SUMMARY: With all the copper heatsinks that are flooding the market today, sometimes it can be hard to find one that works well, but doesn't rape the wallet. So come on in and join Mike "Darthtanion" Wright as he takes a look at the OCZ Goliath. Its big, its copper, and its not too expensive... but can it keep a hot processor cool? Its time to find out!
The heatsink of the Goliath is a good sized copper unit that measures in at 60mm x 74mm x 40mm. It offers OCZ’s Ultra Thin-Fin design to help provide extra surface area for the cooling process. As a rule of thumb, the greater the surface area for the heat to spread to, then the better the overall cooling as the fan blows away the excess heat. The large amount of surface area allows the fan to be more efficient in keeping the processor cool.
The shroud that surrounds the sink is aluminum, and serves as a mounting device for the fan. It also provides a means to direct the airflow to where it’s needed the most; namely, right down onto the base of the sink.
The Base
The base of the sink is very nicely made. It has been lovingly honed to a near mirror finish and is smooth to the touch. So many of today’s HSFs have a rough finish on the base, so it was a very pleasant sight to see such a finely crafted base. Something of note here is the fact that there wasn’t any sort of a lacquer type finish on the base. I have seen more than one company use this type of material to give the illusion of a polished base, but it’s just a trick and doesn’t allow for the full heat-conductive properties of the copper to work.
The Fan
As noted earlier, the fan that cools this beast is a large one. It measures in at 80mm x 80mm x 38mm in size, and is one of the new 80-CFM Delta units. While the huge amount of airflow is great, there is one distinct disadvantage of it. It is LOUD! I have been a fan of the mighty Delta for some time, but this monster drowned out even the effective 38-CFM fans in sheer noise. How much noise? How about an ear shattering 52.5 dBA as it spins its blades at 5700 RPM. Loud fans normally don’t bother me, but this one makes me take notice. It would be a very good idea to see about a RheoBus for this thing to allow for some lower RPM rates, and less noise as well.
The fan is mounted by means of an airflow reducer. I don’t really care for these reducers as a rule, but the larger than normal amount of airflow pretty much eliminates the concerns of too little air getting to the base of the cooler. Though there is still some turbulence occurring within the reducer, there is still more than enough air that makes it to where it is needed the most.
The Clipping Mechanism
If you have ever had the misfortune of breaking a lug on your socket, then you will appreciate this type of clipping mechanism. It allows for the use of all three of the lugs on each side of the socket. It provides a way to attach the sink even if you suffer from a broken lug in the center.
With all good, they say there is a little bad… and this type of clip is no exception. While it is handy for those with a broken lug or two, it is also a bit more difficult to attach. Since there is no hinge on the clip, it will take an extra screwdriver to pull the base of the clip out when attaching. This wasn’t possible to do by means of the handle on top since the large 80mm fan got in the way.
But it didn’t take too much effort. I used a small flat-tip screwdriver to put steady pressure down onto the clip, and another one to pull the bottom lip out enough to be fitted over the lugs. It was even accomplished without having to remove the motherboard, so it shouldn’t prove to be too much of a burden to install.
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