Akasa AK 173-UV

Advantages: Very cool, easy to install
Disadvantages: copper on the cpu side far from mirror ( needs a polish )

...Test system: processor - AMD Athlon FX62 (2 x 2800 MHz / 125W TDP) motherboard - ASUS M2N32 DeLuxe Wireles Edition (passive cooling system with HeatPipe) Cooler is very easy to install just one lever. More experienced users will probably remove thermal compound and polish the surface of the cooler ( it is far from being a mirror ) and then apply high quality thermal compound. This will give You another 1-2 C less and faster cooling down after stress. all tests were done using Zalman STG 1 ( high quality thermal compound ) Temperature readings after 60 minutes in idle: Akasa AK-876 37 Arctic Cooling 64PRO 38 Scythe Katana II 39 Temperature readings after 60 minutes in 100% load: Akasa AK-876 56 Arctic Cooling 64PRO 58 Scythe Katana II 61 Temperature readings... Read review

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Advantages: See through :)
Disadvantages: Easily marks, lots of work needed

...are impressive wait until you see this baby. If you decide to properly kit the case out like i did with UV light, LED fans, UV reactive IDE cables and the Cooler Master Jet7 fan(With blinking lights) ;) then you definetely wont be disappointed. At night you can turn off all of your lights and this case will keep the room well illuminated. Problems - If you dont have time to assemble a case and make everything look neat and tidy then forget about this case straight away. With this case EVERYTHING is on show. Your cables have to be tidy, i have mine within a special chrome tubing to keep them neat and not spread out everywhere. If your not willing to splash out on LED fans or UV lights and LEDs then dont buy this case either. The case is designed to be illuminated and simply looks poor when not lit. Look but dont touch - I mean this. If you start... Read review

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Advantages: Non-conducting, easily applicable, very good cooling
Disadvantages: tube is rather small, for approx 10 applications

...When buying a CPU or Graphics card, most manufacturers have already installed or included a heatsink + thermal conducting paste or pad with the product. This thermal conducting paste is usually made of silicone, either grey or white and has the effect of filling the gaps between the heatsink and the chip, to improve heat transfer from one surface to the other. So you are wondering why companies like Akasa produce heatsink paste when something is already included. The answer is that the Akasa product (TC 5022 Pro) performs significantly better than the standard one and holds its ground against other pastes (like Arctic Silver). The paste comes in a small tube and is pretty expensive. The compound is made of silicone, but has the benefit that it is easily applied on surfaces, as well as performing very good, even when not applying too... Read review

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