OCZ VENDETTA 2 HEATSINK review

When building a new computer, the processor heatsink and fan is a component that is often neglected. The purpose of this heatsink is to dissipate the heat produced by the processor. Most of the time, a fan is fixed to the heatsink so that it dissipates even more heat. Processors made by AMD or intel are usually bundled (retail) with a heatsink and a fan. To keep cost down, the bundled heatsink and fan (HSF) are the bare minimum to accomplish the task, which is probably enough for most users. On the other hand, if you have higher expectations, you need to buy a separate HSF. There are 2 main reasons to use another cooling system then the one provided by AMD or intel. You might want a HSF that will give you a better cooling performance (usually needed if you want to overclock) and/or want a silent system. With a bigger heatsink, it is possible to use a fan that will have to move less air which means that it can spin slowly, producing less noise. It is even possible to buy a heatsink that doesn't require a fan at all but it is often only designed for low consumption systems.

Today I will review the OCZ Vendetta 2 HSF. This is a mid-range HSF that offers one of the best cooling performance/price ratio. It uses 3 cooper wall heat pipes that are in direct contact to the processor. These pipes are connected to multiple large light-weight aluminum fins. A 120 mm fan is attached to the heatsink. The air flow of this fan is 65.1-81.3 CFM and the noise level is 20-32 dBA. My first impression when I received the box is that this HSF is huge! It is obvious that a stock intel or AMD HSF cannot compete in the same league.

Even if aluminum fins are used, it is a bit heavy because of its size. The problem with many HSF, such as the OCZ Vendetta 2, is that they use the standard mounting kit. I definitely would not trust the plastic push pin system of intel to hold this beast (I don't think it was designed with these type of HSF in mind). I would be afraid the HSF would fall (even if it is unlikely) and it would not apply enough pressure to make a good contact with the processor. To secure this beast to my motherboard, I also bought a Xigmatek ACK-I7751 Crossbow Mounting Kit. Thermalright also offers a similar kit called BOLT-THRU (and after seeing some pictures, I would say that they look very similar). These mounting kits are not expensive and I don't understand why most HSF don't come with one of these.

The installation process is quite simple. The first step is to screw the mounting clips to the base of the heatsink. Then you need to apply the thermal paste to the base of the heatsink. Unfortunately the second picture is supposed to show how to apply it but because of the flash it is kind of a failure. Drop some paste on each of the pipes and then spread it (don't touch it directly, use something to spread it).

The next step, while simple, is not easy to achieve. You have to put the heatsink on the top of the motherboard (remember, thermal paste is on the heatsink, you cannot "move" it around), put the back plate on the back of the motherboard and screw it. There is some sort of glue/tape on the back plate. You could remove the sticker and glue it to your motherboard. Installation would be easier I guess but if you want to change your processor or your motherboard, it won't be easy to remove. So I decided to go the hard way and not use that glue (I am hardcore, I am no n00b). On my first attempt I tried to do it without any help but I failed (OK I am not that hardcore). So I removed the thermal paste and started over with someone holding the motherboard and the back plate (you need to put some pressure on the back plate) while I held the heatsink and fastened the screws. While fastening the fourth and last screw I noticed that I installed it so that the fan would blow air to the top of my case instead of the back! Let's go for a third attempt (which has to succeed as I won't have enough paste for another try). This time it worked perfectly. Good thing I am no n00b! ;p Here is the result from both sides of the motherboard.

The last step is to install the fan to the heatsink. The fixation mechanism of the Vendetta 2 is quite cool as it uses rubber fasteners to avoid any vibration. You simply need to attach the 4 fasteners to the fan and then slide them into fins of the heatsink.

To conclude, I simply want to say that because of its size, this HSF may not fit on every motherboard. I don't have any problem accessing my RAM slots but some people reported that their first RAM slot could not be used because the fan was too close. You could also have a problem to fit it in your case. There is less than 1 cm between the tip of the heat pipes and the side panel of my case. I highly recommend this HSF if it is compatible with your motherboard/case. Don't forget to buy a mounting kit with a back plate to fix it though!