The last CPU cooler I looked at from Spire was the VertiCool II. Today I am taking a look at the DiamondCool II to see if it can live up to the quality and performance of the Spire name. The DiamondCool II features four meticulously crafted copper heat pipes that run from the 8.5mm thick base through an attractive array of 0.40mm fins providing the optimal performance PC cooling solution. As you expect from Spire, the entire heatsink is made of 100% pure quality copper to produce the highest quality of product possible. Read on to learn more...

We have here a CPU Cooler that cools almost as well as a liquid cooling system and is virtually silent, yes there are others that cool better but at the sacrifice of listening to the whine of a loud fan. I don't know about you but I prefer a very quiet computer, as quiet as possible actually. If you are not overclocking and you are looking for an excellent performing CPU cooler that is almost silent then you might want to consider the Alpine64 and get rid of that loud stock cooler. I was actually thinking of using the Alpine64 in my HTPC system as that is really something that needs to be as quiet as possible, it would be perfect for that.

To test out the cooler, I ran an instance of SuperPi and Prime95 (Small FFT) at the same time, for 30 minutes. I ran the tests with and without the duct, at both 2.0GHz and 2.7GHz. Prior to installing the HR-01-K8, I ran the same tests using the Corsair Nautilus 500 water cooling system. There's no doubt that this water cooling will be significantly better than the HR, but the goal is to simply show differences. The room temperature during all of the testing hovered between 80°F - 81°F. In between each test, the computer was turned off until the heatsink was cool, so as to start fresh each time.

To test the XP-90C?s performance, we used Artic Silver 5 and allowed the paste to thoroughly set up before testing. The stock AMD heatsink was tested using the factory-applied thermal paste. Idle temp was determined with computer sitting at the desktop (with MBM 5 running) and recording the lowest temp after 30 minutes. Load temp was determined with Prime95 running, using MBM 5 and recording the highest temp after 30 minutes. Temperatures are recorded in Celsius degrees, and room temperature was monitored using a standard mercury thermometer and recorded at 26C (± 1°C).

Superior performance: AMD and Intel Dual-Core CPU Support
Quiet: 18dBA for normal operation
Universal application: K8, 775, 478 platform
Aesthetics: fancy look with LED light
Reliable: VRM thermal protection
Easy assembly: innovative smart retention module design