Box Content

In the box you get everything you will need in order to install the cooler.

You have two plates for either an Intel 775 or AMD 939, 940 or AM2 Processor, a mini tube of thermal paste, a fan controller, screws and an installation manual.

Specification

• Supports Intel P4, PD, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Extreme, AMD Opteron, Sempron, Athlon 64, Athlon 64 X2 and Athlon 64 FX.
• Dimensions: 128 x 95 x 150mm (L x W x H)
• Material: Fin - Aluminium, Base - Copper, Heat Pipe - Copper.
• Cooling Capacity: Over 150w
• Fan Size: 120mm with Blue LED
• Fan Speed: 700-2600 rpm.
• Noise: Under 39dBA.
• Connector: 3 pin.
• weight 628g.

Build Quality

We were really impressed with the Nirvana the moment we took the cooler out of the box, it is pretty large but its build quality is excellent and looks good once installed thanks to its Blue l.e.d that light that is installed at the back of the 120mm fan.

The separate fan controller was the only low point, as we felt this to be a touch out of place in its white finish and poor build quality.

Installation

Installation will be easier for those building a computer from scratch but we had to remove our motherboard in order to install the new fan.

However installation was stress free with the instructions being pretty self explanatory.

APACK/ZEROtherm seem to have designed the Nirvana really well, with the front fan being removable so you can get access to the screws at the base properly.

And even the tiny tube of thermal paste that is supplied will cover the top of your CPU, with just enough quantity so it does not go everywhere.

Once the heat/sink is in place you have to then attach the fan to the motherboard connector and then the fan controller daisy chains off this so it can be routed outside the case - where you can raise or lower the speed of the fan.

It’s just a pity the device does not have its own internal temperature sensor to raise and lower the fan speed as the external controller looks a bit cheap - as mentioned before.

The images in the gallery will hopefully show you the positioning of the fan in relation to the other motherboard components. The heatsink won't go in all positions so a bit of experimenting is required before final placement.

Noise

Once installed the lowest fan speed is not even noticeable, but at t the highest setting its quite noisy - but we have heard worse and it’s not noticeable when playing games or during office use.