Spire 5E34B3 Perspectives |
| The
Fan:
The wire
fan grill may be more for show than for real safety, but we can't
complain. The fan
is moderately
noisy, but no where near that of the powerful Delta fans which seem to
be popping up on just about every cooler these
days. Interestingly, the fan used on the 5E34B3 is only 15mm in height.
Many current solutions seem to be opting for the 25mm height fans for
their added CFM ratings. The fan comes with RPM monitor and hooks
into the onboard fan headers via a three-pin connector. |
|
Heatsink
Top:
Without the fan on top
of the heatsink it is easier to see the cuts made for the clip.
The heatsink is a little longer than it normally might be and the cuts help allow the clip to easily lock into place. The clip is made such that it can only fit into the heatsink in one direction. Additionally the small tabs stop the heatsink from sliding when the motherboard is in a vertical position. |
|
Side A: Side
channels 2mm in width are cut out in six positions to help air flow through the fins in an effective manner. While the outer fins are serrated, the inner fins are without the feature . Typically older fin designs employed the serrated surface finish to help induce turbulence. As
the fins on this heatsink are only ~1mm thick it may not be possible to
add this treatment.
|
|
Side B:
Those tall
and skinny fins look quite good for cooling from this angle, but the
question remains; is the heat moving from the copper potion with ease? The
clip sits in a little channel so that the length of
the heatsink is actually a little longer then it would normally be.
The aluminum base
is just over 3mm thick, the copper 4mm. |
|
Heatsink
Base: Behind the blue protective cover is some pink, bubble-gum like thermal phase change
material. It is a bit sticky, but when heat is applied to it is starts
to flow and allows for a very tight thermal joint. Personally we prefer
to use silver based thermal compound however. The surface finish of the central region
of the copper is good in terms of flatness, but still shows
marks from the manufacturers brushing or sanding operation. |