SilenX EFZ-120HA5 Heatsink Review
Author: Dennis Garcia
Published: Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Conclusion
Even though we try to concentrate on enthusiast level cooling solutions we are often called on to look at more mainstream heatsinks to see just how good they really are. In the case of the SilenX EFZ-120HA5 we are pleasantly surprised to see some good C/W numbers from a heatsink that would normally get overlooked by the community.
The SilenX EFZ-120HA5 comes with some design features that we have seen on previous heatsinks. For instance the wave pattern to the radiator fins is something we noticed on the ThermalLab Baram some years ago as a way to increase surface area on the leading edges. The heatpipe arraignment is reminiscent of the Cooler Master V6 where the pipes were staggered so to get maximum exposure to the oncoming air. Both features tended to increase performance in their own little ways.
However, the most unique feature is the regular surface texture present on each cooling fin. At closer inspection the texture appears to be a series micro dimples pressed into the metal. As we know from golf ball dynamics a dimple is used to create a boundary layer so that air will easily pass over the surface with less resistance. Less resistance means more airflow with less effort, kinda cleaver.
Mounting the heatsink was rather straight forward and consisted of a universal mounting plate and four spring screws when used on the LGA2011 platform. Older processors are supported and for these installations you'll need to use the supplied backplate and similar spring screw installation.
Overall we are quite pleased with the EFZ-120HA5, performance was good for an OEM replacement and the noise level was undetectable even when running under full load. The heatsink is not designed for overclocking but can handle everyday computing under normal and turbo mode performance settings. Our only complaint is the cooling fan and the lack of PWM controls, we are well into the PWM generation and it is just wrong to buy any heatsink that doesn't come with a proper 4pin PWM fan. On the positive, there is hardware to run dual fans and you aren't tied to using the fan the EFZ-120HA5 comes with.
The SilenX EFZ-120HA5 comes with some design features that we have seen on previous heatsinks. For instance the wave pattern to the radiator fins is something we noticed on the ThermalLab Baram some years ago as a way to increase surface area on the leading edges. The heatpipe arraignment is reminiscent of the Cooler Master V6 where the pipes were staggered so to get maximum exposure to the oncoming air. Both features tended to increase performance in their own little ways.
However, the most unique feature is the regular surface texture present on each cooling fin. At closer inspection the texture appears to be a series micro dimples pressed into the metal. As we know from golf ball dynamics a dimple is used to create a boundary layer so that air will easily pass over the surface with less resistance. Less resistance means more airflow with less effort, kinda cleaver.
Mounting the heatsink was rather straight forward and consisted of a universal mounting plate and four spring screws when used on the LGA2011 platform. Older processors are supported and for these installations you'll need to use the supplied backplate and similar spring screw installation.
Overall we are quite pleased with the EFZ-120HA5, performance was good for an OEM replacement and the noise level was undetectable even when running under full load. The heatsink is not designed for overclocking but can handle everyday computing under normal and turbo mode performance settings. Our only complaint is the cooling fan and the lack of PWM controls, we are well into the PWM generation and it is just wrong to buy any heatsink that doesn't come with a proper 4pin PWM fan. On the positive, there is hardware to run dual fans and you aren't tied to using the fan the EFZ-120HA5 comes with.
Good Things
Core Contact Design
Staggered Heatpipe Design
Radiator Texture
Wave Pattern on Radiator Fins
Simple to Install
Staggered Heatpipe Design
Radiator Texture
Wave Pattern on Radiator Fins
Simple to Install
Bad Things
Three heatpipe design performance limiting
Rubber mounts space fan away from heatsink
3pin fan header - really?
Rubber mounts space fan away from heatsink
3pin fan header - really?
