Kingwin Heat-pipe Direct Touch CPU Cooler @ [H]

[FrgMstr]

Kingwin Heat-pipe Direct Touch CPU Cooler - Heatpipes have been all the rage for years now. And lapping your mating surface has been all the rage for the last decade. What happens when you take a round heatpipe and make it your actual mating surface? Kingwin answers that question for us.

Well that is pretty amazing. While these coolers performed adequately at stock and very well under overclocked speeds, it is great to see these coolers offered at such an amazing price. Again, we just performed a quick search of the web and found many retailers selling these coolers for the prices listed above. If you are looking for a good cooler at a great price you may want to check out the Kingwin line of RVT coolers.

 

[skadebo]

Quality control is not that great on these models, the heatpipes are theoretically supposed to be in contact with the chip but that's not the case as the aluminum touches the chip before the heatpipe does. I have an OCZ Vendetta which is basically the same as the 92mm model you tested today and it had the same contact problems. I ended up lapping the base so that the copper and aluminum were flush. One more thing to increase performance, at least on the 92mm model is to, in effect, force the airflow through the fins by taping up the sides of the heatsinks from the edge of the fan to the fins. Otherwise, there a lot of airflow leakage occurs whereby the air just comes out of the gap between the fan and the heatsink fins. This is worth about 2-3 degrees.

 

[Standpoint]

Just thought I'd throw in that I purchased the 92mm version of this a few months ago for a PC I was putting together for a relative. I did not have a heatsink for their Socket 754 sempron, and this one was so cheap, that I bought it. Then, MY heatsink started to be inadequate for my AMD BE 5000, so I thought I'd switch the two and try the kingwin on my CPU. Boy, was I impressed. It dropped my temps over 20C, and currently keeps my CPU at 35C idle, and 45-50C full load during gaming. I have my CPU OC'd to 3 GHz. For the price, I believe I paid about $20 for it on newegg at the time, what a great deal. When I purchased it, there weren't any reviews yet, so I took a chance. Glad to see this cooler is getting the credit it deserves for cost/performance!

 

[Sabrewulf165]

I've had the 120mm tower version of this cooler for a few months now (though mine is the original "Xigmatek" which the Kingwins are just a rebadge of) and I couldn't be happier with it. Sure it's not a TRUE, I knew that when I bought it, but for the price with a very nice fan included, it's perfect for my modest Q6600 OC. I don't even bother with fan control, the fan at full speed isn't what silence nazis would consider "quiet" but it has a very pleasant whooshing signature that doesn't stand out to my ears.

My only two gripes about it are the fact that goop gets gummed up in the cracks around the heatpipes and the fact that you have to remove the fan in order to mount the cooler (unless you're some kind of ninja-fingered freak). Removing the fan itself is a bit of a pain because of the rubber mounts. Mine seem pretty sturdy and have held up to 4 remounts so far, but I'm always worried I'm going to break them and end up with no way to put the fan on.

 

[Talz]

I'm quite happy with my Xigmatek branded S1283, a well earned reward IMO.

 

[AceGoober]

Although this method is not the most accurate way of measuring distance it might do the trick for your instance.

- Cut out a piece of cardboard the same width as the RVT-9225 (92 mm).
- Mark center point on the cardboard piece (46 mm).
- Hold the cardboard as center as possible over your existing heatsink.

This should give you a good idea on how it will fit into your case with the motherboard you have.

I know i shouldn't ask this without reading all of the review but how well will the RVT-9225 cooler fit in a mid-tower on a abit IP35-E motherboard compared to a stock C2D heatsink? I have about half a inch of room between my C2D heat-sink and my PSU.

I've used the RVT-9225 in a couple of builds where low price and performance were critical. It has performed well for the price paid.

 

[MaStaFLaSH]

The RVT-9225 can be found at Mwave for $14 + S&H through the 15th. Incredible value, my only problem is to get that or to get the OCZ rebadged version of the S1283 @ Amazon for $30.... Choices choices!

 

[vladoski]

What method did you guys use to apply the thermal paste? The small dot or two line method for the HDT coolers.

 

[FrgMstr]

If you start your post with, "I probably should read the article," then that is what I suggest you do. We want kindle intelligent conversation here in the article thread, not a rehash of what we spent our resources on publishing. Thanks.

