Custom Computers: Xigmatek Dark Knight Review

[nutcore]

dude do you snowboard??

[ToryToryDor]

Hmmm looks exactly like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus, any difference?

[Danionmac]

can i mount this on a am3 board?

[ErrorCodeX]

@Danionmac am2 and am3 use the same socket bracket (the plastic thing u hook the cooler to) only the actual pins are different so am2 proccessor wont fit am3 but am2 cooler uses only the bracket so it wil fit

[utubeb14]

i wish the top was matte

[Gwenaelster2]

dark knight or thor's hammer ? ;D

[mystyc9]

DK or Mugen 2?

[vearheart42]

@mystyc9 Mugen 2, cheaper too.

[omygod666oms]

cool kid got 1 and it works very well :-)

[xkevinpham]

freshmen? i see your english book

[zoop425]

I am a Junior

[PlancksTime]

@zoop425 Would this cooler block the ram on when placed on this mobo "Gigabyte GA-880 USB 3" with the amd 955 quad core amd gskill 2 sticks of ddr3???

[bizkitboi0327]

which is better v8 or the dark night? thanks

[zoop425]

Dark Knight

[AsgardianMight]

Is that in terms of price:performance or strictly performance?

I'm also deciding between this and the DK but I can get either for more or less the same price in my area..

[Dknightxs]

@zoop425 i have a choice between Thor's hammer, Dark knight, excalibur and V8 and V6gt.. also a Thermaltake Frio...wot u recon is good for i5 2500k?

[AoCranger]

@bizkitboi0327

v8 hes lying out his ass dude i benchmarked them myself..

[vearheart42]

@AoCranger The V8 sucks. . . So does the Dark night though.

[AoCranger]

@vearheart42

ok are u both retarded first of all its dark KNIGHT as in a holy warrior around year 1100. (which makes no sense for it to be dark but w/e) not NIGHT.

second, the V8 is the best air cooler out there. So stfu, fag. Look at benchmarks.

[vearheart42]

@AoCranger LMAO! Even my H50's better then that V8 shit. . .

And who gives a shit if I missed one letter. . .Fact is the Dark KNIGHT & V8 are pretty terrible coolers.

[AoCranger]

@vearheart42

sigh, k noob

[DjiEnn]

Good review!

But... at the beginning and the very end, you should talk loud and clearly, start and end the review with a bang yknow what I mean. :)

[zoop425]

This was one of my very first reviews of this type so I think they have changed for the better, check it out.

[WairRazZ]

cool vid

[CorneliusGrim]

Will this fit in a NZXT Tempest Evo and is it a good heatsink for an AMD Phenom X4 965. Because I was thinking of either getting this for my rig or a Zalman 9700. Please answer back. Thanks

[luiscardenas3931]

that didnt answer what i was asking lol ,is this cpu cooler copper ?

[zoop425]

It is copper with a coating.

[luiscardenas3931]

hahahah kool man ,so theres no diff between this and the true 120 other than the price and this one comes with a powerfull 80 cfm fan ,

so in other works this one kicksassss

[zoop425]

yeah but the design of the trues fins give it a few degrees advantage in testing.

[luiscardenas3931]

ohkkkk

[luiscardenas3931]

Hey man , do you know if this cooler is made out of copper cause i know that theres aluminum fins but are the heatpipes or the base copper ?

[zoop425]

sorry I said that to the wrong person. And I say it in the review.. You can also look at their site.

[luiscardenas3931]

lol , I have this cooler i just want to know if the bass is copper cause i cant tell cause its nikel plated xD ,theres vids of it on my channel thingy

[Jayteek3]

Can you make a video on installing it onto an i7? I wanna see how it is done before i head out to buy one

[zoop425]

sorry man, I already installed it on my i7 once. never taking my main rig apart again (unless I need to) I have a tech station now which I use for that stuff.

[Jayteek3]

@zoop425 Same I dont want to remove my mobo again too. Im currently on stock and is thinking of getting it. Is there anyway for me to install this without removing the motherboard? Im kind of fond of my cable management at the moment.

