Absolute Best AM3 Heatsink

[someguynamedmatt]

Yes, I'm aware that you're asked questions about the 'best' heatsink for AM3 boards several times every single day of the week, but this is a bit different. I've decided to steer away from a good water cooling system due to the upkeep and my fear of destroying my PC with leakage. So now, I'm looking for basically the best heatsink/fan that you can buy for an AM3 board in a Lian Li PC-A70F Full Tower Case.

I've been looking at the Prolimatech MegaHalems and the Thermalright TRUE Black recently. I've also steered away from the Thermalright TRUE Copper just because I don't want twenty pounds hanging off of my motherboard. Closed-circuit WC systems aren't really all that great, either... take the Corsair H50 for example; my Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer does almost as good as it can.

Any thoughts?

EDIT:
Current Standings:
1. Thermalright TRUE Black Revision C
2. Prolimatech MegaHalems
3. Nothing else has been suggested...

 

[brett1042002]

I have the TRUE black HS with 2x120mm Scythe Ultra Kaze fans (push/pull setup) and Arctic Silver 5 compound. I ran Prime95 for approx. 10 hours on my 955BE @ 3.6ghz. Highest temp recorded was 45c. Idles around ~30c.

I'm not sure about the performance of the other heatsinks mentioned, so I can't comment really. I've read conflicting reviews on the H50.

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm <--- good site for heatsink reviews.

I'm not sure if the TRUE on their list for AMD top 10 is up-to-date. I thought my "Revision C" of the TRUE Black had 6 heatpipes.... not 4. I'll have to double check.

EDIT: Yes, the "Rev. C" of the TRUE Black does have 6 heat pipes for heat transfer.... not 4 like the older revisions. This provided a better, cooling improvement over the one listed/shown on frostytech's top 10 list.

 

[someguynamedmatt]

That sounds good... I have 2 spare 120mm fans laying around plus a few 140s from an old case, so it wouldn't be that hard to set up a push-pull system. I too have heard conflicting reviews on the H50, so I don't really know which one's the truth. If it is really as good as some of the reviews say it is, then I'd gladly consider it. If it's as bad as the other reviews say, though, then I should avoid it like the plague. Hmm...

I'm a little suspicious of just how current FrostyTech's roundup is, though, as I've seen it being used for the past year or two. Plus, they were using Pentium D's and Core2 Quad processors to test Intel Socket 775 performance with, instead of any trace of LGA 1366 or 1156 testing. Hmm...

Anyway, I'll stick the TRUE Rev. C at the top of my list right now, until someone shows me proof that something else beats it. 😀

 

[brett1042002]

Yea, frostytech's list seems out dated sometimes. From what i've read, the H50 seems to perform on par with the TRUE as long as you use a couple a good fans in push/pull on the radiator, and draw the air from the outside into the case. I don't like the idea of blowing that hot air inside my case. I am very satisfied with my TRUE, and have plenty of temperature headroom, even with my overclock.

 

[someguynamedmatt]

I know what you mean about that. I don't much like the idea of having the exhaust from your CPU cooler being blown back into the case, but I'm thinking about getting the top panel with a fan cutout in it for my Lian Li case for a little extra airflow... not sure how much, but it should help compensate for the added intake.

I stuck the MegaHalems on my list at number two, and I know that they're as good as the TRUE C.3, but having a push/pull setup with those things would basically fill up my tower, and I don't know if it would even work with the motherboard I have. With my 790fx-GD70, the SunbeamTech Core Contact Freezer I have hangs over the first RAM DIMM. I've got it mounted on backwards, because it's just the fan that interferes with the memory. It sure wreaked havoc on my airflow, but I've got a pretty good setup with it right now with both exhaust fans on the top of the case.

Any other ideas, anyone? There have to be more than two good coolers out there...