AK-965 - initial inspection
Akasa's AK-965 utilises a familiar heatpiped tower design, with a copper base and three heatpipes, along with aluminium fins to spread the absorbed heat around. They're cooled by a single 92mm fan whose speed, as noted in the specifications, changes as the CPU temperature goes up.
Viewing the heatsink from the side makes the three heatpipes clear. They are soldered to the copper baseplate for efficient heat transfer.
The cooler uses the standard LGA775 push-pin mounting, and even though the AK-965 is considerably larger than the retail-boxed Intel heatsink-and-fan unit, the retention mechanism is not obstructed by the heatsink body.
The heatpipes emerge from the top of the heatsink.
The 92mm fan is quite unique in that it mounts using 80mm-spaced fan-mounts, which gives you the option of replacing the supplied fan with an 80mm fan of your choosing - although we doubt any changes would amount to much of an upgrade over the supplied 92mm fan, which is both quiet and moves a decent volume of air, even under load.
Like all the other coolers on test, the fan-headers connect to the motherboard, and fan-speed is determined by CPU temperature, rather than user-modulated.
The base comes pre-applied with thermal interface material, allowing a mess-free installation.
