14 DAY TRIAL // Entry-level coolers may be designed for low-cost computers which are unlikely to use CPUs with TDPs greater than 65W. But they still need an edge over common cooling modules, otherwise everyone would just use the stock coolers shipped with the CPUs themselves.
This is the fine line that cooling module makers always have to walk. They need to create products that are clearly better than the ones shipped with the processors, but without driving the price too high.
Especially on the low-end front, where low costs are the name of the game. No point in the cooler costing more than the CPU after all.
TYR-SD962 is Xigmatek's latest step forward on that fine line, an entry-level cooler compatible with both Intel and AMD CPUs/APUs.
The Xigmatek TYR-SD962
We would not have been surprised if this product had had the heatsink, or fin array, also filling the role of the base plate, the part that comes into contact with the central processing unit itself (or accelerated processing unit, as the case may be).
Instead, the new cooler not only has the base plate separate from the main fin-stack but one could even make a case for there not being a base plate at all.
Indeed, the cooler has two 6mm copper heatpipes of the direct-contact variety, which come into contact with the CPU cover itself, pulling heat out and into the heatsink. The aluminum base, meanwhile, plays the role of secondary heatsink.
Both of these are design elements normally found only on upper mainstream or high-end cooling products, not entry-level ones.
On the flip side, the tower heatsink has a pretty conventional design, and the little base heatsink can't dissipate much heat on its own.
Nevertheless, between all these assets and the 92mm fan (rotary speed of 1,200 and 2,800 RPM, noise output of up to 28 dBA), the Xigmatek TYR-SD962 will be able to handle thermal loads of up to 100W (95W or below for AMD AM3+ chips).
Compatibility and availability
The Xigmatek TYR-SD962, with its fluid dynamic bearing 92mm fan (28 dBA max noise output) can be installed over Intel LGA 1150 CPUs and AMD Fm2+ and AMD3 processors.
Altogether it weighs 310 grams / 0.68 pounds and measures 65 x 85 x 121 mm / 2.55 x 3.34 x 4.76 inches.
