Verdict and Conclusion
The Xigmatek Prime sure is a nice heatsink. Build quality is very good to say the least. Since it is a 140mm heatsink it is larger than your standard heatsink and as such allows the use of larger fans that spin at lower RPMs
Performance on the Prime is decent, although it could certainly be better. Due to the fact that it uses the direct-touch heatpipe technology it is very hard to get a very good mount on the cpu. Heat is unfortunately not spread out evenly and in too many cases two fof the heatpipes have most of the cores on them.
For lower heat-loads this type of heatsink is fine but once the heat load really starts to rise these sort of heatsinks fall flat on their faces.
Depending on your motherboard it is possible to have both GPU and memory clearance issues since this heatsink is a bit wider than a 120mm heatsink. This means that you will need to be careful when selecting a motherboard and memory. If the top PCIE port is a port or two from the top possible slot there would not be any problems but those with MATX boards need to be extra-careful with this issue.
Shopping around the net, the Prime is right around the $65 mark. For the price it is a decent purchase. It would be much more attractive at $60 due to the competition in the same price range.
Pros:
- 140mm Fan + Heatsink
- Works with all Intel and AMD sockets
- Quiet fan
- Solid build quality
- Great mounting mechanism
Cons:
- Price
- Size
- lackluster performance
Overall it is a solid heatsink that can deliver good temperatures at both low fan speeds and extreme fan speeds. Just do not try and overclock to the moon or you might hit a wall due to the limits of the HDT design on this heatsink.
SCORE
7.6/10
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