360° View - Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283 Heatsink Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here.
The 120mm PWM fan spins at 1000-2200RPM and draws power from a standard 4-pin PWM motherboard fan header. Four white LEDs illuminate the fan blades. It is backwards compatible with 3-pin connectors. The three copper heatpipes are 8mm in diameter, and extend from the base up through all the fins. The two cuts in the aluminum base are for the AMD K8 mounting clip to lock into. The dark nickel plated aluminum fins measure 0.35mm thick and are spaced 2.0mm apart.
The Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283 heatsink stands 160mm tall, the first fin is 35mm above the CPU socket for clearance of adjacent capacitors, northbridge heatsinks, etc. The three dark nickel plated copper heat pipes are positioned side to side at the center of the aluminum block where they make direct contact with the processor. The base incorporates a 14mm thick aluminum section to provide support for clamping. Again, the entire surface is nickel plated for aesthetics.
The usable area of the Dark Knight S1283's base is 41x35mm in size. The three 8mm diameter nickel plated copper heatpipes have been swaged into the aluminum base block, and each surface made flush by a light sanding. Surface roughness is on the order of ~16 microinches, which is considered good. There is a 7mm plenum behind the fan, and the heatpipes are also positioned towards the outer edge of the cooling fins, directly in the path of the highest airflow from the fan.

Base Finish and Flatness

Flipping a heatsink over to inspect the business end is often a simple indicator of overall cooler quality. More practically speaking, a heatsink is in many ways only as effective as the contact it makes with the processor - the flatter and smoother the better. Base finish is one of the criteria that Frostytech measure in the course of evaluating heatsinks, and it involves two distinct aspects. Surface Finish is the first; this is calculated with the aid of Surface Roughness Comparator that has a cross section of common machine surface finishes and their numerical surface roughness equivalents in microinches. The second is Surface Flatness. This is tested with an engineers straight edge or proven flat surface, in two axis.

The Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283 heatsink has a surface roughness of approximately 16 microinches, owing in large part to the dark nickel plating the entire heatsink has received. The base has a smooth sanded finish and is flat in both axis. The heatpipes and aluminum frame are flush on the unit Frostytech tested.