Installation

As mentioned, no instructions were included but installation was fairly basic. The opposite side of the clip (the one that you slip on before applying pressure on the other side of the clip to get it into position) has a rubber block above it to keep it in position. The clip is not a one-piece design as both clips are hinged onto the spring, providing for some play/movement and allowing for easier installation. Once the one side of the clip was in place, a small flathead screwdriver had to be used to put the other side into place. Like all good clips, there was a bit of a recess in it to make sure the screwdriver head did not slip out of place during installation, potentially damaging your motherboard or other device. The amount of force necessary to get the clip into position was about average, as far as my experience with heatsinks goes, but the hinge made it a bit easier to get into position. Overall, installation was a bit easier than what I'd expected.

Rubber block keeps clip in position.

Clips are hinged onto the spring.

AS-II was used for all heatsinks.

With its relatively small footprint, there were no fitting problems with the X-Factor even in the somewhat tight spacing around the socket of my Asus A7V133 motherboard. Score two points for the X-Factor during installation: You'll come away knowing that this heatsink is securely mounted and feeling less-stressed because you didn't have to struggle to get it to fit properly.

Plenty of room for the HSF.

Looks alright!

Testing

The CPU that was used was an AMD T-Bird 1.2GHz@1.33GHz with a voltage of 1.80. All the heatsinks were installed with a thin layer of Arctic Silver II thermal paste over the CPU core. Temperature readings were taken from the Asus onboard thermister using MBM, and the CPU was put at 100% utilization with the distributed.net client crunching RC5-72 for 1 hour. The ambient temperature was within one degree of 22C during testing. Here are the results I obtained:

The X-Factor wasn't able to beat the AX-7 or the PAL8045, but those heatsinks were much larger and also more costly than the X-Factor. For its price, and looks, I don't think it can be beat!

Conclusion

I was somewhat sceptical about the X-Factor at first, as its small size compared with coolers I've reviewed as of late made me doubtful about its performance. Adding to that, its flashy appearance looked like a cover for middling performance. However, the excellent six-point hinged clip design, easy installation, and good performance, won me over. At a normal price of $44.95 CDN, it is not too expensive, and provides a level of cooling that will be more than enough for many people. However, if you want more from an air-cooled solution, you'll have to look elsewhere and probably spend more.

Pros

• Fairly easy installation thanks to hinged clips
• Clip securely attaches heatsink to the socket
• Good performance
• Nice looks, for those of you with a window
• Decent price
• Fan is not too loud
• Size allows fitting on a variety of motherboards

Cons

• Could be mounted with a more powerful fan for better performance

Lastly, I want to give a big thanks to Lux Design for supplying this heatsink for review. They have a whole line of Aerocool heatsinks available, including the X-Factor with a more powerful fan, all at good prices. Visit them if you're interested!

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