The CPU cooler has an aluminum base with four 6mm copper heatpipes that carry heat away from the CPU and dissipate it among the aluminum fins. Two fins at the bottom of the cooler are elongated and pointed down to force cool air to flow over the MOSFET's, northbridge, or RAM, depending on the cooler's orientation on the motherboard.
Click thumbnails for larger pictures
On one side of the cooler, where the fan is attached, all the fins have a rippled edge to maximize on the surface area that can be cooled. The fins on the other side of the cooler have hooked corners, and each fin curves to the center which presumably mimicks the airflow pattern from the fan. The most cool air will flow over the outer edges of the fins, meaning heat will be released more frequently and less surface area is required. The edges of each fin are creased downward to further direct airflow. In an effort to provide as much cooling performance as possible, Kingwin have packed extra aluminum in between the cooler's base and the actively cooled fins, an area that is usually bare because it can interfere with mounting hardware.
Click thumbnails for larger pictures
The included fan can be easily removed to help make installing the heatsink on a motherboard more simple. Just pry up the two flexible fan clips first. Kingwin claims the fan can achieve 700 ~2300 RPM and push up to 101.2 CFM across the heatsink. It uses a 4-pin PWM connector, which allows the fan's speed to be automatically adjusted by your motherboard depending on the CPU temperature.
Installation:
Click thumbnails for larger pictures
Installing the cooler on an Intel motherboard is relatively easy. Since no backplate in included, removing the motherboard from the case is not necessary. First, remove the already installed AMD mounting bracket, then screw the mounting clips to the cooler's base using the screws you just removed. Tear open the pouch of thermal compound and add a liberal amount to the top of a clean IHS as per the directions.
Click thumbnails for larger pictures
Next, spread the thermal paste evenly across the CPU surface using the included applicator. When the CPU is sufficiently covered, put the heatsink in place over the CPU in the desired direction. Then, just push and twist the plastic clips to secure it to the motherboard. A word of warning, though, the clips can be a bit finnicky, and it is usually best to go at them with a screwdriver (instead of twisting them with your fingers for ten minutes, like one unlucky reviewer who obliviously neglected to notice the slotted top on each of the clips).
