The KA-9227

Features:

• Intel: Celeron D~2.93 GHz (340J), Core Duo 2.33 GHz (775 Dual-Core), Pentium 4 3.73 GHz (775 Prescott), Pentium EE 3.73 GHz (775 Dual-Core), Pentium D 3.4 GHz (775 Dual-Core).
• AMD: Athlon 64~4800+(K8), 64 FX-51 (K8), 64 FX-53 (K8), 64 FX-55 (K8), 64 FX-57 (K8), 64 FX-60 (K8), Opteron 2.6 (K8), Sempron 3300+ (K8)

• Special 4 copper heat pipes thermal cooling technology.

• Easy installation by specially design clip.

• Copper base.

• 90 x 90 x 25 mm blue LED ball bearing fan.

Specifications:

     The KA-9227 was designed with a new twist on a classic design.  The heatsink sits above the socket like our XP-90 but the fan is mounted on the underside.  Kingwin calls this design "Simply Beautiful" and I am definitely curious if the reversed mounting will perform better as well.

     With the fan between the heatsink and the socket, the design is extra dependent on the heat pipes to transfer heat to the aluminum fins.  This picture also shows how the fan is held in place by two clips on the sides.  The fan does not force air towards your exhaust fan in this style and can vent the heat into your case.  Good case airflow is essential to getting the maximum performance from this unit.

     From this side the heat pipes can be seen coming completely through the block and the fins.  One thing evident from this design is the possibility to expand the design to a 120 mm size in the future with no additional worries on the CPU clearance.  A full copper 120 mm design with 6 pipes would be a beast to behold!

The bottom shows the same polished surface and mounting used across the entire line of heatsinks.  

Installation:

     With the Ka-9227 installed in the orientation shown here the heat pipes do prevent the first memory slot from being used in the DFI.  However the non-directional fan allows the heatsink to be rotated as needed with a quick switch of the mounting hardware.  Due to the distance between the CPU socket and my video card, I was unable to get a good fit with the pipes on the opposite side.  As I have noted before, the DFI layout is not that common in motherboard design so check your actual clearance carefully before ordering any heatsink.

At first glance this heatsink looks like a passive from the top. 

     With the lights on our KA-9227 takes on a whole new personality!  As you can see here, the bottom mounted fan location creates a clearance issue that cannot be solved by rotating the mounting.  The capacitors and other motherboard elements you would encounter on most motherboards did not present an issue.

     There's something about the light effect that just looks cool.  I am reminded of ground effects or even the ambient lighting found in some of the new HDTV sets.

Testing:

     Back to the stock profile and our test suite.  The reversed design pays of with our best stock numbers yet recording the highest temperature hit for the CPU at 39C, the PWM at 45C, and the chipset at 37C.  Those flat lines look good so far, time for the punishment!

     With high hopes, we run our overclocking profile and start up the tests.  The KA-9227 holds the line and completes a successful overclock!  This time the highest temperature hit for the CPU was 54C, the PWM was 64C, and the chipset was 40C.

KA-9227 Conclusion:

     The Kingwin KA-9227 is quite the dark horse contender!  With its unconventional looks and stealthy 90 mm fan mounting, we weren't sure just what to expect from this heatsink.  The performance during our stock testing was good but when it counted the KA-9227 handled everything we threw at it.  While the 90 degree mounting required by our DFI hampered the installation options on the KA-9227; the soft glow of the under mounted fan put a smile on my face.  I wonder if the fan design provides more cooling on both ends of heat pipe where the extra fins of the KA-9228 does not.  The MSRP suggested for this heat sink places it in competition with many of the popular entry level products on the market.  Looking at a sub $30 heatsink?  Spend the extra pocket change to get your self a KA-9227, you will be glad you did!

Innovation:	9.0 out of 10
Performance:	8.5 out of 10
Quality:	8.5 out of 10
Stability:	8.5 out of 10
Overclocking:	8.5 out of 10
Software/Drivers Pack:	N/A
Value:	9.0 out of 10
Overall Rating 9.0
Project Skill Level (10 being most difficult)	4 out of 10