CPUMate DAA-11500 Copper Heatsink Review

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We've seen our fare share of heatsinks which look rather dodgy but that end up performing rather well on the thermal test platform. We've also seen our share of heatisnks that look fantastic, but failed to perform up to expectations when it came to the thermal tests. The CPUmate DAA11500 is one of those heatsinks - it looks like it should be a superb cooler, but according to the thermal tests only offers average to good cooling.

Could this be due to the fan, the interface between the cooper fins and the base, or because of a poorly designed fan shroud? We're not sure, but one thing is for certain, this review of the CPUmate DAA11500 is certainly one heatsink review you'll want to check out!

Starting from the outset the CPUmate DAA11500 has all the necessary ingredients to make it an ideal socket A cooler; a large copper base, nice high aspect ratio copper fins, and a three-tab clipping mechanism. The design appears to be of the universal nature, meaning that with a few adjustments this same heatsink could also be used on a Pentium 4 processor.

	Heatsink Specsheet: Model: DAA-11500 Fan: 5000RPM, 12V, 0.34A Fan Dim: 15x70x70mm Heatsink Dim: 60x70x82mm HS Material: Copper, aluminum Sold By: www.cpumate.com.tw

With a rather large 10mm standoff from the base of the fan to the tips of the copper fins, the aluminum fan shroud breaks with convention which usually pits this space at between 4-6mm. The shroud also has a small extension which comes out and lies overtop of the copper fins for the purposes of supporting the spring clip.

The spring clip is one of the more unique designs, as it is somewhat different in the way the clips are positioned. This can be considered a good thing, and engaging the clip is not that difficult in any case. The clip locks onto all three tabs to ensure a firm grasp on the socket and requires no tools.