Verdict: Ideal for cooling CPUs in compact chassis

Akasa manufactures a huge range of HSFs and one of its latest designs is the AK-961. This HSF is so new that Akasa hadn't even started printing the boxes when our review sample arrived.

Unlike many HSFs in this Labs test, the AK-961 is a fairly conventional design with a large heatsink sitting directly on top of the CPU, which is cooled by an 80mm fan.

However, in a nod to modernity, the aluminium heatsink is impregnated by three large-bore copper heatpipes. The variable-speed fan is controlled by the motherboard's PWM circuitry and runs between 1,000rpm (20dBA) and 3,400rpm (38dBA). The fan is lit by several blue LEDs, giving the AK-961 its nickname 'Cool Blue'.

Attached to our overclocked and overvolted Pentium 4, the AK-961 cooled the CPU to 10ûC below the reference Intel HSF. Even better, after leaving the test PC folding overnight, the fan didn't spin above 2,900rpm, so it's relatively quiet too.

Although the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is a more powerful and quieter HSF, the AK-961 is much more compact, which makes it a better choice if space is tight, as in a micro-ATX chassis.

• Cases - 21st November 2008
• Motherboards - 24th October 2008
• Gaming Headsets - 26th September 2008
• Dream PCs - 24th September 2008
• Headphones - 12th September 2008
• Media PC components - 22nd August 2008
• PSUs - 14th July 2008

• Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - Hard disks / storage
• Asus EAH4870 TOP - Graphics cards
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Sound cards
• Multiwinia - Games
• Zotac GeForce GTX 260² - Graphics cards
• Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 - Graphics cards
• Scan 3XS X58 Core i7 - Desktop PCs