The Fan:
The Nidec fans really do look a lot more deadly than most others. With their 11 fins and squat appearance they end up looking a lot more powerful than they really are. While Nidec make excellent fans that last a long time, this model is only clocked in at 4700 RPM and 16CFM. It may not seem like a lot of airflow, but I suspect a lot of other fans from not well known manufacturers are exaggerating their specs more often then not.

The only real concern with this fan is the relatively large motor powering the fan blades. It creates one large dead spot in the centermost fin section, especially as the fan is mounted only a few millimeters from the copper fins edges.

Heatsink Front:
There are 24 fins in total, each standing approx. 59mm in height. Each fin is about 0.5mm thick and spaced 2mm apart. We're a little disappointed to see that the copper fins appear to be glued to the thick copper base rather thank soldered. It's difficult to tell for sure, but I see no evidence of solder indicating a sound metallic joint. The base is 5mm thick.

Heatsink Rear:
Except for the flanges from the aluminum shroud which are used to hold the fan in place the front and back of the SN03 are exactly the same. The clip proved a bit stiff to engage onto the socket and a screw driver is required to clip it on.

Heatsink Base:
The base is the 'money' side of any heatsink. While the Neng Tyi doesn't have the most immaculately finished base it is smooth, and rather uniquely plated. More then that it is flat where the processor makes contact - so it can't be all that bad right?

The heatsink comes with a small patch of Berquist 200U thermal interface material pre-applied. In our tests we found that a good quality thermal compound works better than the waxy Bergquist material.