Thermalright HR-01-K8 CPU Cooler

Over the past few years, we have seen many tower coolers released, but each has been unique in its own right. The first tower cooler that I used was the Scythe Katana. That was more like the Tower of Pisa though. The cooler I am taking a look at today is from Thermalright, one of the world leaders in CPU cooling products.

The HR in the name stands for High-Riser… appropriately named. This is not a small cooler.. it comes in at near 16cm high. Why the large stature? The HR-01 is designed to perform well without the use of any fan. Of course, to help aide the warm air out of the computer, we need to use a duct. Before we get into the inner workings, let’s take a quick glance at the features.

Features
• Fanless design for low-noise operation
• Proprietary through holes on fins for efficient ventilation
• Multiple heatpipes for well spread heat around aluminum fins
• Large multiple fins soldered to copper base (nickel plated) for effective contact in transferring heat
• Light weight and easy installation

Specifications
• Dimension: L110 x W60 x H159.5(mm) Heat sink only
• Weight: 525g (heat sink only)

The cooler arrived in a clean brown cardboard box. Simple, the way I like it. The first thing I pulled out was a small white box which included the accessories. Inside that was thermal paste, a sticker, instructions and the K8 clip. I received the 775 version of the cooler so to get it to work on my 939, I just had to remove the plastic clips off the base of the cooler.

As you can see, this is one sturdy looking cooler. Simply holding it in your hands quickly tells you that it’s a well built unit. I don’t think hurling it at a wall would dent it! Not that I am going to try, since I like living here. Anyways, the cooler follows the standard ‘tower’ design, by being tall with many fins. The base of the cooler has heatpipes, which lead up through the fins, to dissipate heat quickly and efficiently.