Kingwin HTC XT-1264 i7 Ready CPU Cooler Review

A Closer Look

At first glance the XT-1264 doesn’t look significantly different from other typical 120mm tower styled coolers. The radiator consists of stamped aluminum fins and is roughly the size of the typical 120mm PWM fan attached to it. The cooler is about the same height as the typical 120mm tower. The only real difference in the radiator itself is that the fins intended to direct airflow to the NB cooler are permanently attached, rather than some I’ve had that were inserted for that purpose.



Kingwin HTC XT-1264 i7 Ready CPU Cooler Kingwin HTC XT-1264 i7 Ready CPU Cooler

But look more closely and you’ll see that this isn’t your typical tower. The original Kingwin direct touch tower had three 8mm heatpipes. This one has a quad of 6mm pipes. But the real difference is the secondary radiator.

The base has pinfins that have their own radiator. This provides additional cooling rather than all cooling being provided by the heatpipes. You wouldn’t think that this would make a lot of difference, but recently I reviewed the CoolJag Falcon II, which has a scrived fin array on the base upper which gave it some really incredible cooling capability.


Kingwin HTC XT-1264 i7 Ready CPU Cooler Kingwin HTC XT-1264 i7 Ready CPU Cooler

The four heatpipes provide a large surface area touching the CPU heatspreader. The base has not been lapped at all, I assume that it was given a perfunctory wire brushing after the machining that made the heatpipes level, but that’s all. The earlier Kingwin direct touch coolers had the same rough finish.

As all other direct touch coolers I’ve seen, there are tiny gaps between the pipes and the base. This prevents proper spreading of thermal compound if it is applied by the manufacturer’s instructions. More on that later.

Rather than just plain, the top fin has “XT-1264” stamped on the top. I’ll take decorated over plain anytime.


Kingwin HTC XT-1264 i7 Ready CPU Cooler Kingwin HTC XT-1264 i7 Ready CPU Cooler

Included with the XT-1264 is hardware for installation for AMD, Intel LGA 775 and LGA 1366. Also, some thermal grease and a neat little spreader is included.


Kingwin HTC XT-1264 i7 Ready CPU Cooler

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