OCZ P4 Eliminator "Passive" and "Active" Cooler

Manufacturer: OCZ Technology
Supplied by: OCZ Technology
Price: TBA

by Dean Barker (1/6/2003)

Introduction

When I first heard about the notion of "Passive Cooling" I thought that was nothing new, I had killed a chip and almost killed another when the fan on my heatsink decided to go "passive".  At that time I termed it, Damn failed fan burned up my chip!!!  The other time I had a fan freak'n fail cooler suddenly go passive, it was with a fat Swiftech MC-462.  That cooler was one hunk of copper which is why that chip didn't fry under the failed fan.  The extra size of the cooler displaced enough heat that I wasn't ordering new CPUs that day.  In my looking at the OCZ Eliminator, they went in this same logical direction with their attempt to put out an intentionally passive cooler.  Take big block of copper with a truck load of surface area and blam-o, there you have it.

Specifications

• Application: up to Pentium 4 2Ghz +

• Overall Dimensions: 89.5 x 63.5 x 25mm

• Material: All copper

• Weight: 503gms

Two rows of thirty-nine copper fins each measuring 35x20mm provide an excellent foundation for some serious surface area.  With the Eliminator being mainly a passive sink, it'll need it! 

A thin channel leads between the two sides.  This helps with airflow.  If the fins ran completely across the width of the sink, some of the heat would be slow to dissipate off the center.  This observation cuts right to the core of one of my big concerns about a passive copper sink.  Copper holds more thermal energy (heat) than aluminum but dissipates it via convection, slower.  Think about a water pitcher that you are slowly pouring water out of while at the same time pouring water into.  If water comes in faster than it goes out, you have a problem.  Apply this thought to heat and you know what I'm thinking.

The base of this product is the cleanest looking base I can remember ever seeing.  A picture here is worth only one word..  WOW!

The clipping mechanism is part of a cooler mount that replaces the standard Intel design.  Changing the factory mount is really no big deal anymore as many other sinks have you remove the mainboard for some form of alternative mounting.  Swiftech comes to mind with this immediately.

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