re: PC Discussion - Gaming, Performance and Enthusiasts

Interesting test done at Sidewinder Computers, my favorite store for watercooling gear.

LINK

It's no big shock or secret that the pushpin mount, which intel started using with LGA775 and beyond, is part of the reason why Intel stock coolers have shitty performance. Doesn't provide near the amount of solid contact/pressure you get from aftermarket coolers, which tend to use backplates, screws, and springs for maximum tension and even pressure.

Sidewinder is selling a $5.99 kit that provides a backplate for LGA 1155/1156/1150 and screws to replace the pushpins on the stock Intel cooler.

In the test (linked above), they used a cheap thermal pad as TIM, and saw a 9-10C temp reduction under Prime95 load when using that backplate/screw kit.

I've seen such a thing done before on LGA 775 but it's become much more relevant now because of the poorer thermal performance in IB/Haswell due to the non-soldered IHS.

Mostly, this article demonstrates to the newbies here why we adamantly push aftermarket cooling on new builds. The backplate/screw kit changes the stock cooler from "unacceptable" to "acceptable," but the backplate kit is a bit over $8 with first class shipping, plus you'd probably need to buy TIM or that thermal pad, because the stock TIM also contributes to the poor performance. You might spend $10-15 to convert your stock cooler to something decent, so you might as well cough up an extra $10-15 on something even better.

However, this might be an excellent inexpensive solution for anyone building a mATX or ITX Intel system.