If you're looking to replace the stock AMD or Intel heatsink, you've come to the right place - FrostyTech. Processor manufacturers ship their CPUs with good coolers generally, so you'll have to look carefully to find a heatsink that boasts lower temperatures and less noise. Finding those qualities amongst the sea of after market CPU coolers is a tricky task. It doesn't help that PC hardware review sites rely on different heatsink benchmarking standards; some test on a single old CPU, others on just an AMD or Intel CPU, while a select few use custom synthetic thermal test platforms. What you might not realize is that heatsinks perform differently on AMD and Intel processors, due to the difference in heat outputs, and the larger integrated heat spreader AMD utilizes. Whether synthetically tested or not, heatsinks should always be tested on both CPU platforms for the best indication of performance.

In this review Frostytech is testing out Xigmatek's new HDT-S983 heatsink, an innovative thermal solution that employs sculpted & textured aluminum fins, and large copper heatpipes that make direct contact with the CPU.

If you take the Xigmatek HDT-S983 and look at the bottom you'll see an aluminum base with three 8.5mm wide grooves cut deeply into it. Set snugly within each groove is an 8mm diameter copper heat pipe, which has been flattened so everything is flush. Instead of using a bulky copper plate, Xigmatek use the superior heat conducting capabilities of heat pipes to conduct heat away from the core of an AMD or Intel processor. Three 8mm diameter copper heatpipes transfer that heat rapidly to a large array of sculpted and textured thin aluminum fins above.