaster Sold By: www.coolermaster.com.hk

The basic operation of a heatpipe:

The two copper tubes which jump out of the Coolermaster IHC-H71 and then swing around back in are hollow and encapsulate a vacuum. Around the inside of the copper tubes is sintered copper which acts like a wick for a small amount of working fluid (usually water) which is also contained in the tubes. When one end of the heatpipe gets hot, say from a nice little processor, that small amount of water vaporizes in the vacuum atmosphere inside the copper tubes.

As the vapor makes its way to the other end of the copper tube it cools down and begins to condense. With no place to go but back, the condensed water vapour travels along the wick structure (coating the inside of the tube remember) back to the heat source where the entire process is repeated again, and again.