[zoop425]

what case do you have? some cases have a cut out in the motherboard tray so that you can access the back plate of the cooler

[Jayteek3]

@zoop425 I have an Antec 902. Btw check out my channel and subscribe my fail videos :D

[zoop425]

yeah, you will have to take out your motherboard to install it. but the dark night is a breeze to install.

[Jayteek3]

@zoop425 But my cable management is awesome. It took me 4 hours to get it right. You can't see any cables because I sleeved most of it and hid it behind the hard drive cage :D

[CRW5900]

hey man i am fetting either the cooler master v8 or this,

pls advice!

Cheers mate!

[zoop425]

I would go with this..

[KnotTime]

Is this cooler good for moderate overclocking? I got a Phenom 955 and on stock i can only get it to 3.6 without it getting in the 60s.

[zoop425]

yeah, you should be able to get to about 3.8-4

[KnotTime]

Alright thanks. Do you think 4.2 is pushing it?

[zoop425]

yes.. for what you are talking about, may I recommend the Corsair H50?

[KnotTime]

I've never messed with water cooling before...is it pretty easy?

[zoop425]

Well a custom loop is not for the novice builder but the H50 is very easy because it is a closed loop that all you need to do is install it.. very simple.

[KnotTime]

Ok. Yea its pretty cheap also.. Could I achieve clocks at or above 4.2 with it?

[KnotTime]

Yea its cheap so ill give it a shot. Could i achieve clocks at or above 4.2 with it?

[zoop425]

Umm.. It is equivalent to a very high end air cooler so I would say no no higher than 4.2 because the 955 runs pretty cool... If you want to get their and beyond with great temps.. I would go with a custom water cooling loop.

[powerwoot]

Interested to get this, but what i am afraid is the the height of my NB's heatsink is 2.5cm, could it blocking the installation?

[zoop425]

What motherboard do you have?

[superharry626]

do you think you can use this passively on a 710 effectively?

[zoop425]

you mean a dell xps 710? I have no idea if it would fit or what kind of random socket they use but sure if it fits, and dell does not have some stupid proprietary socket thing.

[mognovox]

thats like a black version of the hyper tx3

[TheUltimateRampage94]

Hmm it looks nice but should i get this or a Themalright Ultra-120 eXtreme?

[zoop425]

they are extremely similar. Personally I could go either way.

[alm0nd87]

Hi. What's your CPU temp ? idle and loaded without aircon. I'm planning to buy a new CPU cooler, but I have two choices, 1st is Cooler Master V8 and this Xigmatek DK. I wonder which one is better. I've read a lot of reviews at some forums, mostly they said, V8 = Looks, while DK = Performance. What do you think ?

[zoop425]

I get almost the exact same temps with both

[alm0nd87]

Oh I see. Thanks for the info, I guess I go for the DK since V8 has a lot of installation issues :)

[NightStrikeKill]

how did u set the r/s higher ?

[macgroober]

How did you put the thermal paste on?

[zoop425]

for this review I put a dab in the middle of the cpu and pushed the Dark Knight on top

[21Epic21]

I had to chop off some of the fins at the bottom right of the heatsink, and chop a bit off of the unmovable part of the fan plastic on the bottom right as well. If I had not, I would not be able to fit a stick of RAM on my motherboard. Could you tell me if this completely makes my heatsink useless? I don't see a reason why not. The fan well stlll work, but I am worried about the heat not spreading properly across the whole heatsink. A response would be great.

[zoop425]

That should be fine. send me some pictures (high quality hopefully) to my email address which is listed on my channel. I will let you know my definitive answer in my next update

[scottycatman]

You put the fan on backwards buddy.

[zoop425]

lol no i did not

[ThatFlipKidxD]

Lol you did, the Xigmatek fan logo is supposed to be on the opposite side.

