Slk-800

[Tipycol]

I plan to buy a SLK-800 but I just want to know if anyone knows if there are any new heatsinks coming out any time soon. I don't want to spend $50 on a heatsink and have it obsolete in a month or two.


Thanks

Tipycol

[DaddyB]

Thermalright seems to own the high performance heatsink market and the slk800 just came out so i dont think they'll be topping it anytime soon. besides that the slk800 is almost as good as water cooling so even if a better heatsink comes out it wont beat the 800 by much... unless it was solid silver but that would cost way too much.

[zachj]

Today I received my Smart Case Fan II and being the eager person that I am, I quickly began the process of testing the old fan and then installing and testing my new fan. Physically, the fan is orange and comes with an aluminum grill with the "Tt" logo. When installed on the SLK-800, expect to be unable to use the grill as it makes the fan too tall for the 25mm clip setting and too short for the larger settings. Using the included 3 to 4 pin adapter, I took the heavy voltage requirements off of the motherboard. Upon turning it on, I realized that it was very loud at full blast, even with the case side on. However, it does its job well enough that you don't have to turn it up that high. My testing went as follows:

For idle, I ran Launchcast radio and MBM5 simultaneously because I was getting bored and I assume that there aren't that many people whose computers are never occupied with ANY task. Without Launchcast, however, the temps would be 1 to 2 C cooler. For load I ran MBM5 and Prime 95 simultaneously.

Results are as follows:

Old fan:
Idle: CPU is 39C and case is 30C
Load: CPU is 48C and case is 32C

New Fan:
~1400 rpm-
Idle: CPU is 43C and case is 29C
Load: CPU 52C is and case is 30C
~4960 rpm-
Idle: CPU 37C is and case is 30C
Load: CPU is 43C and case is 32C

Things to keep in mind:
1. When I installed my new fan, I returned the case fan that I had been using on the SLK-800 to its place on the back of the case as an exhaust fan. This probobly did screw up the temperatures, but I wasn't going for perfection and I was trying to save myself the hassle of unplugging my computer again.
2. While I do have two case fans, (intake and exhaust), they are not very powerful and they do not do much good. My room temperature is about 10C cooler I think, (maybe a little less), than the case is; a clear indicator of poor ventilation.
3. My power supply generates a lot of heat and it is not removed from the case very well. That heat gets stuck in the top and is causes the top, (read XP 1700+), to remain much hotter than the rest of the case.
4. The heatsink has been on there for only 48 hours so the temperatures may still drop a little more as the Arctic Silver III cures, but not much.
5. With the side of the case off, temperatures drop about 5C very quickly and a little more after that, so your results will certainly vary with better cooling.
6. My motherboard reports VCore at 1.8 volts even though it's set for 1.75. This may be an error, it may not. Having not cared enough to fix it, this may also adversely affect my results.
6. Lastly, my computer is not yet overclocked so these temperatures are with stock everything, (minus voltage).

Z

[Robin Hood]

Welcome to the forums.

What ever you buy it's already out of date - that's computers ;)

The SLK-800 appears to be the best heatsink at present and so it should last you longer than most, but buying new/top end costs.

When it is bettered you could always sell it to me, $50 will not even get you an AX7 here! :D

[eli]

Out of date? In my mind the Alpha Pal 8045 is still a fantastic heatsink, and it's been around for awhile. I wouldn't be so worried about it.