North Q 3340WLA Extreme

The Cooler

At first sight the 3340WLA Extreme looks like it’s a typical tower cooler, there are four long heatpipes expanding on both sides of the cooler, transferring the heat to many aluminum fins. The fins are all painted black, probably to very slightly enhance heat transfer by radiation.  The company logo is engraved at the top of the heatsink. The major difference of this heatsink compared with most other tower coolers is that the heatpipes at the base of the heatsink are in direct contact with the CPU. The small aluminum slab found at the base of the heatsink only serves as a structural piece for the proper mechanical cohesion of the heatpipes.

The installation of the 3340WLA is very easy and the motherboard doesn’t have to be removed from the case. Socket 775 CPU users will have to install the retention bracket first, which simply snaps into place with minimal pressure and then is secured by inserting the provided plastic locks into the holes at the 4 edges of the bracket. Then after placing a thin layer of thermal compound all you have to do is place the cooler on the CPU core and lock it in place at both of the bracket’s sides. The cooler is certainly large and you have to make sure that there is enough space for it to fit inside your case, especially between the CPU core and the PSU.