Very good Socket A heatsink, depending on noise preferences – Joe
SUMMARY: Very good heatpipe for Socket A cooling – excellent build quality.
The good guys at Thermalright were nice enough to send a Thermalright SP-97 for a test spin. Mounting instructions may be viewed HERE; particularly note the orientation of the heatpipes when installed.
The parts that ship with the SP-97 includes
a backing plate with plastic insulator and assorted nuts, bolts, washers and springs for mounting.
The base is well finished:
When I ran my nail over it, I could not feel or hear any ridges.
The SP-97 was tested on the CPU Die Simulator which gives results that are unaffected by motherboard influences. For testing, I used a Delta FFB0812EHE , 80 cfm @ 5700rpm, 52.5 dBA¹, at 69.5 watts; this fan features vanes in the base which straighten airflow into the heatsink. I varied rpms to give a range so users can match performance to noise tolerance.
| Heatsink |
Die Temp
|
Ambient Temp
|
Delta
|
C/W
|
| SP-97, 6000 rpm, 78 dBA |
36.7 C
|
20.6 C
|
16.1 C
|
0.23
|
| SP-97, 5500 rpm, 75 dBA |
36.9 C
|
20.7 C
|
16.2 C
|
0.23
|
| SP-97, 4967 rpm, 72 dBA |
37.3 C
|
20.2 C
|
17.1 C
|
0.25
|
| SP-97, 4011 rpm, 65 dBA |
38.3 C
|
20.1 C
|
18.1 C
|
0.26
|
| SP-97, 3023 rpm, 55 dBA |
39.9 C
|
19.6 C
|
20.3 C
|
0.29
|
C/W = Delta / CPU Watts
