Heat Sink fan options which setup would be best

[markrb]

I need a new HSF combo and I am really stuck as to what to do. I really need to get rid of this hair dryer in my case.
I have been reading many reviews and posts here and elsewhere and I have come up with a few possible solutions.

The first is to get the Thermalright SK-6 and use a Thermaltake 60mm 31cfm fan on it instead of the Delta. According to the reviews the Thermaltake fan has only a 31.5 dba noise level. I have listened to this fan at www.sidewindercomputers.com/tecar.html and it doesn't scream like all the other high speed 60mm fans. Will the 6cfm difference between the Delta and the Thermaltake fans make a large difference in heat?

My second choice is to go with the Swiftech 462A 80mm setup with a less noisy fan.

My last choice is the Alpha PAL-8045T. It has only recieved average reviews and seems expensive. I would also replace the fan with a quieter one.

I thought about sticking an 80mm fan on the 60mm heatsinks, but I decided against it.

Has anyone tried any of these coolers with lower cfm fans then they are normally tested with? If so what was the performance like?
I am really curious as to which heatsink works the best with the lowest CFM fan.

I know that the Heatsink debate has been talked about many times before, but this is a little different angle.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Egrimm]

The SK6 probably will perform quite a bit worse without the 7000rpm fan, since 60mm heatsinks have less are to distribute the heat from. That being said, the SK6 is probably the best 60mm heatsink you can get.
The Siwfttech is a little better than the Alpha, but much more costly, the cheapest I've heard of the Swifttech is more than 55$, can't remember the exact price (with fan though, but that's a 45db fan).
Where have you seen average reviews of the Alpha PAL8045? In all the reviews I've read it's pretty much on par with the much more costly Swifttech, the Swifttech doing marginally better with very rapid changes in heat. The good thing about the Alpha is that you can get it without a fan many places and thus don't need to get a second fan because the one that came with the sink is too loud. I have one myself with a Papst 46,5cfm/37db fan and it keeps my XP1600+ oc'ed to 1680 @ 41C under load, quite good. It being costly, well it's much cheaper than the Swifttech, I've seen a link to a shop that sold it for 25$ (remember to add the price of a fan) in a recent post in this forum.

I would get the Alpha, I've heard of people using sub-30db fans and still getting good enough cooling to oc (okay, not 200+mhz oc's but still...)

 

[markrb]

They had a 21 heatsink roundup at AMDMB.com and they ranked the Alpha PAL-8045T 7th overall. I guess saying average was a bit low on the scale. Better then average, but not tops would have been more accurate. Just as a note the Swiftech came in tied for fourth. The SK-6 came in tied for first with the screaming Delta fan.

I am starting to lean strongly to the Alpha. If it will perform well with a fan under 40 dba I would be happy. Also I have to be sure it will fit in my new motherboard that arrives someday (stupid UPS lost it for a few days, ended up half way across the country, 14 days to get a motherboard). It is the Soltek 266a board.
I think it will fit based on pictures I have seen.

How much room do I need around the socket to fit each of the coolers? In inches please, stupid american here, never learned metric.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Egrimm]

The SK6 shouldn't require much space around the socket since it's a 60mm hsf, but since I don't own one or haven't even seen one except in pictures on the Net I can't say something definitely.
The Swifttech and Alpha are both 80mm (80mmx80mm, that's 3,2x3,2 inches I think) and it would be nice if there were a little space around them, there's a new version of the MC462A in production (MC462AX or something like that) where the corners of the sink is reduced so that it'll fit more boards. You could cut a piece of paper in a square of the size mentioned and use that to see if the hsf would fit.

The SK6 being the best in that review is only due to it's Delta Screamer as I mentioned before, expect a decrease in cooling capability if you get a slower fan. I've seen plenty of reviews before getting my PAl8045, and most of 'em placed the Swifty and Alpha in front. That said, for 'em to perform their abosolute best you need the 80mm Delta Screamer (try listening to it at Sidewinders, it's really like a hair-dryer!).
So if you want to compare the sinks the most fair way compare to the Alpha with the Delta fan, the Swifttech even came with this fan originally but they switched it to a slower model on later shippings. So far, I've heard of no setup that beat the Swifty or Alpha with the Delta.

I'veheard of many people using the Alpha with a fan that runs about 30db, and most get great temps, so if you care about noise get the Alpha (or the Swifty but that's more costly) and then choose a fan as loud as you want, it'll cool it well as long as it's around 30cfm I think.

 

[Bglad]

I have the sk-6 and have tried all kinds of fan combinations in it. I got it because I read the rave reviews and didn't want to spend $60-80 on a heat sink.

I can tell you that the sk-6 needs a delta to perform really well. Its performance drops with lower output fans and an 80mm didn't work well turned 45 degrees or with a funnel. I finally got my temps down with a quieter 60mm fan by working hard on my case ventilation. Finally now I'm satisfied. But it took an Antec 1040 with 4 fans and the double fanned psu (and I swapped higher flow fans into the psu) to get there, better than a delta but still far from quiet.

What I'm trying to say is, if you are looking for the best cooling but are worried about noise, the sk-6 is probably not the best choice. If you don't care about the noise of a delta, save some money and get the sk-6. With the delta, it performs almost as well as the new champs.

 

[adlep]

Your first option sounds good,
I was about to do this same thing

 

[mdcrab]

You may want to check this link, you can get a PAL8045 & YS-Tech fan for about $40 including shipping.
I just got one for a AK31A, but will probably have to do a little filing to make it work. I decide on a 80mm fan / heat sink because it provides good cooling without going to a screamer of a fan.

Alpha PAL8045 for $29.99

mdcrab

 

[Emo]

The SK6 with the Thermaltake fan does a fine job. I did switch the noisy Delta with the Thermaltake fan and gladly traded 2-3 degrees for a quieter system. The switch happened after my wife (innocently) asked me to turn the vacuum cleaner off (I had the case off at the time).

 

[MrHelpful]

In terms of cooling, the Alpha PAL8045 is one of the best heatsinks right now (no-fan comparison).

 

[Rahminator]

With a 30cfm/5500RPM delta I get idle temps of 43*C and full load of 52*C (cpuburn). That is with my XP 1600 1.4 @ 1.55 1.85vcore. I consider those pretty good temps and the fan is not really noisy.