So far this year, we have looked at a total of five Kingwin heatsinks; four at the 2007 heatsink roundup, and later on the Gladiator hybrid.  While none of these really set our loins on fire with excitement, the new Kingwin Revolution once again raises my hopes.  Why are my hopes so high?  Simple, because Kingwin has rolled out yet another idea that promises to further unleash killer heatsink performance.  While I had similar hopes for the Gladiator, which were quickly dashed against the rocks of reality, I have faith that Kingwin will deliver a winner.  Is my faith unwarranted?   Let us press on and see...

Out of Box Experience:

     The heatsink is attractively packaged in a full color box, that shows off exactly what we want to explore in this review, the "Heat-pipe Direct Touch Technology". 

     The first side that we will look at shows off some of the features, including the aforementioned Direct Touch, Anti-Vibration Rubber, and even a spoiler.

The opposite side shows the heatsink's compatibility, which includes virtually every relevant socket. 

The back of the box gives us more specs, including dimension, material, and fan type. 

     Finally, a look at the heatsink itself.   At first glance, it looks much like any other tower heatsink, with a 92mm fan mounted on the front. 

From the rear, the design looks similar to the Scythe and Thermalright heatsinks, with the contoured fins. 

     A look from the top shows 3 copper heatpipes, starting at one end, going down through the fins, bent at the block, and then up the opposite side.

     Now, this is where things get interesting.  Instead of a solid block, the heatpipes are the block.  When designing a heatsink, you have to take into account thermal resistances.  Any time you mate two different surfaces, you increase thermal resistance and reduce the heat absorbing capabilities of the heatsink.  Kingwin has sought to make the Revolution more efficient by reducing one of the mating surfaces, ie, the surface of the heatpipes to the block.  Ideally, this would mean that less heat gets trapped in the block, and instead it is wicked away by the copper.  I would also like to note that the finish of the surface is much improved over Kingwin's previous efforts.

     Here, we can see the mating surface between the copper heatpipes and the fins.   As you probably know, heatsink performance can be greatly impacted by poor contact between surfaces.   Here, everything looks tight as can be expected.   The more I look at this, the more hopes I have.