Cooling for Socket A??

[JDCentral]

I'm looking for a good cooling solution for socket A, and I've heard good things about the Swiftech heatsinks - I also respect that they offer a unique solution.

Would something like a Zalman perform better?

 

[Valkerie]

Zalman if you're an extreme overclocker, along with Artic thermal compound
And your CPU is all set!

Otherwise, retail fan and what the paste it came with isn't a bad idea either, if you just want to keep your clock at default manufacturer settings.

But if you want a 3rd party fan, it's not going to kill you.

 

[JDCentral]

Does anybody have any experience with the Swiftech, though?

I'm gonna overclock the bejesus out of an Athlon XP M...

 

[zShowtimez]

The swiftech with a higer cfm fan should outperform most zalman solutions

 

[Fern]

I prefer Thermalright, get a hunk of copper.

I'm using a SLK 947U. You can prolly get one cheap on the FS/FT forum. Just slap on the fan you want (quiet or huge cfm, whsatever your taste). You'll need the neo backplate (or modd it a bit) if it's for the NF7 series.

There's a newer model, something like the XP-90 (can't remember the name ATM)

 

[Operandi]

The Swiftech performs but it's expensive and the pins are somewhat fragile. I would take the Alpha PAL 8055 over the Swif, built better and cheaper.

 

[Homerboy]

I have a silent boost for sale 🙂

 

[Trippytiger]

Originally posted by: Fern
There's a newer model, something like the XP-90 (can't remember the name ATM)

That's the SI-97. No huge difference between it and the XP-90, and it does anexcellent job of keeping things cool. That would be my recommendation, 'specially with a nice 92mm fan. It isn't the best choice for a budget, though.

 

[JDCentral]

Excellent - thanks for the info.

I have my system currently 'specced out', and am shaving off all the 'expensive' stuff that doesn't really make a difference (ie... do I really need to spend that extra cash on something that will run my CPU at 0.5 degrees cooler?)

 

[JDCentral]

Hmm... nothing thermalright currently makes/sells is compatable with Socket A, except for the SI-97.

And it's not 100% copper... so I'll look around for the SLK947U