Xigmatek HDT-S963 Heatsink Review

xigmatekhdts963

The Xigmatek HDT-S963 is a smaller version of the flagship HDT-S1283 performance air cooler with heat-pipe direct touch CPU.

Appearance

The HDT-S963 looks almost exactly like the HDT-S1283, just that it has an overall smaller frame. Shorter copper pipes, lesser fins, lesser surface area for each fin and of course a smaller fan which is a 92mm fan instead of a 120mm.

Just as the S1283, the S963 is as sturdy as it looks and comes with 3 copper heatpiped bent in U-shaped fashion. The aluminum base was designed to hold the copper pipes and ensure it is in direct contact with the processor while its longer ends of the copper pipes are joined to an array of tightly packed aluminum fins.

xigmatekhdts963
xigmatekhdts963
xigmatekhdts963

Like the S1283, it also comes with anti-vibration rubber studs to hold the fan and also a 3 in 1 application: LGA775 push-pin/K8 & AM2 tool-less clip.

Just as the S1283, I choose to install the HDT-S963 on my Biostar TP35D2-A7 motherboard without removing it from my Coolermaster Centurion-2 casing. 🙂 Was the installation just as difficult as the S1283? No it wasn’t!

xigmatekhdts963
xigmatekhdts963

After applying a dab of the Arctic Cooling MX-2 on the processor, I proceeded to mount the heatsink. Installation was much easier on the S963 as its smaller frame meant less obstruction, thus there’s much room for fingers to reach the push pin.

Just like the S1283, the 92mm fan that came along with the HDT-S963 is attached to the heatsink via 4x rubber studs that hold it into place.

Technical Data

For the heatsink

Material Aluminum Alloy
Heat-pipe Φ6 x 3
Dimension 120(W) x 50(H) x 159(D) mm

For the fan

Dimension 92(W) x 92(H) x 25(D) mm PWM fan
Voltage Rating (V) 12V
Speed (R.P.M.) 1200~2800 R.P.M.
Bearing Type Rifle Bearing
Air Flow (CFM) 39~54.6 CFM
Air Pressure (mmH2O) 1.7~3.3 mmH2O
Life Expectance (hrs) 50,000 hrs
Noise Level (dB) 23~35 dBA
Connector 4 Pin with PWM

Get full details at the official product page

Performance

For the performance test, I just run both my processor cores at 100% load and took the readings. The processor? My overclocked Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2140 running at 3.2Ghz.

Ambient temperature was around temperature was around 25°C when the readings were taken.

  Idle (°C) Load (°C)
Stock Heatsink 35 65
HDT-S963 23 51
HDT-S1283 25 49

Conclusion

I like the HDT-S963 very much. It’s not some space-hogging giant cooler and yet it does it’s job well.

It certainly is not an under-achiever and installation was a breeze. The overall size isn’t big, thus it should be a problem to fit well in any casing.

Being smaller than the HDT-S1283 meant that the HDT-S963 has lesser overall surface area for heat-dissipation. Being smaller also meant that the mounted fan would require higher RPM to push same amount of air. Not that it’s bad but the HDT-S963 couldn’t survive the generated heat even when the fan is running at lower RPM. In the end I manage to find a balance between and RPM that doesn’t irritate my ear while providing sufficient push of air across the fins.

Just as the 120mm fan on the HDT-S1283, the 92mm fan was silent as long as the RPM doesn’t go towards the high side.

Lastly, just as stated in my review for the HDT-S1283 I’m glad that Xigmatek included holding clips that cater for multiple socket types.

goldfries recommended

10 thoughts on “Xigmatek HDT-S963 Heatsink Review

  1. nice review 😀

    btw, possible to push your processor higher with more volts to see the performance of the HSF in a more demanding situation? 😀

  2. Eh, same result is achievable by turning the air-con off and leaving it in the hot room. 😀 So far so good.

    Nowadays I run the unit at fixed but lower fan speed, meaning that the RPM is not boosted even on load. What does this mean? more heat but less noise.

  3. Seems like there’s a new Xigmatek around similar to this HDT-S963, it comes with 8mm heatpipes as compared to the 6mm ones in this HDT-S963, so it’s named HDT-S983 instead.

    Can’t wait for you to get a sample to test on and see how much difference it makes in terms of heatpipe sizing.

  4. Oh.. BTW, what made you choose the S963 as a permanent fixture over the S1283 in your own test rig anyway? 😉

    Due to the size or there’s other reasons involved? It’ll be interesting to know. 🙂

  5. Size man, i can’t even close the casing with the S1283. If i could close it properly, I would go for the S1283 due to the additional surface area and 120mm fan.

  6. Ah… i see… can’t wait to see the HDT-S983 arriving at our shores, OCZ also has a similar model in the form of the OCZ Vendetta. 8mm heatpipes!

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