|
Coolink's ChipChilla Chipset Cooler Heatsink
Testing:
Using my Intel DG33TL motherboard and a laser thermometer, I tested the heat of the stock heatsink. Our readings came out to 35.3°C (95.5°F). Not too cool for a heatsink we tend to forget about! We then removed the stock heatsink by squeezing on the mounting hooks, and the heatsink came right off. Instead of having thermal paste on the chip, the heatsink had a thermal pad under it.
 |
 |
 |
Testing the stock heatsink |
Close-up of the stock heatsink |
Close-up of the chipset |
After opening the packaging on the ChipChilla, we inspected the mounting-hooks. These hooks look much larger than the ones included on our motherboard, so after 20 minutes of struggle, we gave up and seated the ChipChilla with the stock Intel mounting-hooks, using a small drop of Tuniq TX-2 thermal paste on the underside. Using the laser thermometer, we tested the temperature again. There was a noticeable difference between the stock heatsink and the ChipChilla, locking in at 30.6°C (87.0°F)!
(click to enlarge)
Without ChipChilla |
With ChipChilla |
35.3°C (95.5°F) |
30.6°C (87.0°F) |
We did run into one problem however.....
(click to enlarge)
The ChipChilla's right in the way of the video card! We were unable to seat the video card with the ChipChilla in place no matter how hard we tried. One would immediately think "Oh, just turn it sideways," but it will not mount sideways. This is very unfortunate for consumers as many of the higher end cards are dual slot designs which will lead to installation issues.As you cannot mount the heatsink in any other orientation and the fins and fan are directly in the way of mounting any larger video card it ultimately leads to making the use of the Chip Chilla impossible in certain configurations.
Conclusion:
While the ChipChilla looked like it was golden out of the box, our testing brought out two major flaws: an uncooperative hook-mount, and a chipset cooler that's just too big to hold a video card as well. All is not lost, however. If you use a low-profile video card, or a push-pin mounting system, you will be glad to know that Coolink's ChipChilla will keep you running much cooler. Overall we like the design aspects of the Chip Chilla and feel that the company simply needs to address the sie aspects that account for installation issues. The ChipChilla can be purchased from Quiet PC USA for $22.95 .