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AX-478 Discontinued?

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Ffats

Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2003
Location
Illinois
I haven't been able to find a single site with the AX-478 in stock? Anyone link me up?

I may have to contact Thermalright and purchase the fine cooler from them, if no one can find a retailer with the AX?

THANKS!

Edit: Bestbyte.net reports the AX-7 (AMD Cooler) as Discontinued and Replaced by the SK-7.. Possibly the Intel version also replaced by the all-copper alternative?
 
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First-Hand Experience

I just finished a first-hand experience with Thermalright concerning their AX-478, and can tell you they no longer have this cooler available as part of their line. I had a brand new AX-478 about a month ago which I installed on an Abit BH-7 with a 2.4b, on the second or third day of using it I discovered that the fin assemble and attached fan had separated from the baseplate and was laying on my VIDEO CARD! Long story short, there was no major damage to anything other than the AX-478, I emailed Thermalright inquiring as to whether they had knowledge of this problem with other customers. Within just a couple of hours they had responded with a genuinely concerned reply. They acknowledged having received just a couple similar reports over the life of the AX-478 where the soldering between the fin assembly and the baseplate had failed, they also informed me that the AX-478 was no longer in their product line. They then proceeded to offer me a SLK-800U free of charge in replacement for the defective AX-478. No shipping charges, no nothing from me other than an address to sent it to, and didn't even require the return of the defective AX-478, or proof of purchase or anything. And within a week Mr. UPSman brought me a brand new SLK-800U just as promised.

Thermalright is top-notch in my book. They never tried to lay blame on me just went out of the way to make things right, and that deserves respect.

SkyHook
 
Yeah, they've been replaced by the SLK-800-U and SLK-900-U.
These fit both AMD and Intel.

Look here
Newegg has some pretty pictures of all the goodies you get with the heatsinks. You still have to get your own fans, though.
 
P.S. You can't really blame thermalright. It's hard to solder aluminum to aluminum. They still made an excellent product using that procedure. And for the most part, it turned out OK. Consider the failure rate of these compared to other computer products.
Every business sometimes has to learn the hard way what NOT to do. And when they fix it without asking questions, you know they're a good company.
 
Caffinehog said:
P.S. You can't really blame thermalright. It's hard to solder aluminum to aluminum. They still made an excellent product using that procedure. And for the most part, it turned out OK. Consider the failure rate of these compared to other computer products.
Every business sometimes has to learn the hard way what NOT to do. And when they fix it without asking questions, you know they're a good company.

Oh believe me! I was in NO WAY blaming Thermalright, if anything the way they handled that whole situation made me a bigger fan of their products. I had no intention of trying to squeeze a replacement out of them or even stir up any trouble, I simply contacted them to make them aware that something like that could and did happen. They acknowledged that and Thanked me for the feedback and then proceeded to offer the replacement. I told them I no longer had any type of sales slip, which they immediately said was absolutely unnecessary and responded to my request for an address to sent the damaged heatsink to by saying that was also unnecessary. It is wonderful to experience a company that not only makes top self products but stands behind them and their customers with top shelf service.

SkyHook
 
Wow! I didn't see that one coming, as that sink is a real nice one from all the reviews I've read.

Thanks for the info! Don't think I can handle the weight of the SLK series though... I'll keep searching!
 
Weight?

I don't understand your concern on weight being an issue with a P4 cooler, and especially with the SLK-800U. The SLK-800U comes with the option to use what in my personal opinion is the BEST through the board mounting system available. Any way you look at it I don't believe you can find a true downside to the SLK-800U or SLK-900U coolers for top choice among air-cooled options.

Respectfully,
SkyHook
 
Learn something new.. I guess I just assumed that the AX-478 would be a lot lighter, as a lot of it is aluminum? Thanks for catching me there.

I bring my machine around a lot, so I was worried about damage caused by too much bumping... I also am wary about through-board mountings (as I already freakishly broke a Soyo board, but not related to the HS at all, actually trying to install a 40mm fan on top of the passive cooled Northbridge... No idea how that happened, but my AGP slot seems to be dead and won't let vid cards display... Everytime I moved that soyo board something went wrong in the software end... It confuses me still).

I also have a very thin and small ABIT BE-7G... Anyone know if the SLK has any problems?

Thanks Guys.
 
Beauty of Their System

Therein lays the beauty of Thermalright's system IMHO. Instead of the mounting bolts just fastening to the motherboard, they are screwed into a cushioned mounting plate on the backside of the MB which distributes the pressure from the spring loaded hold-down bolts, and focuses that pressure right under the CPU socket area on the MB instead of having the pressure concentrated on the four mounting holes.

I know I must sound like the CEO of Thermalright, but believe me I have nothing to gain from you using one of their products. I just have a ton of experience with Alpha's, and Swiftech's, and Globalwin's, etc., and over time these new Thermalright's have earned usage in 5 out of the 6 machines I have up and running right now.

Whatever your choice I sure hope it does a fantastic job for your application.

Respectfully,
SkyHook
 
i'm running a AX-478 on my Albatron PX865PE PRO2

px865pe_pro2_33.JPG
 
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