A properly cooled CPU is one of the most important requirements for a stable system and when it comes to overclocking, reducing heat is a requirement to see a very good overclock for the most part. That said, both Intel's and AMD's latest do overclock well on stock heatsinks but it isn't something you'd want to run in the long term. There's a lot of cooling solutions that work but those also come at a cost. Today we'll be looking at one in the middle, Thermaltake's ISGC-100.

At first glance the ISGC-100 bears a little resemblance AMD's higher-end stock heatsinks, however, unlike AMD's this one has three heatpipes as opposed to AMD's two and again that's only on their high-end CPU. The base is also quite wide it was a little tricky in one position to get the heatsink to fill the motherboard properly.

Other features Thermaltake lists is the ISGC fan technology, this features a slim 92mm fan designed for less air turbulence and friction as well as silent operation. Even with our case off we could barely hear it at all. This is improved by their hydro dynamic bearing tech on the fan with improved stability and noise production and durability. Another feature Thermaltake touts is their sawtooth fin design to enhance air ventilation in the cooler.

For installation on the AMD2 socket it requires no extra tools you simply slide in the latch and hook it down to the motherboard. This installs quite easily but we had some difficulty taking it off as there's no good place to apply pressure with a flathead to remove the clip. We think that going with a detachable clip which perhaps screws in or just adding a more secure area to remove the heatsink with a screwdriver would bet the best.

Here are the technical specs from Thermaltake.

Model CLP0537
Compatibility Intel Socket LGA1156
Core i7
Core i5
Core i3

Intel Socket LGA 775
Core 2 Quad
Core 2 Duo
Pentium D
Pentium 4
Pentium
Celeron D
Celeron

AMD Socket AM3 /AM2 / AM2+
Phenom II x4
Phenom II x3
Phenom
Athlon 64 FX
Athlon 64 X2
Athlon 64
Sempron
Dimension 124(L) x 96(W) x 70(H) mm
Heatsink Material Aluminum Fins
Al Extrusion Cover + Cu Base
Heatpipe Ø 6 mm x 3PCS
Fan Dimension Ø 92 x 25 mm
Rated Voltage 12 V
Rated Current 0.08 A
Started Voltage 7 V
Fan Speed 600 ~ 1600 RPM (PWM)
Max. Air Flow 37 CFM
Max. Air Pressure 1.22 mmH2O
Noise 17 dBA
Life Expectation 50,000 hrs
Connector 4 Pin
Weight 335g