Review: Four Intel coolers go head-to-head. Xigmatek vs. Cooler Master vs. Akasa.

Achilles S1284 - installation and performance

Installation

Installation of the Xigmatek Achilles S1284 is less straightforward than our previous two contenders.

As it comes without the retention mechanism installed, you have to pull out the Phillips-head screwdriver and attach it yourself. The process is relatively pain-free, but may be a little off-putting to less experienced users.

The use of a push-pin mounting mechanism means you don't have to remove your motherboard from your case to secure the heatsink, however.

You also have to mount the fan on to the heatsink, using rubber plugs that pull through the fans's mounting holes and clip over the heatsink's fins - snugly secured in grooves on the fin array. Whilst this is easy enough to do prior to installation, it is decidedly difficult with the heatsink installed - yet if you do install the fan prior to securing the heatsink to the motherboard, it'll take some flexible finger-work to lock the push-pins into place.

Additionally, the installation process resulted in a cut finger, due to the thin aluminium fins. (oi, you big girl, you - ed)

The thermal compound is supplied in a sachet, without any spreading utensil. The instructions simply say to evenly cover the heatsink base.

Mounting the heatsink, and looking at the pattern left in the thermal interface material reveals a slight issue with this H.D.T. heatsink design.

Looking at the cooler's base reveals that only the centre two heatpipes has decent contact with the CPU's IHS. The outside two simply overlap the edges of an LGA775 CPU's IHS. An AMD CPU with its larger heatspreader should make contact with all four heatpipes, making the design better-suited for that application.

Viewing the mounds of thermal interface material that occupy the voids between the heatpipes and the aluminium channels highlights just how problematic the current implementation of the Heatpipe Direct Touch concept is.

Performance