Equipped with two fans, one above the large 122x146mm aluminum cooling fin array and the other below it, the Glacialtech Siberia heatsink packs a lot into a thermal solution that stands just 122mm tall, roughly 145mm square. Six 6mm diameter copper heatpipes support the two differently sized translucent blue fans which hang from ~45 louvered aluminum fins, giving the Glacialtech Siberia a somewhat top-heavy appearance. The heatpipes are packed closely together and covered by copper heatspreader, rather than left exposed.

The upper fan on the Glacialtech Siberia heatsink measures 140x140mm in size and rotates at 1400-800RPM, the lower 92x92mm fan operates at a fixed speed of 1300RPM. With both fans running at full speed the Siberia heatsink is moderately quiet; 47.6 dBA according to our real world sound measurements. Reduced fan speeds will quiet noise output to 39 dBA, though again, only the top 140mm fan is speed-adjustable.

The 620 gram Glacialtech Siberia heatsink installs onto Intel socket 775/1156/1366 and AMD socket AM2/AM3 processors. Retail price is estimated at about $44USD through the usual heatsink stores. As the mounting holes on socket 1156 and socket 1155 motherboards are identical, this cooler can be considered Intel 'Sandy Bridge' compatible.

Glacialtech Siberia Heatsink

heatsink specsheet manufacturer: glacialtech model no.: siberia materials: aluminum fins, copper heatpipes, aluminum base with nickel plated copper base block fan mfg: glacialstars jt14025l12s001a (top) glacialstars jt9225l12s011a (lower) fan spec: 1400-800rpm, 12v, 0.32a (top) 1300rpm, 12v, 0.19a (lower) fan airflow: 72cfm, 19cfm fan dim: 25x140x140mm (top) 25x92x92mm (lower) heatsink & fan dim: 122x149x146mm weight: 620 grams includes: multi-socket socket mounting hardware, thermal compound, instructions Compatible with Sockets: AMD - AM2/AM3 Intel - LGA775/1155/1156/1366 Pricing: $44USD ($44CDN)

With heatsinks these days, not a whole lot is really 'new' technology. Heatpipes have been around for many years and using metals like copper and aluminum is par for the course. With the Glacialtech Siberia heatsink the maker is adapting the aluminum cooling fins with an old trick used on many heat exchangers. You might recognize the simple but effective louvered pattern punched into the fins of the Siberia heatsink pictured below.

This is commonly applied to heat exchangers in air conditioning units, radiators of vehicles and in countless other applications. While techniques like dimpled aluminum fins may be novel, louvres are a practical means of enhancing the efficiency of a heatsink, provided the manufacturer has taken time to address air flow impediments & pressure drop.

Another technique applied to the Glacialtech Siberia heatsink is the saw-toothed leading edge geometry of the fins. The pattern helps break up what would otherwise be a flat surface that could impeed slow moving air from easily passing through.

As the Glacialtech Siberia heatsink is positioning itself as a 'lower noise thermal solution with a low profile,' it's notable to find a second fan under the main fin stack to help draw warmed air out from the fins and exhaust it downwards to cool adjacent motherboard components too.

Heatsink Mounting Hardware

The Glacialtech Siberia heatsink ships with three different rear motherboard support brackets and a couple pairs of metal clips for Intel or AMD platforms. The Intel socket 775/1155/1156 mounting brackets accommodate the full gamut of Intel sockets and screw into place with spring tensioned collared screws. For AMD motherboards, Glacialtech use metal brackets which accommodate socket AM2/AM3 platforms only; these screw into the existing motherboard support plate.

Both sets of mounting hardware are a little fussy to use in the confines of a computer case, we'd recommend taking out the entire motherboard for easier access.

FrostyTech's Test Methodologies are 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 this heatsink, its acoustic characteristics, and of course its performance in the thermal tests!