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- Date:
- Tuesday , May 01, 2007
- Author:
- Justin Diduch
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Thermalright Inferno FX-14 CPU Cooler Preview
Thermalright gives HardOCP an exclusive first look at their new Inferno FX-14 heatsink as we break in our new Core2Duo test bed along with a new cooling editor in the Great Northwest.
Inferno FX-14
We know most of you are looking down at that first picture of the IFX-14 and wondering, exactly how big is that thing?
Standing 6.3” tall x 5.75” wide x 4.8” deep and weighing 790 grams, without fans, the IFX-14 one of the biggest coolers we have ever seen. These figures do not include the optional HR-10 “backside heatsink” pictured below.
It is immediately apparent that the raw size of this cooling solution might not make it the best choice for those with smaller cases.
The IFX-14 uses four U shaped 8mm heatpipes with an array of 112 aluminum fins (56 on each side) to “pump and dump” the heat as we like to say. These copper heatpipes are soldered to a two piece copper base and then nickel plated before the fins are attached with solder. As you can see the fins are cut in an abstract flame shape that we both agreed was a nice improvement over the typical (and somewhat boring) rectangular shape.
The HR-10 seen above without the IFX-14 is the optional “backside cooler” that Thermalright has included for removing heat from the back of the motherboard. We were unable to use the HR-10 for this review as it interfered with some of the solder points on the back of our Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 motherboard. Due to this incompatibility we are unable to do much beyond speculate as to its impact on performance but we can say for sure that it will not work in all configurations. The idea is that the HR-10 removes heat from behind the socket further increasing cooling potential and theoretically increasing part lifespan. The flattened heatpipes do come with a plastic protector to keep it from shorting out on the motherboard and a pair of thermal pads to facilitate heat transfer.
As you can see above, the sample we received for review was not new and had been mounted multiple times; therefore we cannot give or take any points away for the condition of the mounting surface. Although there were quite a few small scratches and whirls on the base it was perfectly flat when measured using a machinist’s straight edge from corner to corner. None of the scratches (even that big nick in the center) were not deep enough get through the nickel plating and most likely had very little if any measurable affect on the testing results. If you look closely at the upper right hand corner you can see where a high spot on the base was lapped flat at the factory. This is a good sign as far as we are concerned. The copper is going to change shape somewhat from the heat when the base is soldered together. This shows that Thermalright is lapping the base after it is assembled and before the nickel plating process, ensuring that the best possible base is produced.