Rosewill RCX-Z4 Heatpipe Heatsink

Heatsink Test – Joe

SUMMARY: Mid-level performance at acceptable noise – a good package

The good guys at Rosewill were nice enough to send a sample of their RCX-Z4 Heatpipe Heatsink to test out.

Key Features

• Three 8mm copper heat pipes, copper base
• Fan: 120 x 25 mm; Speed 1,000 – 2,000 RPM; Two ball bearing, 15 – 29.8 dBA, 32.2 – 67.5 cfm
• Manual fan speed control
• Fits: Intel Core 2 Extreme (Socket LGA 775), Core 2 Quad (Socket LGA 775), Pentium Extreme (Socket LGA 775), Pentium D (Socket LGA 775), Pentium 4 (Socket LGA 775), Celeron D (Socket LGA 775)
• Fits: Athlon 64 FX (Socket 939, 940, AM2), Athlon 64 X2 (Socket 939, AM2), Athlon 64 (Socket 754, 939, AM2), Sempron (Socket 754, 939, AM2)
• Assembly Manual

This is a fairly compact design compared to some of the larger tower-type heatsinks. Also not that part of the 120mm fan does not cover the cooling fins.

The base is adequately finished, although polishing marks are evident to the eye and feel:

There is a manual fan speed controller, useful for moderating fan noise:

Parts that ship with the heatsink allow for multiple mounting options – some assembly is required:

In looking over this heatsink, I expected it to rank at the lower end of heatsinks tested to date due to the relatively small fin surface area.

The Rosewill’s RCX-Z4 was tested on an Asus P5WD2 motherboard P4 Motherboard Test Platform with a modified Pentium D 805 to read CPU case temps (both supplied by Directron).

¹MBM on-die temperatures.
²50 dBA measured 8″ from the fan intake corresponds to about 30 dBA measured 3 feet from the fan, a very quiet noise level.

Results place Rosewill’s RCX-Z4 in the mid-rank of heatsinks tested to date (Heatsink Ranking).

Contrary to my expectations, the Rosewill RCX-Z4 proved a decent performer for its size – some of the heatsinks in its ranking are much larger and heavier, a testament to its design. While not suited for very aggressive cooling, this heatsink is a good choice for mid-level cooling.

Disclosure: Joe Citarella has a financial interest in a company developing products for electronic chip cooling.

Email Joe