X-dream, best cooler for the money? I think so.

For $15 the x-dream is very good, my load never goes above 40C, and that is when the ambient temp is about 27C.
Thanks to everyone for suggesting this HSF, it is good.
10C or more cooler than my last setup.

And it looks good too!

Those of us with a local Fry's can get it for $9.99. Also, it sometimes involves getting lucky and buying one that has a flat base. I've bought a couple that had some ugly scratches. I've lapped one more recent one I bought and I think I did a good job with it.

Can't beat a cheap HSF with a rheostat.

Gotta hand it to coolermaster.

One of them finally thought, "Hey, if we took a cheap generic heatsink, added a little copper, and made it wide enough to use a bigger fan, it would outperform even the top-of-the-line 60mm heatsinks, and with less noise!"

It's largely a simple, brainless idea. But it works great.

The sad thing is, it took them how many years to come up with this?
And the saddest thing? Most of the other heatsink makers, who pay mondo $$$ to their engineers, didn't come up with it first.

Of course, Thermaltake is lapping the competition. But frankly, I think Thermaltake's products are targeted at people who are trying to push things to their limit. This thing is targeted towards those who overclock to get the most for their money.

The X-dream is a nifty HSF. Its great for the price if you don't mind the noise. I bought one a few months ago, and made a few minor mods to improve the performance. Removing the fan guard (which is pretty much useless anyway) increases the airflow a little. Most of the X-dreams have had pretty bad bases with machine marks visible on them. A quick lapping job with 600 grit sandpaper improves the transfer of heat from the CPU to the HSF. Also, I recommend getting some decent thermal paste like Arctic Ceramique or borrowing some off of a friend. The paste that comes with it is a little iffy.

I get my temps with that "iffy" paste, lol. Yeah it would be 1-3C better with some ASC, but I didnt feel like spending more money than I really needed, I will get better paste later on. Also my load temp is 35C when we have the A/C on, 40C when it is off.

Caffinehog said:

Gotta hand it to coolermaster.

One of them finally thought, "Hey, if we took a cheap generic heatsink, added a little copper, and made it wide enough to use a bigger fan, it would outperform even the top-of-the-line 60mm heatsinks, and with less noise!"

It's largely a simple, brainless idea. But it works great.

The sad thing is, it took them how many years to come up with this?
And the saddest thing? Most of the other heatsink makers, who pay mondo $$$ to their engineers, didn't come up with it first.

Of course, Thermaltake is lapping the competition. But frankly, I think Thermaltake's products are targeted at people who are trying to push things to their limit. This thing is targeted towards those who overclock to get the most for their money.

Click to expand...

You are exactly right on it being a cheapo HS with copper in it, it is the same as my previous coolermaster DP5-6I31C except for copper and the fan. Exact same size and height.(Glad it wasnt bigger or it wouldnt of fit.)