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Heatsink Group Test - August 2007
Author: Simon BriersPublished: 2nd August 2007
Asus Arctic Square:
CPU Socket Support: AMD AM2 / 940 / 939 / 754, Intel LGA775Weight (with fan): 666g
Size: 106mm x 108mm x 135mm
Price (as reviewed): £38.78 (inc. VAT)
Asus has recently released a new tower cooler that follows a similar design to the Silent Square Pro we tested back in March. The Arctic Square sets itself apart from this previous effort with the addition of a highly polished chrome top and shroud, and blue LEDs in the centre of the tower.
Again, Asus has opted for a hybrid design, using a copper base with aluminium fins. The base is connected to the array of fins with four double-ended copper heatpipes. The lone fan is hidden in the middle of the array of fins; it’s 92mm in diameter and rated to spin at 2,300 RPM.
Click to enlarge
Installation:
We found the base on our Arctic Square sample to be quite rough, as it’s covered in parallel grooves / marks from the manufacturing process. There was also spots of glue (or something similar!) on the base that I had to scrape off before mounting.The fold-out instructions Asus provides are quite clear, with good illustrations to prevent any confusion. The mounting system is identical to that on the Silent Square Pro and Silent Knight. This time however, there was no confusion over which set of screws to use for Intel installs as only the correct length screws were included.
Click to enlarge
The mounting system consists of an upper frame screwed into the baseplate, with a clip to hold the heatsink onto the frame. I'm still not a fan of the clip retention system used by Asus – It feels slightly flimsy, and seems more awkward to fit on the Arctic Square than the previous Asus coolers we’ve looked at.
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