Final Thoughts and Rating

HEXUS Verdict:

The Heligon HE02 ultimately serves a very specific need. If you have to have a completely fanless PC, the HE02, at the very least, provides a viable option.

Passive coolers for high-end CPUs have always been something of a mystery to us. If you're building a high-performance PC your system will be putting out a certain amount of heat and you'll want at least one fan to help keep vital components cool.

And, if you've come to the realisation that a fan is needed, it may as well be on the CPU, where it's likely to do the most good.

For these reasons, SilverStone's Heligon HE02 becomes an unusual choice for many consumers. We're keen advocates of near-silent computing, but if you're building a high-performance rig, an ultra-quiet cooler that's smaller, lighter, more efficient, easier to fit, and cheaper is likely to be a better bet.

But the HE02's primary purpose - to provide passive cooling for today's latest CPUs - may allow SilverStone to serve the needs of a niche audience. Audio professionals, for example, who require completely-silent PCs can use the Heligon HE02 to passively cool an entire system built around a powerful processor.

The Heligon HE02 ultimately serves a very specific need. If you have to have a completely fanless PC, the HE02, at the very least, provides a viable option.

The Good

Can passively cool high-performance CPUs
Asymmetric design should fit various enclosures

The Bad

Doesn't work particularly well with fans
Mammoth in both size and weight
Awkward to install

HEXUS Rating

SilverStone Heligon HE02

HEXUS Where2Buy

TBC.

HEXUS Right2Reply

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If complete silence is what you want with that heatsink and good cooling performance you might as well get a fishtank and immerse the bugger in oil. Bet it'd be pretty damn cool then :P

zaph0d
If complete silence is what you want with that heatsink and good cooling performance you might as well get a fishtank and immerse the bugger in oil. Bet it'd be pretty damn cool then :P

Love the idea, pity upgrades or RMA are out of the question though :-) Might get myself some cheapo fish tank and submerge some old Pentium D for the fun of it some time later in the year :-)

Pointless review. Like giving a bad review to a Mini Cooper because it couldn't tow a horse-box. Would have been better with a 65w or lower TDP chip, or even bette something like an i3 2100t

Certainly an i5 or i3 would make more sense for a cooler like this, as passive computing is likely to be found in small projects or HTPC or audio applications. In all these areas, it seems unlikely that the extra burden (financial or thermal) of an i7 would make sense.

I could see myself using a cooler like this in a future HTPC build - possibly using the 3475S's HD4000 graphics for blu-ray decode etc. Couple it with and SSD, 3tb 5400 drive and a suitable (passive or 140mm fan) PSU, and you're all set for a super-quiet lounge PC.

The comparison would probably be one of the NoFan coolers, which take up most of the insides of your PC - they block the first two expansion slots on you motherboard, if memory serves.

I have to say I find passive stuff pretty pointless for the most part. This is because you will ALWAYS need some case airflow. Cooling is always more efficient when targeted. So rather than having all passive heatsinks and one 1500rpm case fan you will get better temperatures and lower noise with one 500rpm case fan, one 500rpm CPU fan and one 500rpm GPU fan … that is commonsense.