|
5F263 From All
Angles |
 |
The Fan:
Rotating at just 2500RPM, the 80mm fan you see on top
of the 5F263 is made from a cast aluminum frame, and a plastic
impeller. Why aluminum was chosen is beyond me - there is no benefit to
using that material for the fan casing except for added durability perhaps.
The fan grill is
a useful addition and protects the large intake from errant wires and power connectors. The fan draws power from a three-pin motherboard
fan header. Why the fan comes with a two foot length of
wire is anyone's guess. |
 |
Top:
A single slice is cut through
the center of the heatsink for the fan clip. There are four additional, smaller
cuts to help with exhaust air escaping from the heatink. Oddly, the peak in the center
of the heatsink does not correspond with the location the heatsink mounts onto the processor
core.
|
 |
Side
A: An aluminum fan mounted to
an aluminum heatsink is a
first for us around here. The large screws hold the fan firmly in place, and since it rotates at a relatively low RPM, there are not problems with vibration that we could detect. The fan is suspended a few millimeters above the tips of the fins to promote better airflow. The base is 6mm thick at the edge, and rises to 13mm thick at the center. The fins of the heatsink are 1mm thick and spaced 2mm
apart. |
 |
Side B:
So the
Spire 5F263 will fit
on motherboards where capacitors are placed close to the socket, the manufacturers have
beveled the inside edges to a nice slope. Since capacitors are generally not more
than about 15-20mm in height this will help to keep the heatsink from getting in
the way of onboard components because of its large size. The outside scalping of the
fins is more for gripping than it is for any one thermal advantage. |
 |
Heatsink Base:
Here is a good shot of the excellent finish on the base of the 5F263
which captured our attention right away. We tested the base with an
engineers straight edge and found it perfectly flat, and very very smooth.
Ideally, I would like to see every heatsink manufacturer follow in these
footsteps. Too many times we have seen heatsinks with poorly finished base
plates being mounted to AMD processors. A good quality thermal compound is
still recommended. |
