Gelid Solutions have done a fantastic job with the Silent Spirit. One of the best things about it is how small and light it is, without compromising much on performance or noise. The fan is silent when set at a low setting and only slightly louder once the PWM sensor kicks the fan into high. Having PWM is generally a positive, yet it is based on preference; some prefer to manually control their fan. This is not really a problem with the Silent Spirit as it remains fairly silent with the fan at 100%. The fan on the cooler is also tool-less and replacing it is as simple as undoing and redoing a couple of clips.
The Silent Spirit has a very simplistic installation design, using the same clips as the standard Intel stock cooler. Yet, these clips have been designed in such a way as to make clipping them in and out a lot easier than the normal Intel stock cooler. For AMD and Intel Socket 1366 based installations, a new set of clips needs to be installed for the cooler to be mounted to the motherboard (the AMD ones are supplied, the Socket 1366 clips will have to be purchased from Gelid when available). A tube of thermal grease is not included with the cooler yet Gelid Solutions have pre-applied a layer of their high performing GC-1 compound.
For its size, the Silent Spirit performed very well. Although it may not perform as well as other offerings, its performance is definitely respectable (only a couple of °C from the best performing heatsink) and a lot better than the stock cooler. Many recent offerings from other companies (especially HDT coolers) have just been too large. There are enthusiasts who do not care about the size/noise levels of the cooler and just want to get the lowest temperature they can - at whatever price. This cooler is not for them. The Silent Spirit is for users who want silence, users who don't want a cooler that forces them to take off their side panel fan and don't want to have to bolt in a retention bracket so the cooler does not bend their motherboard.
Gelid Solutions should be commended on their efforts for their first CPU cooler. The Silent Spirit is small, light, silent and performs relatively well. At $35 USD / 23 Euros, it is well priced, even with its lack of extra accessories. Installation is a breeze and the cooler can be installed to cool surrounding motherboard components. The Silent Spirit meets is requirement as a high performing, silent cooler, and it would be a great addition to any case and moreso, any SFF computer.