Alpha or Orb

[Raincity]

What one would you pick, price is not a issue in selection. No way am I crazy enough to try to lapp my p3 flipper. Is the Alpha really worth its price, and if so where can I get one since 2cooltek is currently sold out.

Rain

 

[garrison]

go with the alpha.
the golden orb is something like a good price/performance solution, but go with the alpha if price is not the issue.
the best cooler however is the Agilent ArctiCooler, but i think is not yet available in the US.

 

[Ulysses]

Just be sure the big Alpha's will fit your mobo stuff.

Try http://www.plycon.com/

See http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1279

 

[Outlaw]

Get An Alpha from www.Millisec.com . Alphas are expensive for a reason..."They work"

 

[Viper GTS]

As much as I love the GORB, get the Alpha if you're not worried about cost or space constraints. The GORB kicks ass for the size & money, but the Alpha is a MUCH better cooler overall. I'm replacing my GORB with a PEP66/Delta 38 from Millisec.com. Eventually I'll probably drop a 72 watt peltier in there as well, but for now it'll be the Alpha alone on my 700e.

Viper GTS

 

[Klosters]

Another vote for the Alpha's. I have both the PAL35t(best for S370 mainboards) and the PEP66, which is recommended for Slockets. I leapt before I looked when I bought the PAL35t. Mistake, because I finally decided on a Slot 1 mainboard. Live and learn. The PAL35t can be hung on a Slocket, but you loose the first and second Dimm slots. And it puts strain on the Slocket, because of the leverage of its weight.

I installed my PEP66 yesterday. It does a spectacular job, especially with the Delta 38 cfm 60mm fan. MY QII Crusher Timedemo CPU temp fell to 47C. It was 67C with a small hs. My idle temp fell to 33C. It was 44C with the little Si5 hs, with the "Black Label" on it, btw. A wind tunnel fan does nothing without a big hs.

The PEP66 fits on an Iwill Slocket II just fine. It's a little bit of a challenge to assemble, but the instruction sheet is better than the one that came with the PAL35t. I ordered mine from .millisec.com on Tue the 18th. It arrived on Friday the 21st. FedEx 2-Day would probably have delivered it three hours earlier. But millisec shipped it Priority Mail, for four bucks. Would three hours earlier be worth ten bucks extra? Not to me!

 

[Raincity]

Ok alpha it is, and milltec here i come. I have a 370board and see no capacitors anywhere near the socket so I dont think I will have a problem. I have a Msi 6337 815e pro board ready to be put through the test, as soon as I get Onvia to send my p3 cbo out to me. Can anybody who is using this mainboard confirm that the alpha will fit just fine. Thanks

Rain

 

[BlazingSaddles]

is the alpha PEP66 a lot louder than the Golden Orb? I may go from a Golden Orb to a PEP66, but I really don't want a lot of noise coming from my computer.

 

[Eug]

"is the alpha PEP66 a lot louder than the Golden Orb?"

The Alpha PEP66 is a heatsink. You can get the fan either separately or as a kit. Just make sure you get a good quality quiet fan.

 

[CLoUdO12]

the alpha PEP66 kicks ass, it'll beat the godlen orb in any perfomance test hands down.

But damn geena, it's kinda loud. I think that i have the Y.S. Tech fan version in mine and its kinda annoying. But i just crank up the mp3 to hide the sound

i've tried both the golden ord and alphaPE66, both are sweet

but if you are also consdering a peltier, then go for the alpha definitely

 

[compuwiz1]

What's all this Millisec talk. What happened to doing business with the good guy, 2cooltek?

 

[Raincity]

2cooltek doesnt have any alphas in stock compuwiz

 

[SuperSix]

One more vote for Alpha, and one more for doing business with the "good guy" Ian at http://www.2cooltek.com.




DISCLAIMER
This in no way is a slam on Millisec, I'm sure they are a fine company, I only have GREAT experience with 2CoolTek.

 

[Eug]

I have a Sunon fan on my Alpha, and my case/PS fans drown it out.

 

[Phatswalla]

Alpha Alpha Alpha unless you have an ArctiCooler

 

[Chooie]

If he has an arcticooler, I want his address so I can go swipe it from him!

 

[Alerious]

I would buy an Arcticooler... if it were me, that is. I've owned an Alpha (the PEP66T ver.) and they certainly cool well, but the arcticooler certainly convinced me to get one. www.arcticooler.com

 

[Viper GTS]

The Arcticooler's going to kick ass, whenever it becomes available. It will also be expensive as hell, & Agilent reports the noise level as 43.64 dba @ 12V. Still, it's going to kick ass... I'll replace my PEP66 (which has yet to arrive) with an Arcticooler whenever they become available.

Viper GTS

 

[Mikewarrior2]

Actually, I e-mailed Kyle@hardocp about the noise level, and he responded saying that the Articooler was waaay quieter than the Alpha PEP66 he was testing.

And it isn't going to be "that" expensive. I can live with $32 for a really top-end heatsink.



Mike

 

[Aboroth]

What about http://www.3dfxcool.com? They are a good place to buy fans from too. They have lifetime warranties on their fans and have the best customer service I have ever received.

 

[MustISO]

On the ArctiColer website it says the FC-PGA version will be available in August. Not too much longer. I may stick with my retail h/s fan until then.

 

[Viper GTS]

I have no trouble paying $30 either, considering I just paid $38 for my Alpha PEP66/Delta combo. By some estimates, though, the arcticooler will cost more than that due to Agilent being a dick about distribution & pricing structures. The noise doesn't matter to me either, I already have 13 fans in my box...hehe...

I really don't care, I'll certainly buy one.

Viper GTS

 

[Plester]

the following is from a slot one cooler comparison from http://www.gideontech.com/reviews/heatsinks/index05.html

550e-IDLE 550e-Full Load Max CPU Speed
Retail
110F/43C 124F/51C 140FSB/770mhz(1.70v)
Golden Orb
89F/32C 107F/42C 150FSB/825mhz(1.65v)
Alpha p3125
86F/30C 105F/40C 150FSB/825mhz(1.65v)

i paid 14 clams for my gorb, and it works very well, and it is quiet.

 

[helloedchen]

in my opinion, if you got money to spare go with the alpha, if not go with the Gorb. You can beat the price

 

[ErikaeanLogic]

I don't know if you're going with the Slot1 or the FC-PGA, but here is a link that I've found to be quite informative:

http://www.2cooltek.com/socket_test.html

The results, based on the test platform, seem to indicate that the Alpha is the most effective passive cooling solution. Also, take into account that this is not the PEP66, which is probably an even better cooler for a flip-chip than the PAL6035(the AnandTech cooler review indicates that this is not so, but they tested on what must have been a PPGA 533, so the chip surface is not the same as FC-PGA), but not by much. Also note that the Thermaltake orb does not score as well as the Panaflo, which is a beeotch to install. Just the usual $0.02.