Three Mainstream Home Theater PC Cases Compared

SilverStone NT01 Evolution Cooler For The LC10-E

Although you can use any CPU cooler you want with the LC10-E, SilverStone offers a suitable option: the NT01 Evolution. It basically consists of a copper plate and five heat pipes that distribute processor heat across a copper heat sink. If installed correctly (see photo), the NT01’s heat sink will be at the rear of the case directly in front of the two 80 mm system fans. The design is very reminiscent of ICE heatsinks from Shuttle’s XPC systems. Unfortunately, we had a hard time mounting the NT01.

First of all, SilverStone’s documentation comes with very small images, making it difficult to accurately follow the installation procedure. Two brackets hold the cooler onto the processor. A back plate is necessary to mount the brackets, and there are a few screws and washers in between. Once you figure out how to install the cooler, you’ll have to fiddle with one of the four knurled screws, as one is located right below a heat pipe, making it tricky to tighten.

Once installed, the cooler did its job as expected, and it’s sufficient to cool even fast quad-core processors. However, the NT01 won’t be sufficient for overclocking.

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