Achilles S1284 - initial inspection
Please note that our sample was a first-revision model. Xigmatek now retails a second model, S1284C, and we will be looking at it in due course.
The Xigmatek Achilles ships without the retention mechanism or fan attached.
The Achilles is designed for a 120mm fan to be mounted onto it. One the right-hand side of the picture you can make out the channel that the fan-retention mounts attach to.
Viewing the heatsink from above makes the channels for the fan retention mounts even clearer, as well as highlighting the jagged-fin design that increases surface area and air-turbulence. There's also the protrusions of the four U-shaped heatpipe tips.
Perhaps the most innovative feature of the Xigmatek Achilles is the base, where the heatpipes make direct contact with the CPU's integrated heatspreader (IHS) in what Xigmatek calls heatpipe direct-touch (H.D.T). The theory is that by having the heatpipes make contact with the CPU's IHS rather than an intermediate base-plate, there is a more-direct, and therefore rapid, transfer of heat.
In practice however, we feel that any benefit of a more-direct heat path is compromised by the reduced surface area interfacing the IHS and the heatpipes.
The nickel-plated copper heatpipes are flattened and lapped at the base to provide a smoother and larger surface area, yet a good portion of the base doesn't effectively channel the heat away - be it the aluminium channels that separate the heatpipes, or in areas where the curvature of the heatpipes form gaps.
In addition, the staggered nature of the heatpipes' lapped surfaces makes absolutely no sense, as it only serves to further reduce any available contact area.
Considering a copper baseplate with rounded, milled channels to match the heatpipes curvature would allow greater contact to both the CPU's IHS and the heatpipes, we have to wonder if the H.D.T. concept was driven by the engineering or marketing departments.
Considering a copper baseplate with rounded, milled channels to match the heatpipes curvature would allow greater contact to both the CPU's IHS and the heatpipes, we have to wonder if the H.D.T. concept was driven by the engineering or marketing departments.
Of course, final judgement will have to be reserved until we have our test results.
Xigmatek supply retention mechanisms for both Intel LGA775 and AMD AM2/940/939/754 platforms. The Intel mounts using push-pins, and the AMD mounts using the lever design - which means you don't have to remove your motherboard from your case to install the cooler.
However, You do have to attach a retention mechanism before use, no matter what platform you use.
Also bundled is a 120mm fan with translucent orange blades and integrated white LED's. The fan attaches to the heatsink with rubber mounts that you pull through the fan-holes and clip into a channel in the heatsink's fin-array.