Nexus XiR-3500 Copper Edition CPU Cooler
Packaging
The packaging for the Nexus XiR-3500 is very bold to say the least. A very shiny golden box with a decent cut out section showing off the heatsink inside, it just screams look at me! Compared to a lot of packing you will see on the shelf in your local PC Stores this is certainly a welcome break from the norm.
The front of the box’s main feature is the fore mentioned cut out, allowing the user to see the heatsink clearly inside the box; it also features a Core i7 compatibility label. On the back of the packaging we have a brief blurb about the product in 7 different languages; it also lists what sockets the cooler is compatible with.
To the sides of the packaging we have a person with a finger to their lips in a “shhhhshhh” type manor, hinting at the silence which could soon be yours. On the other side features all the specifications which we covered earlier.
The heatsink is well protected during shipping in a blister pack and for additional protection the base of the heatsink has a protective label and another plastic cover over this.
The accessories are contained in a smart matching box which sits below the heatsink; this contains all the fitting brackets as well as a base plate for Intel 775 CPU based motherboards. It is also worth mentioning that you also receive a small syringe of Nexus TIM and a nifty spreader/applicator which is very handy for whatever TIM you decide to use.
Appearance
Taking a look at the cooler itself, you can see it’s a good looking bit of kit. The fan, which is recessed within the heatsink itself and is of the 92mm flavour, it’s worth noting you cannot swap it out. It features a temperature sensor which keeps the fan running between 1500 – 2500 rpm, depending on how hot things are getting.
For an additional bit of flare, the fan features two orange LED’s, which are not going to be to everyone’s taste and unfortunately you cannot turn them off.
The Nexus XiR-3500 features 4 x 6mm copper heatpipes which are sandwiched between the copper base and the aluminum Skivetek heatsink. The heatpipes have allowed the guys at Nexus to raise the main body of the cooler away from the cpu socket allowing them to create an impressive array of ultra thin fins which extend above the fan. Theres plenty of surface area here for heat transfer, this coupled up with the aluminum heatsink below should yield some impressive results.
The base of the heatsink itself, I have to say I was not that impressed with, even with the efforts that Nexus went to; to protect it, the finish wasn’t that great. (I’m not sure if this was just my review sample as looking around the web others have not had the same blemishes, so this may be a one off). Judge for yourself, it’s not really bad, but I believe it could be better.
