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AMD Aircooling Round-Up of 2003

Posted by Cliff on from the cool-and-silent dept.

JMke writes: "If you want a silent AMD system you almost always have to get yourself a higher-class heatsink. Thermalright and other manufactures have brought out updated products that can keep your CPU cool while keeping the noise down, hardware geek site Madshrimps has published a roundup of the best heatsinks from 2003 that money can buy in 2004, read it here."

5 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. The CPU fan is almost always quieter than the PS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The CPU fan is both more important and, generally, quieter than the power supply. It seems quite an unreasonable risk to jeopardize your CPU for a few extra decibels when there are easier, safer ways to quiet down a system.

    Usually something as simple as moving the case can make a significant difference.

  2. Re:The CPU fan is almost always quieter than the P by GuyinVA · · Score: 5, Informative

    One thing I found to help keep it quite is to actually clean the dust off the fan blades.

  3. Conclusion Page - in case of /.'ing by chadw17 · · Score: 5, Informative

    :edit: Site appears to be slowing/not responding :/edit:

    Conclusion :
    Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of the reviewed products

    Swiftech MCX462-V
    (Provided by: Bacata)
    PRO
    Plug&Play installation
    Easy attachment of both 80&90mm fans
    Top end performance in both silent as loud categories

    CON
    Higher price

    The MCX462-V is a true engineering beauty, combining functionality with top performance, the helicoid pin layout allows for very low noise production when using different types of fans. The full copper block provides excellent thermal conduction making overclocking possible even with very silent fans!

    Thermalright SP-97
    (Provided by: Thermalright)
    PRO
    1st class performance in all categories
    Secure installation
    Efficiency increases with the CPU overclock thanks to the heat pipes

    CON
    Installation requires motherboard removal

    The successful formula from the SP-94 Intel heatsink has been brought over to the AMD side of town, and the performance is stunting, providing excellent results no matter what fan is used, it edges out the competition by a comfortable margin!

    Thermalright SLK947-U
    (Provided by: Bacata)
    PRO
    Good overall performance
    Secure installation
    Competitively priced

    CON
    Installation requires motherboard removal

    The "older" SLK947-U still delivers very respectable results, although its performance has been surpassed by the SP-97, it manages to provide the best performance/price ratio in this roundup. If you are on a budget but still want top end air-cooling for your AMD setup then look no further then the latest SLK from Thermalright!

    Scythe Kamakaze
    (Provided by: Bacata)
    PRO
    Includes a Fan + Rheobus
    Decent performance

    CON
    Installation method far from perfect on all motherboards

    I had a lot of installation issues with this heatsink but that was due to the socket/capacitor layout used by the board on which we did the test. The performance is average, edging out the old PAL8045 by a very small margin.

    Evercool MAG-01 & CUF-715CA
    (Provided by: Evercool)
    PRO
    Very easy installation
    Decent performance
    Silent 70mm fan included
    Very competitively priced

    CON
    Not "strong" enough for overclocking your AMD

    Both Evercool heatsink proved to be worthy replacements for the Stock AMD cooler, providing better cooling at lower noise levels while being priced at only ~20! My preference goes out to the MAG-01 as it can be installed on almost all popular Sockets out there from Intel & AMD. The copper/alu mix does have an impact on the performance when compared to the full copper CUF-715CA, but the difference is minimal.

  4. Re:The CPU fan is almost always quieter than the P by deacon · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Did you try to balance the flow? The air mass going in has to equal the air mass going out, so if you are trying to push more air in then you take out some of your fans are not being used efficiently.

    I also remove the sheetmetal plates that block off unused slots, and try to use only every other slot.. That lets air blow out in between the expansion cards, preventing a dead air zone.

    I use only one 7 inch or 4 inch AC case fan (in a hole cut right thru the face of the case, with a guard on it made out of hardware cloth) at low speed to blow air into the case (I reduce the speed with a small AC capacitor (like used for AC motor running) in series with the AC fan). I blow the air into the case, not draw it out, because I don't want to fight against the powersupply fan.

    If you have a lot of fans, the tone from each fan can work together to create what is called a beat frequency, like the complex tones you get if you pluck two or more guitar strings at the same time.

  5. Re:The CPU fan is almost always quieter than the P by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Funny
    Usually something as simple as moving the case can make a significant difference.

    You know that forest people keep talking about where there's nobody around to hear things? I put my computer cases there, and now they don't make any sound at all.

    (Unfortunately, one my systems did get destroyed when a tree fell on it.)