AX-7 or SK-7

[allothernicksaregone]

I can't find a single review/post on any forum that confirms that the SK-7 is supperior to the AX-7 in terms of temps, used with a medium fan (read: non delta screamer nor a 5Volted panaflo low)

From what I think the AX-7 was pulled by thermalright because it was so simple, cheap yet powerfull. I do not want to drop the $$$ on an SLK-800 so I have to decide between these two HSFs.

Anybody who has/had both HSFs - can provide temps or somebody got a link to a reputable forum with a decent post about this?

 

[CaptnKirk]

Why not get an Alpha PAL, thats the performance standard anyway. Every attempt to knock them off has only netted a degree or
two at usualy double the price. (Unless you have to use a clip)

 

[ChampionAtTufshop]

is sk7 a 60mm or 80mm?

 

[mechBgon]

It's got "steps" for 60mm, 70mm and 80mm fans (80mm apparently hang out over the edges).

 

[ChampionAtTufshop]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
It's got "steps" for 60mm, 70mm and 80mm fans (80mm apparently hang out over the edges).

oh ok now i remember
thnx for jogging my memory

i would go for eitherone
they are both nice heatsinks

i would go with an 80mm fan however, since they have more of a "whirrrrrrr" rahter than a "whine" sound

 

[CaptnKirk]

'Marginally Better' at idle and low processing levels doe's not cut it when the going gets tough - copper just doesen't give it's heat up when the mass gets hot, but aluminum in the exchanger fin/pin structure does ir correctly, so you are back to the ALPHA.
( Been there - done that )

 

[randomlinh]

you can rig a 92mm if the fan has some "indentations" where an 80mm fan would have screw holes... as i have done

 

[Jeff7181]

I just got the SK-7 today and installed it with Arctic Silver 3 and a 70mm 4500 RPM fan (don't know the cfm). It use to run 50 degrees C idle, and 55 under load... now it runs 43 idle and 50 under load. The SK-7 is a great heatsink. I was surprised at the weight of it. The bottom of it where it contacts the core could use some sanding, there's some good size cuts in it from machining... similar to the cut left on a brake rotor on a car after being turned if you know what that's like. I haven't done any sanding or polishing because I did so on my brother's heatsink after testing it before, and besides a nice mirror smooth finish, it did nothing... temps were exactly the same. Just make sure you prep the surface of the heatsink according to Arctic Silver 3 instructions which can be found here.

 

[PliotronX]

CaptnKirk, it's not much of a help to push a product not included in a comparison thread (no offense). Besides which, the PAL8045 is more expensive than the AX-7 and the SK7 and does not perform better. The AX-7 uses a hybird copper and aluminum design. The SK7 still performs better than the AX-7 and can be had currently for 20 bones. There is not much of a difference to really worry about between the two, so the issue is price IMO

Jeff7181, same here with the AX-7, lapping with 600, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit didn't do a damn thing for the temperatures. I could use it as a miniature mirror to shave with though

 

[Jeff7181]

Crap I paid $25 for mine at newegg, lol. Oh well... it was worth $25, so I'd definately jump on it at $20 if you're looking for a quality heatsink that won't cost you a fortune.

 

[Jman13]

I have an SK-7 on my AXP 1900+, and it used to run at about 50-53C under full load with the stock Athlon cooler, and now runs 40C under full load, and idles at 28C!!! That's just 1 degree above case temp.

Excellent heatsink. I have an 80mm Thermaltake Smart fan on it.

Jman

 

[CaptnKirk]

PliotronX,

My preference of the Alpha heatsink is based on 2 things:

1) I do NOT trust a clip latch feature for installing a heavy heatsink - given that the mass will add mechanical
stress on a very fragile component, and operator error being what it is, there is a high risk of breakage.
This invokes the constraint of a hard mount (4 ZIF holes) and avaliable component clearance to mount an Alpha.

2) Thermal properties of Copper, while the CTE is very good for removing the heat from the point of contact
with whatever the source is, copper still does not yeild it's thermal content willingly to the air interface.

In my experience, Alpha is best for those applications for which I build computer systems.
Zero problems / Zero returns / Zero heating issues