tired of searching. What is the best AMD cooler??

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FO_SHO

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Feb 27, 2003
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another guy was wondering about p4 HSF, and I want to know about AMD HSF. I have a few restrictions though

-noise I don't care about...maybe a little
-has to fit A7N8X DLX, and I'm not willing to bend anything
-I don't want a huge 2lb headsink crushing my core
-I want to use a CPU shim (non elec. conductive) for the added weight of the HSF

thanks

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by fo_sho on 03/28/03 07:37 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
you willing to spend as much as the P4 guy? because your answer is his answer's cousin.
that is to say: the swiftech MCX462+
match it with whatever 80mm fan suits your tastes
it's the best, and i wouldn't recommend using a shim unless you're going to be moving your computer around. they tend to hurt thermal performance

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so the MCX462 will fit the A7N8x (will I have to *screw* this in??) How does the Thermalright SK7 compare to this. I don't think I can fit the SLK800....

Why does the shim affect thermal performance. I would think it helps performance cause it sits the HSF FLAT on the CPU die.
 
yes. its the screw in variety... a bit time consuming to begin with, but a very secure method.
you can get the sk7 or 800 if you wish though.

I wouldnt use a shim. if you follow the instructions you should have no problems.
Shims are for people who cant put heatsinks on straight

<b>Damn War! I'm too young to watch other people die!</b>
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I don't want to diss you or anything, but ALLLLLLLLL the reviews I've read about shims said it *might* lower temps and would be great insurance either way. Why would you NOT recommend it?? Even if you are a pro, why not take the extra precaution???
 
well you have to be certain that the shim height is lower than the core, for me its just added cost as i have no problems mounting my MCX-462.

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Could you post a link to some/one sites claiming a shim can reduce temps? I am be interested in condidering the theories they might have on this subject.
 
Prove me wrong, but I don't see how a shim could lower temps at all, seeing as how it closes in the CPU DIE, if AMD thought they were necessary they would ship them with the retail box. And speaking of the heatsink that comes with the boxed AMD, its a lot more stressful and intense getting it clipped in place than a lot of the premium coolers are. One last point for the record, for the higher end XPs, I've actually gotten cooler temps from the Copper Core/ Aluminum Fin Heatsink design, to be fair with hours and hours involved testing myself, all using Artic Silver III, I've got a Volcano 6 with a 38CFM fan outperforming a Swiftech and a Coolermaster with the heatpipes, using the same fan, by about 6c, thats a solid fact, you can believe it or not, both the Swiftech and Coolermaster are solid copper. I've seriously looked into the Volcano 9 and the Vantec Aeroflow, and will give the Aeroflow its shot, because I like the fan design, with no motor blocking the center.

<b><font color=purple>Details, Details, Its all in the Details, If you need help, Don't leave out the Details.</font color=purple></b>
 
thanks for your suggestions, I think I might go with the SLK800 with the RPM adjustable Vantec Tornado fan. The MCX was good but the SLK 800 was cheaper and seemed to perform better looking at the reviews.

as far as the shim, well, if you look at the reviews, there are website that say it did lower temp cause it let the HSF sit flat, and there were ones that said it didn't do anything, and the thermaltake website says that the shim actually ups the temps... go figure. I'm just gonna buy it for *insurance* cause I'm not the most experienced PC user and I dont' want to take any chances. Most reviews did recommend it for insurance against crushing the core. BUT every reviewer said don't get COPPER shims!
 
Just be warned... even adjusting it down that Tornado fan is gonna be LOUD.

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You will NOT be able to run such a powerful fan off any 3 pin motherboard connector... it simply draws too much power. ths the reason why most powerful fans use molex connectors.

and yes, the smart fan is a good choice. im using one on my mcx-462. and it speed depends on the temp of the heatsink.

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yeah I know. that's why the vantec tornado comes with a 3-pin for the mobo(rpm variable) and a separate 4 pin for the power supply.

but the TT does not have this and I think that little blue dial is ghetto and I would have to do a mod (splice wires) to maybe get another knob with an extra PCI blanking plate.
 
if you use the 4 pin connector the TT DOES have a seperate monitoring wire. thats what im using.

and if your going to mod it why not get a proper bay bus?

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hey what reviews had the slk-800 performing better than the MCX-462+, and were they using a real loud/high powered fan?

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They weren't necessarily performing better, but were virtually identical (within 1/2 a degree either way, could easily be attributed to change in ambient temps). I'm going for the SLK-800 because 1. it's cheaper 2. it's available to me where I live and 3. it's one of the highest rated sinks out there. For the cooling it provides, it's the same as the swiftech.

Also, the SLK-800 gives temps between 7-9 degrees cooler than the Volcano 9 with the same fan. If you want cooling, you gotta have copper.

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As far as a shim? Never used one.Its just something else to cool down.Unless you drop your PC,,you wont mess the core up.I mix and match my heatsinks.Right now im useing a Global Win CAK38.I dumped the fan that was on it,Cut the guts out of a cheap 60mm fan,Mounted it on top of the Heatsink as a shim,then on that i put a Delta 60mm Double Ballbearing screamer.My Athlon 1.2 at 1.36,runs at 40c under a full load.My case is a factor too,,But its the best Mod ive done as far as a heatsink.Its loud and Performes Better than the best of them.And i use Regular Themal Paste.


Ok .You Can Bash Me now
 
that's fair, but i contend that with a lower cfm fan an MCX-462+ will still outperform it

price/performance is in favor of the slk-800 though
hey whoever was thinkin they needed a shim, the slk-800 has a new retention mechanism, and it's now called the slk-800U
it's reviewed <A HREF="http://www.overclockers.com/articles726/" target="_new">at overclockers</A>

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Not necessarily. I think it won by about 0.5 to 1 degree. Practically nothing, really. I've looked at a lot of reviews, and they all say the SLK-800 is the best sink out there.

I attached mine to a Thermaltake Smartfan II, and the noise doesn't go over the noise given off by the other eight fans in my case, so it's just fine for me.

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yeah i understand that, but here's a quote from the article:
To make things even, both sinks will have the mighty Delta EHE 80x80x38 fan strapped on that moves 80.2 CFM @ 5700 RPM while making 52.5 dBA of racket. Break out the earplugs!
Click to expand...

i'm sayin with a low noise/low cfm fan, the mcx-462+ would do better, therefore making it the best in my eyes. the slk-800 is still a better deal in terms of price/performance

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These tests were with three different fans, at at various speeds for the fans as well. The mcx just doesn't perform like the SLK-800. I'm saying that at low noise, low cfm, both will perform the same.

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we're looking at different tests then, but i believe you

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Okay, where are you're tests. We can compare results then, just for the benefit of the crowd, not to see who is right or wrong. Advancement of knowledge is a good thing that at times can be lacking in these forums. I'll reply again when I find the sites.

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i looked at what someone had posted earlier, i figured we were both looking at that
<A HREF="http://www.overclockercafe.com/Reviews/ThermalRight_SLK800/index.html" target="_new">this is it</A>
but it only tests with one fan speed, and the slk-800 wins by .7C or something

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