Review of the Xtreamer Cooler – the XSC

October 27, 2009 by 7 Comments

Regular readers will know that I am a big fan (no pun intended) of the Xtreamer media streamer. Take a look at the following articles for a review of the Xtreamer and other things:

http://connecteddigitalworld.com/2009/09/13/review-of-the-xtreamer/

http://connecteddigitalworld.com/2009/09/29/xtreamer-media-streamer-firmware-update-available/

Well a constant complaint from people about the Xtreamer is the noise that the fan makes. While I didn’t think it was that bad, I could also understand why people were not happy.

So step in Tranquil PC here in the UK, who are the UK distributor for the Xtreamer, and they have developed a cooler for the Xtreamer, called the XSC, that makes the Xtreamer silent, YES, silent!

Mine arrived today in a little tiny box and contains the cooler, a small thing of paste and the instructions.

IMG_1827 IMG_1828

Make sure you read all the instructions before beginning, it only takes a moment!

The first task is to remove the side of the Xtreamer. This involves using a small flat head screwdriver or a knife and gently prying off the side. It took me a few minutes to do this, and in fact I actually slipped and scratched the side of my Xtreamer, that will teach me!

IMG_1829

Then you just pry off the existing heatsink to reveal the chip underneath.

IMG_1830 IMG_1831

This is where the instructions are a little off. What do I mean? Well, there is a diagram of the heatsink which shows it as a square – well as you can see above its not, so people might be confused.

The next job is to put some paste on the chip and spread it. Again, the instructions are not very clear as they state “apply a small amount… to the top of the chip…. it will spread out when the XSC is fitted, so spread it out over the surface…”. I get what they meant but one part of the sentence says it will be spread out for you and the other says to do it yourself. Again, not a big deal but not as clear as it could be for those users who are not sure.

Then its just a case of fitting the cooler on the side and you are done.

IMG_1832 IMG_1833

One important thing to note, when you switch on the Xtreamer for the first time after fitting the cooler, make sure you go to the Settings menu and turn OFF the fan, otherwise it will still be on.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It was very easy to fit, only really took a few moments, and more importantly it works!

It costs a whole £10.43 (plus VAT) and can be ordered from here.

So what are you waiting for? If you own an Xtreamer, get one of these today.

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About Andrew Edney

This post was written by who has written 3673 posts on Connected Digital World. I am the owner and editor of this site. I have been interested in gadgets and tech since I was little. I have also written a number of books on various tech subjects. And I am honoured to be a Microsoft MVP for Windows Home Server since January 2008.
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  • MidnightWatcher

    Looks nice. I am curious however, how much more effective is the XSC at dissipating the heat on the SOC when compared to just an exposed stock heatsink? I would have liked to have seen temperature measurements running 1080p material for 10 minutes with just the stock heatsink (plastic side removed) and no fan, and then after allowing the SOC to cool down run the same material for 10 minutes with the XSC installed. Without such a comparison it seems that the XSC is just more for aesthetics and that an exposed stock heatsink can achieve similar results. Or is this oversimplifying?

    • Andrew Edney

      Hi

      Personally I wouldnt want to leave the side exposed otherwise dust and other stuff may get it and cause you problems.

      As for the comparison, I dont really have an answer for you and I dont really have the right kit to do a proper temperature comparison.

      If you do get the Cooler and run the comparison tests yourself let me know the results as I would be interested.

      Andrew

      • MidnightWatcher

        Hi Andrew, that's probably a good point about the dust. Though I would think that the fan probably pulls in a small amount of dust also as it is, probably not much though.

        Since the XSC is only secured into place using adhesive, and not clipped in or screwed in, does it feel firmly attached and make good contact with the chip?

        • Andrew Edney

          That is a fair point about the fan :-)

          Yes, it certainly feels locked in and stable. The four lines of sticky are REALLY sticky!

          Certainly when I testing the fitting before applying the cooler it appeared to make good contact.

          Andrew

  • MidnightWatcher

    For those who would like to see a video of this being installed, watch here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKW39rrwJM4

    • Andrew Edney

      thanks – I was going to do another video myself, but it really was so simple!

      Andrew

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