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Xigmatek Dark Knight SD1283 Night Hawk Ed. Ceramic Coated Heatsink Review
Xigmatek Dark Knight SD1283 Night Hawk Ed. Ceramic Coated Heatsink Review
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Abstract: Here's what Frostytech has been able to find out. The black ceramic coating on the Xigmatek Dark Knight SD1283 Night Hawk Ed. heatsink is described as high thermal conductivity metal surface treatment by its manufacturer; SAU Applied Materials.

 Manufacturer  Category  Published  Author 
Xigmatek   Cooling / Heatsinks   Oct 10, 2012   Max Page  

Home > Reviews > Page: 360° View - Xigmatek Dark Knight SD1283 Night Hawk Ed.

360° View - Xigmatek Dark Knight SD1283 Night Hawk Ed. Heatsink


Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here.

The 120mm PWM fan spins at 2200-1000RPM and draws power from a standard 4-pin PWM motherboard fan header. It is backwards compatible with 3-pin connectors. Each of the three copper heatpipes are 8mm in diameter and extend from the base up to the top of the 159mm tall heatsink. Each ceramic coated aluminum fin measures 0.4mm thick and is spaced 2.0mm apart.

The Xigmatek Dark Knight SD1283 Night Hawk Ed. heatsink stands 159mm tall, the fin stack is 112x120x70mm in size with the bottom fin elevated 36mm above the CPU socket. Heat pipes are spaced 3mm apart at the base plate and where they intersect the aluminum cooling fins. The base incorporates an 11mm thick aluminum section to provide support for clamping. Notice the closed off strip along the side of the fin stack; this curved bit creates a duct to direct airflow towards the heatpipes.

The base of the heatsink is 35x40mm in size. Looking from the top down we can see the large v-shape cut outs on either side of the fin tower, located directly behind the fan motor. This area typically sees little airflow so it tends to be opened up to prevent air stagnation. The fan plenum ranges from 5-17mm as a result. Heatpipes are positioned in the path of highest airflow and rubber mounts are used to hold the fan in place.

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 axes.

Most exposed heatpipe base heatsinks are machined flat, what you need to look carefully for are uneven aluminum-copper-aluminum joints. Sometimes the heatpipes dislodge and stick out a bit if the manufacturer doesn't know how to properly make a heatpipe direct touch heatsink. In this case, everything looks good. The surface roughness of the base is approximately 16 microinches, which is considered excellent. The base has a machined/sanded surface finish which is perfectly flat in both axes.

Next up, Frostytech heatsink sound level measurements...

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Table of Contents:

 1:  Xigmatek Dark Knight SD1283 Night Hawk Ed. Ceramic Coated Heatsink Review
 2: — 360° View - Xigmatek Dark Knight SD1283 Night Hawk Ed.
 3:  Heatsink Sound Level Comparison
 4:  AMD Heatsink Temperature Comparisons
 5:  Intel Heatsink Temperature Comparisons

List all Xigmatek heat sinks that Frostytech tested?

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