I like to build computers as a hobby and have been doing it for some years
now. I have some family and I have generally handed down my year old
computers to them so that I would have a reason to build me a new one.

When I am done building one I look at the hardware monitor stuff in the BIOS
and like the CPU temp to be below 120 F. Not that I think that it matters
all that much but 120 is just an arbitrary value I picked.

So when Intel came out with this i7 CPU I just had to have me one. It makes
no difference because I am not building a suspension bridge or doing any
video editing. It is just a hobby where I waste my spare time and money.

So I get it all put together and check the temperature and it is like 141 F
with the stock Intel heatsink fan. That is not so bad but it is nowhere
near my beloved less than 120. So I goes looking on the internet for HSF
and see that a lot of the super premium ones are like 70 dollars which seems
to be a lot. Then I see this Kingwin XT-1264 heatsink fan for like 29
dollars and I decide to try that one. It has the copper heat pipes that
actually touch the CPU and a big old 120mm aluminum radiator and 120mm fan
that is fan speed adjustable in the BIOS.

So I am looking at the i7 computer now and it says CPU Temperature 37 C/98 F
and M/B Temperature 42 C/107F.

Now that is some cooling. And it is quiet. Right now it is still sitting
on my desk and not even in a case yet. When I put it in a heat trapping
case the temperature will most likely go up some.

I am not even sure that it will fit in any case I have because it is like
two inches higher than the video card. Also because I am half nuts I cut
off the plastic push pins and attached it with #8 by half inch machine
screws and nuts and flat washers. You can get those things at Home Depot
for less than two bucks and attach any HSF by replacing those stupid push
pins. And you can tell that you got it right just so long as there are just
as many threads showing on each of the four screws.

So that is my story and I am not running an advert for this particular item.
I am just saying that the stock Intel HSF is not all that good and you do
not have to spend a fortune to get a much better one. And if you ever do
try #8 machine screws and nuts and flat washers you will never go back to
those iffy push pins.

I have also read customer reviews where they said they used the stock Intel
HSF and Artic Silver thermal compound and got perfectly fine results. So
there is that.

If you are running stock speeds with any Intel CPU and you can get those
four push pins all the way pushed in you can disregard all of this
aftermarket stuff. But if you are an overclocker you may want to think
about an aftermarket cooler and in addition some aftermarket attachment
hardware. You will definitely get your two bucks worth of value from some
#8 machine screws and nuts and you can even skip the washers.

I am not jumping for joy and turning cartwheels over my low temperature
readings but I did get some good value for what I spent. And you do not
know anybody any cheaper than me.

In some curious way newegg.com discontinued that item about two day after I
bought it. That is too bad because it does give a lot of bang for the buck.