There are a couple different sets of mounting brackets included with the Akasa EVO 120 heatsink, one for AM2, 754/939/940 and 775 sockets in fact. The different brackets screw onto the copper base block, and this in turn is bolted down to the motherboard with any number of different screws and spring tensioned fasteners. The small instruction booklet included with the EVO 120 heatsink does a good job at demystifying the whole process.

The fan speed controller is mounted onto a blank PCI bracket, and where necessary a set up jumper cables are provided that transfer the fans' RPM signal to the motherboard. The fan can also just be plugged into any 3-pin motherboard fan header, depending on your preference. The accessory is standard enough, it just would have been nicer if the knob was knurled or patterned; the smooth surface is a little slippery.

The three large diameter heatpipes at the heart of the Akasa EVO 120 heatsink fulfill the important role of transferring heat from the copper base to aluminum cooling fins. This you already know, but do you really have a handle on how the heatpipes do this?

Heatpipes Explained

The system works like this; as heat energy from the processor reaches the two heatpipes - which are sealed off at both ends to contain a small amount of "working" fluid under a vacuum - a reaction begins to occur. The working fluid inside each heatpipe absorbs the latent heat from the copper plate below, causing the fluid to undergo a phase change into water vapour (ie. it converts to steam). In our daily lives, water boils at 100°C, but as pressure is decreased the temperature gradient required to make water convert to vapour also drops.

The small amount of working fluid inside each heatpipe quickly converts to vapour, as the temperature of the evaporator end (hot side) of tube increases. The liquid vapour inside the heatpipe is subsequently drawn to the cooler end of the heatpipe where it condenses. As the hot vapour cools back into a liquid, the heat energy that was previously stored is transferred to the metal, and then surrounding fins of the heatsink.

The condensed vapour, now working fluid once again, is drawn back towards the hot evaporator end of the tube by capillary action along an internal wick structure. As the liquid reaches the hot end once more, the entire process repeats itself. This is how heatpipes work, and how the Akasa EVO 120 heatsink is able to keep the processor under it running cool.

FrostyTech's new Test Methodology is outlined in detail here if you care to know what equipment is used, and the parameters under which the tests are conducted. Now let's move forward and take a closer look at the Akasa EVO 120 heatsink, its acoustic characteristics, and of course it performance in the thermal tests!