SilverStone NT06 Evolution Heatsink Review

Back in the early days of aftermarket cooling many companies were doing their best to reinvent the traditional heatsink.  As processors got more powerful the capacity of these tiny blocks of metal diminished and things like noise and weight started to become a factor.  At or around this time companies started to experiment with even larger heatsink designs but instead of making them from solid blocks of metal they became these elaborate mazes of copper pipe and huge multi-dimensional radiators.  These new heat pipe coolers really are the next step in CPU cooling evolution, at least on the consumer level.

In this review we will be looking at the specially designed NT06-E Evolution cooler from SilverStone.  The cooler is designed for the Intel 775 and A64 processor platforms as an OEM replacement for use in the SUGO line of SFF chassis.

The first thing you may notice is the absence of a cooling fan and against popular belief the NT06-E is not a passive cooler.  In fact there are mounting holes available for a 120mm fan but as you will see later a fan simply will not fit when installed in the SUGO chassis.

Heatsink construction is very solid and exactly what you would expect from SilverStone.  The base is solid copper and comprised of a 2 part sandwich around the heatpipes.  In terms of size the NT06-E is not much taller than an OEM heatsink.  The radiator is a perfect 120mm square and while the size is beneficial for cooling capacity it becomes a hindrance when it comes to installation.