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Spire Thermax Eclipse II SP984B1-V2 Heatsink Review
Spire Thermax Eclipse II SP984B1-V2 Heatsink Review
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Abstract: Standing 155mm tall, the Thermax Eclipse II heatsink weighs 822 grams and ships with two 120mm fans. Only one fan needs to be installed (default configuration), but if you think two fans are better than one be prepared for a moderately loud outcome. Both 120mm fans are non-PWM, so they rotate at a fixed 2200RPM all the time.

 Manufacturer  Category  Published  Author 
Spire   Cooling / Heatsinks   May 12, 2010   Max Page  

Home > Reviews > Page: 360° View - Spire Thermax Eclipse II Heatsink

360° View - Spire Thermax Eclipse II Heatsink


Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here.

The 120mm fans spin at 2200RPM and draw power from standard 3-pin motherboard fan headers. One fan can be installed on each side of the Thermax Eclipse. Four rubber vibration absorbing posts are used to hold the fans, however this ends up spacing things further apart than the length of slots in the aluminum fins so they easily fall out. The 8mm diameter copper heatpipes rise up through dark nickel plated aluminum fins which have a dimpled surface texture on each side. Fins measure 0.4mm thick and are spaced 2.0mm apart.

The Spire Thermax Eclipse II heatsink stands 155mm tall, the bottom-most fin is 40mm above the CPU socket for clearance. The five heatpipes are positioned side to side where they make direct contact with the processor, and expand outward to form an X-pattern through the aluminum fins. The base incorporates a 10mm thick aluminum section to provide support for clamping, with a further 10mm of extruded fins for a little extra cooling.

Looking at the Spire Thermax Eclipse II heatsink from the top you see the dimpled aluminum texture and dark nickel plating which picks up fingerprints like mad. The X-pattern of heatpipes helps to ensure equitable heat conduction to the location receiving the most airflow from the fan. The base of the heatsink measures 41x54mm in size, featuring five exposed copper heatpipes. Intel processors only make contact with the center three heatpipes.

Base Finish and Flatness

Flipping a heatsink over to inspect the business end is often a simple indicator of overall cooler quality. More practically speaking, a heatsink is in many ways only as effective as the contact it makes with the processor - the flatter and smoother the better. Base finish is one of the criteria that Frostytech measure in the course of evaluating heatsinks, and it involves two distinct aspects. Surface Finish is the first; this is calculated with the aid of Surface Roughness Comparator that has a cross section of common machine surface finishes and their numerical surface roughness equivalents in microinches. The second is Surface Flatness. This is tested with an engineers straight edge or proven flat surface, in two axis.

The base of Spire's Thermax Eclipse II heatsink has a surface roughness of approximately 16 microinches, which is considered very good. The base is machined perfectly flat in both axis, with a slight grooved finish from the tooling. The copper and aluminum parts are flush.

Incidently, Frostytech's review of the Thermax Eclipse II was delayed for a while because the heatsink we received for testing came with a slightly defective mounting bracket. The slots for Intel socket hardware were punched out of the steel plate which is attached to the base of the heatsink 1mm off, in one axis. Thus, instead of a hole pattern of 72 x 72mm, it was 72 x 74mm. That may not sound like much, but it was just enough of an offset to prevent the heatsink from installing onto Frostytech's Intel synthetic thermal test platform with machine screws. The inaccurately punched bracket made the cumulative error for one pair of holes 2mm out of alignment.

Hopefully this was just a manufacturing one-off. Sound level measurements are coming up next on Frostytech...

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Table of Contents:

 1:  Spire Thermax Eclipse II SP984B1-V2 Heatsink Review
 2: — 360° View - Spire Thermax Eclipse II Heatsink
 3:  Sound Level Measurements: Which Heatsink is Quietest?
 4:  AMD Heatsink Temperature Comparisons
 5:  Intel LGA775 Heatsink Temperature Comparisons

List all Spire heat sinks that Frostytech tested?

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