Auras CTC-868- Provided by: Auras
- Platform support: Intel S775, AMD S939/AM2
- Type of heatsink: Tower
- Installation Type: Push-Pins (Intel), Clip (AMD)
- Materials: Aluminum, Copper, Heat pipes
- Fan Support: 2x 92mm with custom frame(included, 4-pin PWM)
- Extra’s: Case Badge, LED fans
- Average Selling Price: ~$55
Auras is a new name on the 3rd party cooling market, but they are not new to the cooling business, in their
company profile they mention their cooperation with OEM manufacturers like Dell, Acer and many others, providing them with thermal cooling solutions. Their venture into the retail market is quite aggressive, as they are launching numerous products at once, aimed at different price targets. Our first sample is the most expensive at $55, the quite uniquely designed CTC-868. The naming convention is less encouraging (a mistake made by many companies going from OEM to retail market) as remembering a product code is not that convenient.
Starting with the retail packaging, Auras has put some though it in, the white cardboard box has plenty of useful information printed on the sides, including specifications, platform compatibility, as well as thermal scans and performance comparison between the Intel reference cooler and the CTC-868
On the side of the box this photo, less red = cooler running:
These are the specifications given by Auras:
Heat Sink Dimension: L113 x W105.4 x H135.2 mm
Heat Sink Material: Stamped Micro-Fin / Heat pipes / Copper base plate
Bearing Type: 2 ball bearing
Fan Dimension: 92 X 92 X 25 mm
Fan Speed: 800~2400 rpm
Fan Airflow: 47 CFM
Rated Voltage: 12 V
Noise Level: 23 dBA
Connector: 4 pin (PWM) / 3 pin
LED: 4 + 2 sets (blue light)
Weight: 568.5 g (with fans)
Inside the box you’ll find an installation manual, some extra info regarding the heatsink’s special ability, a large case badge, a tube of thermal paste and mounting gear for AMD/Intel:
In the photo above you can already see what extra feature Auras added to this heatsink which resembles the Zalman CNPS9500 quite a bit; you can flip one the sides in a V form. Closed it looks like this:
You open the sides by pinching these clips together and pulling the sides apart:
You can set the inclination separately for each side, and you have 2 steps:
There are a total of 4 heat pipes joined in the copper base, one heat pipe runs the length of the fans on each side, the remaining two are connected to a heatsink in the middle which does not move:
Installation is easy on both platforms as we’re using push pins on Intel, and clips on AMD. The mounting bracket is screwed onto the bottom of the base, a very small Philips screwdriver is required for this. In the photo below you can see the excellent finishing on the base, Auras did an outstanding job here, a perfectly flat surface with no deformations in the reflection:
After securing the heatsinks onto the motherboard (did this not require motherboard removal, just push down on the plastic push-pins) the heatsink takes up quite a bit of space height wise, but enough room to clear larger Northbridge coolers and exotic memory modules.
It’s only when opening her up that you can run into problems, as the area occupied by the CTC-868 increases a lot. In the photo below you can see that the left side can not be opened all the way, without touching the rear exhaust fan.
Both fans are powered from the same 4-pin connector and each fan blows air towards the center of the heatsink, this might not be the best setup, as most system are configured to have airflow going from front to the back of the case.
Auras added a bit of *bling* to their product as each fan is fitted with BLUE leds, if you have a case panel, you can expect a pretty light show:
A new sheriff in town from Coolink (former Noiseblocker), it is VERY interesting that it seems to be geared towards silent computing (hence performing best there while not outperforming with a high speed fan. I can't seem to get it here tough