[zoop425]

no I did not, you can use it either way, just like with every single other cpu cooler.. for my case layout it was better to use it this way.

[scottycatman]

So the box picture is right and wrong?

[zoop425]

you can put it on either way I chose that way because of my case layout

[ferchin0814]

Loved your review man. Thanks a lot for the measurement. I'm going to measure before I buy the xigmatek.

Keep on the good work.

Te felicito viejo.

[zoop425]

thanks allot

[russia274]

what temps do u get with V8?

[zoop425]

About 1-3 degrees c lower than the dark knight

[DisturB1990]

thats what i call a perfect review!!!

all is explained very good

thanks for that

keep up the good work

5*

[zoop425]

thanks allot!

[b1iuzw39]

wow this is just like 3dgameman actually it`s almost exactly like his reveiws

[zoop425]

go look at my newest video and see what I say about people like you who say this stuff

[speedsk8r010]

Hey remember me? Anyway i just built my new pc :D.

Anyway, how do you mount the fan to the heat sink? i dont get it..

Thanks!

[zoop425]

well there are these rubber screw things that go into the holes on the fan and then clip on to the heatsink

[weeksy79]

why wouldnt a fairly newish youtuber want to be like the best reviewer? surely he should be commended for being able to keep up to the par set by 3Dgameman?

[zoop425]

thanks for helping me out man

[Hinga101]

LOL!! If you want to promote a CPU cooler you really need to put it in a system and post CPU temps......

I and most people would agree your "5 Stars" don't mean crap unless you have anything to back them up.......poor guys at Xigmatek must be desperate if they linked this crap

[zoop425]

watch the while video they are at the end

[CakeMongooSe]

How did you change the fan speed, if it only has a 4 pin power cable? If you used a fan controller, how fast will it spin if at neutral and unchanged? thanks

[speedsk8r010]

Subscribed. Excellent and professional review.

Also bought the CPU cooler for my first self-build pc every! :D :D im so excited

[zoop425]

thanks allot! and good luck.. let me know if you need any help or check out the forums at ultimatecomputers(.)net for help if you need

[K1asH3r]

another question how do you increase and decrease the speed?

[zoop425]

by plugging it in to the mother board and using the bios or a program to change the speed or by using a fan controller

[K1asH3r]

Hey, quick question

Will this air cooler fit onto Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P (Socket AM3) without buying any extra mounting parts?

[zoop425]

it should as long as the north bridge heatsink is not in the way.. I don't know

[ikcti]

Does it work for AM3? I checked out their site and the didn't state any mounting bracket for AM3 mobos... I've planned to build a PC based on the Phenom II processors...

[zoop425]

AM3 uses the same socket mount as AM2 so yes

[ikcti]

Thanks!

[zoop425]

no problem

[niggataytay300zx]

Just bought this Heatsink thanks to your review =] I love it  I added a video response but Im not sure it worked lol

[zoop425]

Great, glad to hear it! It worked don't worry I have it set so I have to approve the video first

[richy123xd]

How quiet is this?

[zoop425]

I say the db in the beginning of the video

[MdeCastroLoL]

OK ! Really thanks ! Can I send an email for you about more questions if possible ,yeap ?

[zoop425]

yeah sure check my channel for contact info

[MdeCastroLoL]

The last quest :D : Which do you prefer for a poor E4300 O.C to 3,2 GHZ ?

[zoop425]

The Dark Knight it has a much better fan but it is a bit louder

[MdeCastroLoL]

Ohhh rly ? I saw many reviews about the HDT-S183 , that's why !

[zoop425]

Yes the HDT-S1283 was out first so it has more review but it does not work with LGA1366

[MdeCastroLoL]

Is the Dark Knight better than HDT-1283 normal ?

[zoop425]

They are extremely similar and get just about the same results

[Homebrew2all]

wow...u earned a subscribed buddy

nice review dude

[zoop425]

Thank you!

[ikcti]

Is it like the V8 with a fan controller?

[zoop425]

No it does not come with its own dedicated fan controller

[ikcti]

Then how do you change the RPM?

