Verdict: Evaporator 0, heatpipes 1

The 06-L-0015 is part of the huge range of VapoChill Micro HSFs.

At the core of the 06-L-0015 is a huge evaporator and three condenser tubes that conduct heat up and away from the CPU into a bank of aluminium fins, which in turn are cooled by a variable-speed 92mm fan. Asetek claims that its evaporator is more effective than a heatpipe because it's in direct contact with the CPU heatspreader, and has a much larger surface area. The recommended orientation of the 06-L-0015 has a downside though: the hot air is blown directly into the intake of the PSU above, which is a bad idea considering that PSUs struggle to get rid of their own heat as it is.

Unfortunately for Asetek, its evaporator can't effectively cool an overclocked and overvolted Athlon 64. At minimum fan speed, the CPU was 3ûC hotter than it was with the AMD reference HSF, although at full fan speed, it was 13ûC cooler. However, at this speed, the fan produces an irksome 39dBA.

Due to its PSU-unfriendly design and poor performance at low fan speeds, the 06-L-0015 is a poor choice for your Athlon 64.

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