Xigmatek HDT-S1284 CPU Cooler

   Taking a close look at the HDT S1284 we see that it is very similar in design to the S1283 that we reviewed last September.    The main difference of course is the extra heat-pipe making a combined total of 4 copper 8mm pipes.   This adds a little bit of extra weight but the S1284 is still a lot smaller than most coolers out there and is in fact the smallest tower cooler I have in my inventory.  The overall size of the cooler is a fairly typical 6 1/4″ in height, but the width is slightly slimmer than most coolers I have available at only 3 1/2″ wide.  This slightly slimmer design cuts back on the weight.   The combined weight of the cooler with the fan is only 660g and really that’s on the light side as coolers go.  Comparatively there are coolers out there that are easily pushing 800g’s and that’s without fans.

  The top part of the HDT S1284 is aluminum alloy.  Aluminum is very effective at dissipating heat for the small amount of weight it adds to a cooler.   The interesting thing about the design of these aluminum fins of course is the way a fan is mounted to the cooler.  There is a channel on both sides of the cooler that allows four rubber T shaped pieces to slide into.  These design not only makes installation of a fan quick and easy but these rubber pieces also provide sound dampening and reduce vibration.    The only downside I see at this point when looking at the cooler is that it appears you don’t have the option to add a second fan to the backside of the S1284.   

  Moving onto the bottom area of the cooler we see the Heat-Pipe Direct Touch technology.   Instead of a copper or aluminum block that has the heat pipes attached to it Xigmatek instead flattens and finished their heat pipes so the make direct contact to the CPU core.   In theory this direct touch will increase better thermal transfer and cooler temperatures of the CPU.

  The S1284 Xigmatek uses 4 – 8mm copper pipes for the heat transfer.   As you can see these have been flattened and machine finished.   If you click the picture you can get a larger closer look at the finish on the base.   It’s not a mirror finish but is more than adequate for what it’s designed for.    Tazz always gives me a hard time because I like a nice smooth mirror finish on coolers out of the box. This isn’t really necessary at all for the cooler to give you good performance results. Usually this will at best net you a few degrees cooler in temperatures.   I still like to see it though but it’s rarely seen these days.  Indeed if you want this for yourself lapping the base is always an option.