Conclusion:
The Xigmatek LOKI is a small package with a decent punch. Usually 92mm air coolers don’t have much to offer against 120mm air coolers, but the LOKI was able to shine all the way through our Medium OC testing. This is pretty impressive and not what we expected. Considering the affordable price and the manageable size, this cooler would certainly qualify as an upgrade to the Intel stock cooler. Xigmatek is known to release good performing products and has broadened it’s spectrum with the release of the LOKI SD963. The LOKI is now available for about $25 USD. This is a very acceptable price and merely hints at it’s performance.
Xigmatek released the LOKI with a single fan, however the cooler supports a dual fan configuration. This cooler’s performance could be enhanced with a 2nd fan attached, and the fan is readily available from the Xigmatek website but a separate revision of the cooler with a 2nd fan already included would do it better justice. To our surprise there is also not a whole lot of mention of this configuration possibility.
Our tests revealed that the LOKI can do fairly well with a lightly overclocked system, but rather quickly reaches it’s limits. Nevertheless, the cooler performed well and could keep the CPU from thermal throttling. This would be a nice replacement for anybody who has outgrown the Intel stock heatsink and/or someone in need of a good affordable replacement.
The Xigmatek LOKI receives the TechREACTION.net Bronze Silicon Award!
You can find the Xigmatek LOKI at various online retailers, including Newegg!
6 Comments
I fitted this fan into a build for my partner. The Asus board P8Z68 V accepted it without problems, leaving enough side clearance at the nearest memory module. It keeps the CPU Intel i5 2400 LGA1155-at a steady 19/20c at idle.
I paid about £13.50 for it and it has proved to be an excellent cooler.
Highly recommended. 5/5
I would like to get another fan as supplied for it, but to date I have not been able to locate one.
[...] Xigmatek LOKI SD963 @ TechREACTION [...]
Thanks for that real world feedback. =)
Forgot….you should also lubricate the fan before using it. I opened it up and it looked bone dry so far as I could tell.
I installed this puppy today. Few observations. a) The base is polished but not perfectly smooth. There are very clear and machining marks, but they are very shallow. b) The base is completely flat on all axes compared against a razor blade. c) There is a gap between the copper heat pipe and the aluminum bits of the base.
Other than that it works much better than the stock AM3 cooler. Installation is pretty painless too.
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