 

[legendz411]

The RVT-9225 can be found at Mwave for $14 + S&H through the 15th. Incredible value, my only problem is to get that or to get the OCZ rebadged version of the S1283 @ Amazon for $30.... Choices choices!

I pulled the trigger. $22.80 with 3day shipping. Thanks

What method did you guys use to apply the thermal paste? The small dot or two line method for the HDT coolers.

Eager to know that also.

 

[Sabrewulf165]

I've tried both dot and line methods with my HDT on my Q6600 and found line to produce noticeably better results. Nothing earth-shattering mind you, but better all the same. Just used one thin line of AS5 along the length of each of the 3 pipes' mating surfaces. Just by looking at the pictures from the review, I'd venture a guess that's what they did as well.

 

[Ryle]

Good review, the RVT-12025 and its little brother are definitely the choice of cooler for the budget build. $22 shipped at mwave for the 9225 is a steal.

The last picture for the RVT-12025 doesnt enlarge, and in the RVT-12025 conclusion you say "brings a whole new meaning to the world value." should be "word" correct?

 

[tuksonrider]

I wonder how the 12025 would be with the same fan as the TRUE-120 had in the tests.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999127

Or have the TRUE-120 use the Kingwin fan.

Or since the TRUE-120 doesn't come with any fan, say a "scyth 3000" with it's crazy static pressure on the Kingwin 12025 would trump the TRUE-120 if we are just pulling any fan off the shelves to improve temp performance.

 

[legendz411]

Well i went back and read it i and still could not find out how much clearance i would need for a mid-tower and i dont have anything to measure with but forgive me for the question.

Pretty sure he was talking to me.
I had a post that was pretty dumb, and it's deleted now and he posted that

 

[mickster]

I've been eyeing these three hsf's for awhile for my Q6600 OC units.
The review of the 12025D shows the hs mounted and benched on a flat surface.
The mounting has the S bends of pipes facing towards the memory(closest to the mobo mosfet heatsinks and I/O backplate. I immediately remembered the user reviews at NewEgg.
Read review numbers one and two at the Egg. It makes a significant difference to mount that S bend downward.
Pretty logical if you think it through. I'm betting a 90 degree switch in orientation will make a HUGE difference in those results. It's totally logical dudes.

I'm going to ask Kyle and krewe to redo the review with those S bends facing down in a manner which nearly all of us would use when mounted in a mid/full tower case.

 

[maxius]

i want to see it compared with this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103040

 

[Standpoint]

Myself, for the thermal paste I applied a thin layer of paste over the entire CPU, then mounted the cooler. Afterwards, I thought about redoing it, as Im sure the gaps in the pipes aren't properly gooped up, but my temps seem fine so I haven't bothered.

 

[RD]

i purchased the 92mm fan version at mwave about a week and half ago for like $14 - its pretty much one of the best hsf deals around. looking at it on the web i can see its just a rebranded Xigmatek - even the fan has identical specs. for a little file server at home, its perfect.

 

[mickster]

XbitLabs 12025D(Kingwin version) Review
Their review verifies what I stated earlier.
Your results were skewed/skrewed by the orientation.

 

[FrgMstr]

We will do them all "sideways" from now on to properly represent the case configuration.

 

[FrgMstr]

I think this can be referred to for what is "correct."

I do however NOT consider the way we conducted the tests to be wrong, even according to Thermal right, but we will make sure to conduct them in a more "real world" manner in the future with the motherboard in a verticle position. Easy enough to do moving forward.

Having the tips of the heatpipes pointing down is where it becomes an issue.

 

[hyperbling]

yeh please change the orientation of the kingwin 12025D. i have the same model and i idle at 28C and load at 40C. i have a tower, and for me it works best with the heat pipes parallel to the table. i haven't tried mounting it with the S-curves on the bottom, simply cuz it doesn't look as cool as the S-curves on top.

 

[HighTest]

Recently saw a great shootout from Spawne32
http://www.overclockerspulse.com/co...nce-heatsink-vendetta-gets-a-younger-brother/

For the "best" value out of that shoot out, it was the OCZ Vendetta II. It beat the non-modded TRUE and pretty much was neck/neck with the Modded TRUE at ambient and 0.75 degree difference at full load on a Q6600.

As some have noted, this can be had on Amazon with a rebate that brings it to $30.00.

