What the MCX-462U does for your CPU, the MCX-159 does for your northbridge chip. Providing not only a quiet alternative to your stock cooling, but also bringing with it much improved temperatures. It’s not as if this shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering that the two products are nearly identical, differing only in their overall length and width. Add to that the fact that the MCX-159 is not limited to one platform, allowing for both AMD and Intel owners to partake in the cooling goodness.

Now the question that everybody’s probably asking “Is the price really worth it? Are there any tangible benefits?” I’m not sure if you can really boil the answer down to a simple Yes or No as there are a lot of variables that can come into play that will vary from machine to machine. In terms of tangible benefits, beyond the reduced temperatures, I found no increased stability or higher overclocking mark that could be hit from the use of the upgraded northbridge cooling. As noted though, this could be attributed to the fact that I may be at a limiting point of my hardware in terms of how far the CPU or memory can be pushed. If you’ll remember, similar results were noted on the Microcool Northbridge review. Does that mean that it’s not worth it? That’s hard to say, in an environment where the northbridge is passively cooled, i.e. no attached fan, and relies off of airflow from the CPU heatsink, and then there is definitely a possibility that it could benefit the user. As I said, its usefulness will vary greatly dependant of the environment in which it is put to use.

With an average price of around $35, depending on the kit type, one has to wonder if that money would not be better spent on a CPU heatsink as there are plenty of good choices in that price range. A lot of the cooling hardware we review can be considered much more than the average consumer would need, and that would be true. The budget minded consumer is likely going to be making sure that the CPU is taken care of first and foremost; things such as overclocking and the need for upgrading the cooling of other components involved in the process would be mute. I personally, being the hardware freak that I am, would have to say that it’s worth the cost, but then I come from the mentality of thinking that lower temperatures are always going to be a benefit, even if not directly seen by the naked eye.

Overall, I can’t really find anything bad to say about the product except for the fact that mounting on the AMD platform can prove to be a slight challenge when it comes to the tightening of the mini-nuts. In the same regard as the Microcool kit, one other exception that may come in to play is possible interference between the CPU and northbridge heatsinks if the two socket areas sit too closely to one another. It should be noted that on Intel installations, Swiftech recommends the removal of the heatsink if the unit is going to be moved around, i.e. travel to a LAN party, etc. to ensure that, should a mounting clamp come loose from the motherboard, that no damage is caused due to a 238gram block of copper being thrown around inside your computer. It’s a shame that the Intel mounting isn’t similar to the AMD, or that manufacturers don’t integrate a two hole method over the Intel reference design of the four mounting rings.

All in all, I’d have to say that the MCX-159 is another sound product from a company who actually knows a thing or two about cooling and isn’t afraid to walk the “path less traveled”.

Once again I’d like to thank the folks at Swiftech for supplying us with today’s review sample and for the quality they continue to put into each product they make.