Manufacturer: Kanie
Revision: n/a
Reviewed By: Erik Frechette

The Hedgehog-238M Socket370 Heatsink/Delta 50mm HO Fan Combo

CPU coolers. In the Overclocking world, these are the hottest cooling products outside of devices called Peltiers and water cooling rigs. If you want to overclock, a high-powered heatsink and fan combo(aka cooler) should be your first consideration. Since this is not an Overclocking-centric site, I'll keep this review as straightforward as possible. If you are not at all familiar with heatsink and fan cooling equipment, henceforth referred to as HSF, check out Overclockers.com or the[H]ard|OCP. These sites carry very detailed rundowns on various HSF setups and serve as excellent introductory portals to the world of overclocking. While I am pumping out links, this particular Hedgehog/Delta combo came from the kind people at Plycon Computers. If you are looking for quality service and fair prices, they come highly recommended. Note: I paid for my Hedgehog and only recommend Plycon.com because of its people and products...I am not being compensated for the plug!

The first part of this review will detail my impressions of the Hedgehog and experiences installing it. A graph will detail my findings while comparing the Hedgehog-238M/Delta HO, GlobalWIN's FOP-32 and factory Intel HSF assembly. Asus' onboard temp diode and Motherboard Monitor 5.0 monitoring software were used to record temperature measurements. SETI@Home software was used to stress the CPU for a minimum of 20 minutes or until the CPU started to reach temps that were relatively ridiculous. ShutDown NOW! was used to safeguard the CPU from any truly outrageous heat exposure. I used high-grade silicone thermal compound in hopes of sustaining maximal heat transfer from processor lug to heatsink base.

Details about the Hedgehog-238M w/Delta HO 50mm Fan:

All copper construction
Vertical fins are inserted into base, i.e. separate pieces
~1lb. in weight
HO Fan spins at approximately 7000RPM
Fan moves 38CFM(cubic feet/minute) of air
Fins rotate to the tune of 42dB

First Impressions:

It is HEAVY! This is the heaviest heatsink and fan I have ever dealt with. Granted, my experience with equipment such as this is pretty limited, but this is one of the heavier heatsinks on the market by most accounts. Nicely machined, the base was still a bit rough and needed some sanding with 400 grit emery paper to smooth the grooves. I finished the base with 600 grit and a few passes with Mother's lightweight chrome polish to get a nice, polished look. The fan is deep, it is entirely black and the two put together look pretty menacing. ::) Space was not a problem on the CUSL2 and I do not believe the Hedgehog's effiicient footprint would be much of an issue on anything but the most cramped motherboards. A copper spacer was used with all heatsinks tested in order to guarantee a level seating atop the processor socket.

Copper is renowned for its heat dissipating properties and the Delta HO fan is a super performer which has become infamous for its noise level. These two pieces are heralded as supreme cooling components and are designed for enthusiastic overclockers, so half-hearted racers need not apply. :;)

The install itself went VERY well for me, not something you will often hear when people are discussing this cooler. In fact, I would rate the install easier than that of the GlobalWIN and Intel factory unit.

My System Specs:

Pentium!!! 800EB clocked to 966MHz
256MB Micron PC-133 SDRAM
30GB IBM Deskstar, 7200RPM UDMA100 HDD
Shuttle 10X DVD-ROM drive
Yamaha 8424EZ CDR/CDRW drive
Hercules 3D ProphetII GTS 64MB AGP4x
SB Live! Value Soundcard
3COM PCI 10/100 Network Card

The Test:
Finally, I have actually used a GRAPH for something! The graph below displays temp readings achieved with each Heatsink/Fan combo under idle and full load conditions. For the unitiated, 'full load' refers to a sustained 100% CPU load. Fully loading a processor is the only way to achieve its maximum temp ranges.

Room Temp. was 27 Celcius +/- 0.5C throughout the tests

The Verdict:

As you can see from the enlarged graph, the Hedgehog does not cool the chip any better than GlobalWIN's FOP-32 at idle temps, even though the GlobalWIN is constructed of aluminum and is equipped with a fan that only moves about 22CFM of air. Intel's HSF is obviously WAY behind and looks ripe for a stomping. When things went full load, the picture changed quite a bit between the two aftermarket pieces. The Hedgehog limited the heat range to only 7C. GlobalWIN's piece allowed CPU temps to rise all the way to 56C, which is far too hot for my tastes. Intel's meager offering allowed temps to rise beyond my allowable temp range and ShutDown NOW! took my computer down before things could get more frightening. What's all this mean? The Hedgehog/Delta combo is the optimum solution for an overclocker looking to keep his processor happily chugging along at speeds beyond Intel's spec. If you can deal with the noise, and believe me there is noise , you will fall in love with this spiny beast. This cooler will cost you, but it is worth every penny if you are an overclocker beating up your Pentium!!! processor.