That's not to deminish the great performance/price ration of the Kingwin cooler though. For one that is really strapped on purchasing both a top end HSF and that new GPU, you can get the best of both worlds with the cheap Kingwin and the better GPU. As the Kingwin really is a re-branded Xigmatek, you can see the comparison there as the Xigmatek versus the OCZ.

 

[msabo]

Pointing down is what the one NewEgg user reviewer did and it seemed to work well for him. Pointed north or south(up/down) it should give better results than the east/west orientation used in the review at least when the board is upright as in a tower case.

The heat pipes on the RVT-12025 will contain a very small amount of liquid (typically water, methanol, acetone, or ammonia) is inserted is into the heat pipe and the air is removed. There will also be some sort of wick technology, inside the heat pipe, which returns the condensed liquid from the cooler end of the heat pipe back to the heat source.

Clearly the most efficient orientation would be to have the heat source below the length of the heat pipe simply because heat rises. Also as the gas condenses back to liquid, gravity would also tend to assist the wicking process in the return of the liquid back to the heat source. This method of heat extraction is termed evaporative cooling. I always assumed the heat pressure (from the heat source) and wicking action dominated the thermal cycle mechanism. I would have never guessed heat pipe orientation upside down would have resulted in failure of the cycle. This is good to know. By the way, not all heat pipes have liquid in them, but that’s different conversation…

 

[msabo]

I had a look at the photos of the RVT-12025D again. If you own this HSF, I would suggest mounting it horizontal (oriented like the bottom right photo on page 4). If you don’t already own it, I would simply avoid it.

Here are my thoughts. We already know those heat pipes have poor wicking, that’s why the HSF fails when it’s mounted vertically with the heat pipe tips facing down. So you would assume if you simply flipped it, then gravity would solve the problem and all is well. However, I had a look at the photos again showing the unit from the side, I see the base is actually well above the low point of the heat pipes. Therefore, you would still be counting on the HSF poor wicking to fight gravity. So my logic is that by mounting the unit horizontally you would achieve a more gravity neutral orientation and thus the unit would likely perform at its optimum.

I wish Marc would do a review of the SilverStone NT06-E. On paper that HSF looks very interesting (except the $60 price tag, without fan ). It's low profile, claims to use superior wicking technology, it has an additional small heat sink over the base, etc. One funny thing is they call it the “Nitrogon NT06-E”. I guess we’re suppose to believe it is using Nitrogen or somehow they were able to remove all the Nitro or maybe its just their “Engrish”?? I’ve looked around and can’t find an in depth analysis of that HSF. I’m really curious if the thing performs or not. http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=NT06-E&area=usa

 

[hyperbling]

I had a look at the photos of the RVT-12025D again. If you own this HSF, I would suggest mounting it horizontal (oriented like the bottom right photo on page 4). If you don’t already own it, I would simply avoid it.

+1. mounting horizontally made my cpu 10C colder. i wouldn't go as far as not recommend it, it's still a great cooler for a great price. even under load i'm not passing 45C.

 

[msabo]

+1. mounting horizontally made my cpu 10C colder. i wouldn't go as far as not recommend it, it's still a great cooler for a great price. even under load i'm not passing 45C.

Great! I'm convinced the heat pipe they are using is a groove wick structure. My only other concern was the length of the heat pipe they were using. A groove wick structure heat pipe used horizontally will not perform well if its too long. Gravity assistance dramatically improves that type of heat pipes performance. For vertical applications, a groove wick structure is superior and very cost effective. But the heat source MUST be at the very bottom of the heat pipe or its fighting gravity.

For horizontal applications, a powder metal wick structure is the preferred heat pipe technology, due to its superior capillary properties.

 

[CallMeIshmael]

What method did you guys use to apply the thermal paste? The small dot or two line method for the HDT coolers.

I applied a thin line of TIM along each heatpipe gap, then used a credit card to scrape it off the surface, leaving just the gaps filled. I then applied a thin line on the CPU heatspreader and mounted the HSF.

 

[msabo]

For anyone who has mounted this unit horizontal, there is another test which would be very interesting. Assuming you have the unit oriented with the heat pipe tips (condenser end) pointing to the front of your case, try elevating the front of your case 10 to 15 degrees with a book or some magazines. If my analysis is correct, you should see improvements as you go from 10 degrees of elevation to about 30 degrees of elevation and likely nothing beyond that. Be careful, if you try this, you don’t your rig to slide off your desk.