Spire VertiCool IV SP608B3-C CPU Cooler

The Spire VertiCool IV is one of the recent CPU cooler releases from Spire that is targeted toward the high-end enthusiast market. Building on the success of the VertiCool series, the VertiCool IV boasts a larger surface area and improved design over the VertiCool II and VertiCool III. Constructed of pure copper and utilizing 4 thermal heatpipes, the VertiCool IV competes directly with other top-of-the-line CPU coolers from companies such as Zalman, Arctic Cooling, ThermalTake, Coolermaster and Scythe. As we take a close look at this new offering from Spire, you will see how it stacks up against the other big-name rivals.

Design
The VertiCool IV is a 100% copper heatsink with a 90mm blue translucent colored fan. While copper heatsinks are typically more expensive than aluminum based heatsinks, the copper material is more efficient than aluminum at transferring heat away from the CPU - and thus copper based heatsinks almost always offer better performance.

Attached to the base of the heatsink are 4 thermal heatpipes. As you can see from the pictures below, the design of the heatpipes is not extraordinary - they are simply curved heatpipes that attach to the copper fin tower. The copper fin tower is quite tall - hence the VertiCool name - and is flanked on one side by the 90mm fan. The design is not entirely unique, but it does have a distinct look with all of the shiny copper fins stacked together.

Also included with the VertiCool IV is a PCI-slot fan control that allows you to manually control the fan speed. The fan controller can be installed in any open PCI slot and can be used to adjust the fan speed from the lowest point - 2000 RPM - to the highest point - 3500 RPM.

The size of the VertiCool is quite large at 71x98x123 mm (L x W x H) and it is quite heavy. The total weight of the CPU cooler is not listed in the user manual or on the Spire website, but I would estimate that it weighs around 500 to 600 grams.

Spire VertiCool IV Box	Included in the Box	Side view of the VertiCool IV

Features and Specifications

The following feature list is directly from the Spire website. One important feature to note is the CPU compatibility - it can be mounted on any CPU in the following list of socket designs: Socket 754 / 940 / 775 / 939 / AM - All Copper High-density Tower Heat Sink - 4 thermally improved copper heat-pipes - Ball bearing 90mm blue translucent fan - Silent; Manually controlled PCI Fan Control - Universal Clip for 775 and K8 sockets - Rubber-Screw Fan vibration absorption; 4 rubber screws to hold and absorb any fan vibration - Heat sink : 71x98x123 mm (l x w x h) - Weight: 886 grams (approximately 1.9 lbs.) - Bearing Ball bearing Rated speed 2000 - 3500 RPM +/-10% - Noise level 19.0 - 26.0 dBA - Air flow 36.8 - 58.21 CFM - Life hours: 50.000

Installation
Installation of the VertiCool IV was done onto an ECS KN1 SLI Lite motherboard and socket 939 Athlon 64 3200+ (Winchester) CPU. The included manual has fairly straightforward installation instructions, although it was difficult to tell which of the brackets was to be used for the socket 939 installation. It was also difficult to tell which sides of the CPU cooler to attach the brackets to, as it is important to make sure the brackets are on the correct side so that the CPU fan is facing the correct direction. Spire also has installation instructions on their website, but I found them to be outdated as I never found any instructions specific to a socket 939 installation for the VertiCool IV.

The first step is removal of your current CPU cooler, and then removal of your motherboard. Removing your motherboard is a necessary step because a new back plate has to be mounted on the underside of the motherboard. Once the motherboard and old back plate is removed, the next step is aligning the holes of the new back plate to the holes in your motherboard and then screwing them into place. This is a tricky step since the back plate has sticky adhesive, and you will have a hard time pulling the back plate off if you do not get the holes aligned correctly on your first try. Once the back plate is attached and you have insured that the screws will fit through the holes, the next step is to attach the correct brackets to the CPU cooler itself. This is easy enough and does not require any special attention to detail. Once the brackets are attached to the CPU cooler, the last steps are to apply the thermal grease and to mount the CPU cooler onto the CPU. It is a bit hard to do this with just one set of hands, although it can be done by yourself. Make sure that the CPU cooler is firmly screwed in and then the installation is complete.

Be aware of the large size of this device during the installation and be sure to mount the included metal back plate before installing the CPU cooler. Without this step, you run the risk of damaging your motherboard due to the sheer size and weight of this CPU cooler.