Thermalright HR-01 Review - Details of the HR-01
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Aside from the specs you just have to take a closer look at the HR-01 to completely understand Thermalright's attention to detail. The HR-01 features a very stiff base that uses the same mounting clips as the stock Intel mounting system. This provides simplicity when replacing your stock cooler; there's no need to remove the motherboard from the chassis to replace the cooler. Thermalright is also looking out for those who panic about the enormous size of the HR-01; it offers a through the motherboard mounting system at a decent price.
Taking a look at the base of the HR-01 you get what seems to be the standard heat sink finish. It's not a mirror image, but it's for the most part free of major imperfections and scratches, providing optimal contact with the CPU's integrated heat spreader. The base of the heat sink is a rather small mass of copper which has been nickel plated to prevent oxidization. Through the base there are four massive heat pipes going through the core of the base directly over the CPU. Heat will transfer from the IHS to the base of the heat sink into the heat pipes to the fins to be dissipated.
The heat pipes used on the HR-01 are massive. They are around 1/4" in size, and each one of the fins is soldered to the heat pipes to ensure optimum heat transfer to the fins. A few heat sinks that I have owned have merely been a tight fit to the heat pipe. The Scythe Ninja is a perfect example; there is no solder on the heat pipes where the fin makes contact with the heat pipe. Thermalright so far is doing everything in their power to get the heat from the base of the cooler up into the fins.
Once the heat is spread through each of the 31 fins, convection can occur more rapidly and reduce the temperature of the heat sink. The fins of the HR-01 are much thicker than any other heatsink I've previously owned, nearly twice as thick as my Scythe Ninja or Freezer 7 Pro. The fins are about half the thickness of a penny, which is outstanding.
One of the latest innovations that Thermalright has started is the holes through the fins; the manufacturer basically cut a piece of the fin and folded it up. This increases the strength of the heat sink; it feels extremely rigid. These holes also allow air to be pulled through the middle of the heat sink, increasing the cooling surface area for increased cooling performance. Air is not just pulled through the fins; it's sucked through all of these holes, which allows the heat transfer to occur at much faster rates.
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