In the test 15 years ago: Xigmatek stirred up the market for 25 euros with Direct-Touch

Heat pipe coolers became hugely popular 15 years ago and came in all sizes and shapes. At first glance, the Xigmatek HDT-S963 (test) was an inconspicuous tower cooler with a 92 mm fan, but thanks to the absence of a base plate, it was able to shine with excellent cooling performance for a low price.

Table of contents

1. 1 Less is sometimes more
2. Reasonable price and decent workmanship
3. Extremely strong cooling performance
4. Conclusion

Sometimes less is more

15 years ago, CPU cooler manufacturers usually installed a base plate that was supposed to absorb the heat from the processor and then pass it on to the cooling fins via several heat pipes. Xigmatek, on the other hand, did without the base plate and instead used flattened heat pipes, which, surrounded by a bracket, rested directly on the processor. This concept (“Direct-Touch”) was so fundamental to the HDT-S963 that it was in the name of the cooler: HDT stood for “Heatpipe Direct Touch”. The cooler had a total of three 6 mm copper heat pipes connected to 42 aluminum fins.

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Not the final scope of delivery yet

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Not final scope of delivery yet

Xigmatek HDT-S963

Fan mount decoupled

42 aluminum fins

Bottomless: Heatpipe Direct Touch for maximum performance

Absolute flyweight with ~ 400 grams

Xigmatek HDT-S963

< figure> Air spoiler can be placed anywhere

Thermal paste residue after dismantling

With dimensions of 92 × 76 × 134 mm (L × W × H) including the fan, the HDT-S963 was very compact compared to many other tower coolers, and the weight was low at 410 g. The supplied 92 mm fan worked at a speed of 1,200 to 1,800 rpm and, according to the manufacturer, transported between 66.3 and 92.7 m³/h of air.

Inexpensive price and decent workmanship

For a price of only 25 euros including the fan, users could not expect any miracles in the processing quality of the Xigmatek HDT-S963, but there were no major blunders to complain about in the test. The manufacturer used decoupling rubber bolts to mount the fan and also included a small curved baffle plate that could be inserted anywhere in the lamellar structure and directed part of the outflowing air onto the mainboard. This should prevent the problem typical of tower coolers that the mainboard was not actively cooled. The cooler was also installed without any problems in the test.

Extremely strong cooling performance

In terms of cooling performance, (almost) nobody could beat the Xigmatek HDT-S963. At full speed, the Pentium 840 Extreme Edition of the test system reached 61 °C and thus only 2 Kelvin more than the most powerful cooler. Those who preferred a quieter system were better off reducing the fan speed. At 1,740 rpm, the processor was only around 3 Kelvin warmer, but the fan was a whole 7 dB(A) quieter. At an inaudible 444 rpm, the CPU reached a temperature of 82 °C – almost 2 Kelvin less than with a boxed cooler, which was 7 dB(A) louder.

CPU cooler performance comparison

• Zalman CNPS 9700 LED [2584 rpm series]:
  • Load Temperatures59.0
  • Idle Temperatures40.0
  • Volume in dB(A)54.1
• Xigmatek HDT-S963 [Series 2648 rpm]:
  • Load Temperatures61.0
  • Idle Temperatures40.0

  li>

  • Volume in dB(A)51.4
• Scythe Infinity [Series 1121 rpm]: < ul class="chart__group-body">
• Load Temperatures62.0
• Idle Temperatures40.0
• Volume in dB (A)36.5

Unit: °C

Conclusion

The Xigmatek HDT-S963 convinced in the test across the board. Considering the price, there were almost no criticisms of the cooler. The test subject was able to put models that are twice as expensive and significantly larger in their place and, on top of that, used them silently. For 25 euros, users could hardly go wrong, especially if the starting point was a boxed cooler.

Today, the assessment of coolers with so-called “direct-touch technology ” turned. They are no longer considered fundamentally better, but often problematic because the technology-related floor plate, which is not entirely flat, makes heat transfer more difficult.

In the category “In the test 15 years ago” the editors have been taking a look at the test archive every Saturday since July 2017. The last 20 articles that appeared in this series are listed below:

• The best gaming mouse was Razer's Death Adder
• The HD 2900 XT didn't help against the 8800 either with 5D ALUs
• GeForce 8800 Ultra
• The PlayStation 3 was much more than a game console
• The G84 GPU of the GeForce 8600 GTS came in 80 nm
• Five GeForce 8800 GTS 320 with G80 GPU at the limit
• Windows ReadyBoost turned USB sticks into turbochargers

< li>Intel's Core 2 Extreme QX6800 had four 2.93 GHz cores

• The NZXT Zero had the best cooling for 140 euros
• Water-cooled memory from OCZ
• Cooler Masters cooling giant with two 120 mm fans
• Logitech's luxury keyboard returns
• Nvidia's GeForce 8800 GTS with graphics memory halved
• Cherry eVolution Stream in spartan perfection< /li>
• Two Radeon X1650 XT from silent to deafening
• eSATA put an end to USB and FireWire
• Two Radeon X1950 Pro with copper or dual-slot cooler
• No case cools as well as the Temjin TJ09
• The Nintendo Wii offered pure gaming fun
• Nvidia's GeForce 8800 GTS in a double pack]

< p class="p text-width">Even more content of this kind and many other reports and anecdotes can be found in the R etro corner in the ComputerBase forum.