[zoop425]

well, as all 4 or 3 pin fans work, they plug into your motherboard and you can control the speed from the bios, or a program like speedfan. Or you can buy a fan controller.

[ikcti]

Oh, thanks. I forgot about software.

[zoop425]

no problem

[SeikoPsycho]

how the hell do u clamp this to an am2 socket???? if i stand my computer upwright, will the weight of the heatsink tear off the socket and cpu from my motherboard?

[zoop425]

there is a mounting bracket that comes with it for am2 and no it will not break off you motherboard

[iBuildComputers]

You had the fan blowing air AWAY from the cooler. If im not mistaken, the fan should be BLOWING cold air on the heatsink.

[zoop425]

no actually according to the laws of aerodynamics, a fan will draw the same amount of air as it will push. Plus, if you didn't know that, if you think about what a fan like this does on a heat sink, it basically just movies air through the fins and out the back of the case. no matter what the air is already hot because of the other components in the case. The air is just meant to whisk away the heat that it brought to the fins from the heat pipes. I hope this answers your question.

[niggataytay300zx]

Would u say this cooler has a good mounting setup for the LGA 775>?

[zoop425]

Yes all of the methods are terrific I have mounted it in my brother computer and he has LGA 755.

[niggataytay300zx]

Amazing review =] Please for future reviews with led cpu fans , show what they look like in the dark ;]

[zoop425]

sure.. great Idea

[epilgerm]

I was wondering if you new the temperature difference of the i7 when you used the DK and V8?

I am looking the upgrade my i7 stock fan since my cpu sits at 49C after it has been running for awhile.

[zoop425]

yes I do.. the v8 keeps it around 1-1.5 c cooler in all instances

[epilgerm]

Thank you.

Btw I have watched a lot of your videos and they are all very good.

Which the one where you show the inside of your case makes me want to reopen my newly built PC and make it look all pretty inside.

[zoop425]

lol thank you very much

[eoinycroiny]

great review, covered everything id want to know about a heatsink before id buy it.

you could have counted the fins :P lol

[zoop425]

thank you! and I could have and maybe Ill do it in the next review

[veca1987]

enormous heatsink, great review btw....only thing that they should have done to improve the unit is to make it cooper...not aluminum...other then that....its good!!

[zoop425]

Thank you very much

[lil0egy0kid]

sweet man

so do you get to keep the stuff you review?

How dose it compare to the v8?

[zoop425]

thanks! and yes I do. it is extremely similar in performance to the v8 picking one would be hard

[lil0egy0kid]

I heard the installation is easier on the DK then the V8

although i like the v8 look

[zoop425]

the installation of the actual assembly to the motherboard is a bit easier, not much, but mounting the fan on the heat sink is a huge pain

[WestCoastMods]

5* for the nice review, but the temps were just ok, nothing exciting. wouldn't you agree

LazyMan@WestCoastMods

[zoop425]

They are good and constant but remember the overclock I have on my CPU

[GR3YH4WK]

the way you had fan placed on cooler creates more noise you had the fan pulling air threw the heatsink you should have it push air threw morre efficient and less noise

sprry for double post

[zoop425]

actually according to the laws of aerodynamics, the way I mounted it will produce the same cooling, and noise level.

[GR3YH4WK]

also a tip, slash con of DK doesnt come ready for push pull config and when a 120mm fan if attched for push pull the stock fans begins an annoying whining whistle

[GR3YH4WK]

yay! ive got this

[zoop425]

cool how do you like it?

[ferret6677]

Very nice review. I think this is a great cooler.

[zoop425]

thank you!

[runie360]

Will this replace your V8?

I personally don't like the look of this cooler, im not sure if it could even fit in my case.

[zoop425]

Nope, I did not buy this, I am a reviewer for a bunch of companies including xigmatek you will see more and more reviews come out of me in the near future. This is one of the best cpu coolers out there and Im going to sleeve and sell it