Spire CF450B0 CoolGate:
Supplied by: Spire

Spire has been adding heat-pipe equipped products to their line-up lately, this one is their latest for the P4 S478 platform, a light weight unit with a rather small fan included.

Specifications :

This heatsink can be installed on:



* Aluminum heatsink with 2 copper heat pipes running through it
* 70mm fan support (fan included does 3700RPM @ 29.7dBA)

Full specifications at product's webpage (the specs sheet show a “copper base” tag, but this does not seem to be true).

In the Box

The heatsink comes almost pre-assembled; you need to attach the included mounting clips to each side. You also get a tube of thermal paste and a very small and cryptic manual which refers you the main website for a more detailed instructions guide.




Construction :

If you look at the 2nd picture from the left you can clearly see how this heatsink is constructed; 2 aluminum blocks with fins are pasted on top of each other, with 2 copper heat pipes running the base and top. A small 70mm fan is attached on the side of the unit; only a low profile fan will fit here, limiting your “fan” options. The base is very smooth and I had a hard time detecting any traces of machine lapping.



Installation :

One of the easiest methods of installation I’ve used, pushing the metal clips over retention bracket snaps the unit in its place and you’re done. I encountered no problems and the units is very compact allowing it be installed on practically any motherboard out there.



Performance and Noise :

I’m again including the SP-94 and XP-90 from Thermalright as they also use heat pipes to help remove the heat quickly, both are equipped with an 80mm delta fan, versus Spire’s smaller 70mm one:



Well, the Coolgate is the “little engine that could”, with the fans set “High” the unit only trails the competition by 1-5°C at a lower noise level! At “Low” fan speed we see the Coolgate in the lead by 3-4°C, pretty impressive overall. At a low price of $20-25 it won’t burn a whole in your pocket, and you get a high performance, yet silent (if a fan controller is used) HSF solution. Recommended!

Do note that the XP-90/SP-94 have the advantage of being able to support 92mm fans, when these are used the scale tips in their favor, but when smaller fans are used the Coolgate does a tremendous job.