Design and Functionality

I really liked this cooler at first glance. Sturdy system of very strict design and superior quality can’t leave anyone indifferent:

It is tower made of solid copper nickel-plated base, six copper nickel-plated heatpipes 6mm in diameter that go through this copper base, and an array of 33 aluminum plates sitting on the heatpipes:

The heatsink plates are 0.35~0.4mm thick and are placed at a3mm distance from one another.

The cooler comes without a fan, which is typical of Thermalright products. The heatsink measures 110 x 60 x 159.5mm and weighs 600g. The heatsink array sides are not covered with anything:

However, it is absolutely unnecessary for Thermalright HR-01 X, because its key ability is working in passive mode. Therefore, all heatsink plates are perforated with 48 almost rectangular holes with one edge bent upwards:

We have already seen similar perforation on the heatsink plates of Thermalright SI-128 SE cooler.

Thanks to this “colander”, Thermalright HR-01 X may work in passive mode (i.e. without a fan) and its heatsink plates will be cooled with the natural airflow inside the system case or on the open testbed. However, these perforated plates will be even more efficient in active mode (with a fan/fans) at minimal rotation speed. These perforated holes will create additional turbulence for the airflow thus increasing the heatsink cooling efficiency.

Non-linear positioning of the heatpipes in Thermalright HR-01 X is also a distinguishing feature of top cooling solutions from this manufacturer:

The base of Thermalright HR-01 X inherited all positive and negative traits of all previously reviewed Thermalright coolers. The good thing is the grooves cut out in the copper base that create larger contact surface and soldering of all cooler parts together. The bad thing is the salience of the cooler base and its not very good finish quality:

To be fair I have to say that the base of our Thermalright HR-01 X was not bent too badly. Even though the thermal compound imprint on the CPU heat-spreader was not absolutely even, it looked pretty decent: