Xigmatek Gaia II CPU Cooler Review
Dave Alcock / 10 years ago
A Closer Look
The cooler looks rather sleek with a width of around 185mm with the fan is attached. Its relatively simple in design but still looks like it means business. The splash of colour from the fan is nice, but I can imagine some people will be put off with the bright orange. It’s not a colour many people use in builds so it could possibly alienate some of their target audience.
Even though the fan might not be to everyones taste, it does look good. It’s quite simple in design but it looks as though it will do the job its intended for. I personally like the black and orange colour scheme, but as mentioned, I think some people might be put off by it, fans can always be replaced to match a colour scheme though. The Xigmatek logo is proudly featured in the center of the fan. The cable is sleeved which is always nice, it’s not the best quality of sleeving jobs as the heat shrink feels somewhat loose but it’s far better than being unsleeved.
The top of the cooler features the “X” Xigmatek logo alongside the 3 heat pipes that curve around to form the H.D.T technology that it boasts. You can also see the slots where the fan mounts hold.
The contact plate is where you can really see the H.D.T technology. The 3 U-shaped heat pipes have been ground down so that they actually make contact the CPU. This means that they can disperse the heat faster and make your CPU cooler.
There is something really aesthetically pleasing about the side of this cooler. The way the fins have the tips bent at 90 degrees make a lovely effect and gives an impression of quality. These fins will stop any air escaping from the sides of the cooler ensuring all the air flow will go straight through. This should increase the performance of the cooler as it ensures that there is no air wasted.
Without the fan attatched you can see that the heatsink is very sleek, thin and simplistic. There are no over-enthusiastic designs. The “X” logo can be seen just above the CPU contact plate which suggests that every fin on the cooler is the same.
