Sale on several Thermalright HSF's at Sidewinder Computers

[Cherub]

I was looking for the best price on a Thermalright SK-7 and saw THIS at Sidewinder Computers.

This store often has the best price, has a great reseller ratings reputation, and ships via USPS for actual cost.

I got my SK-7 for $22.85 shipped, less than most stores charge before shipping! Newegg has it for $19.99, but charges $6.00 shipping.

 

[darqice]

a repost from somwhere, but the sk-7 for 17.95, add a thermaltake smart fan II for $9.95, and free artic alumina, this is almost hot, wait, i mean cool. = $27.90 plus shipping.

someone give me an honest opinion on whether an slk-800 or 900 with the same fan for almost twice the price is worth the couple extra degrees of cooling on my new xp1700 B 1.5v dlt3c . Real world what does an 800 or 900 offer to me over the sk-7? ANy higher speeds at all? stability at higher speeds?

Nothing?

ty in advance

 

[s0ssos]

i don't think it offers you that much. because though the slk's may be nice at cooling, they'll be super-loud. i mean, it's only an xp 1700. how much cooling does it need? unless you overclock, and then it'll be noisy.
and if you really want to overclock, go with watercooling. it's over a hundred bucks, but cools better than any of these, and it's super quiet

 

[darqice]

uhhhh

 

[mboy]

Originally posted by: s0ssos
i don't think it offers you that much. because though the slk's may be nice at cooling, they'll be super-loud. i mean, it's only an xp 1700. how much cooling does it need? unless you overclock, and then it'll be noisy.
and if you really want to overclock, go with watercooling. it's over a hundred bucks, but cools better than any of these, and it's super quiet

Thats funny, my SLK-800 is absolutely silent, makes ZERO noise at all!!!

The smart fan II I have on it makes a lot of noise at full blast tho, so I turn it down.

Depends on how far u want to push the xp1700.

I cant imagine their is more then a 5 degree difference between the 2, but to some, 5 degress is 5 degrees.

 

[stevejst]

Yeah, I think the guy doesn't have idea what he is talking about. SLK are heatsinks and come with no fan, it is your choice how loud you wanna go with the fan.
SK-7 is the best bang for the buck out there. SLK-800 is a little better, some 2 C in my case but it is also $10 more. So if you are squeezing out juice from 1700 then SLK-800 is the way to go, but if you are overclocking with a caution (not to the top) then SK-7 will do just fine. Short of watercooling, this is the best you can get at this time.

 

[EDiT]

Just bought a SLK-800...now you guys are going to make me regret it since I don't OC. Maybe I should have just gotten the SK-7 at this price.

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: EDiT
Just bought a SLK-800...now you guys are going to make me regret it since I don't OC. Maybe I should have just gotten the SK-7 at this price.

Even if you do not overclock you always want your chip protected by a good heatsink. And.. maybe a year from now you can just overclock it instead of upgrading

 

[dmw16]

5C is signifigant. I mean, it is the difference between 46C and 51C...althought that is obvious, taht is a serious difference when overclocking.
-doug

 

[Doomer]

I've got an SK-7 on my 2400+ and it runs about 49 degrees at full load (SETI). About 43, 44 at no load. It's not the heatsink that makes the noise it's the fan. Put a quiet fan on it and noise isn't an issue.

 

[mboy]

Originally posted by: EDiT
Just bought a SLK-800...now you guys are going to make me regret it since I don't OC. Maybe I should have just gotten the SK-7 at this price.

You bought oneof the best HS's u can buy, don't have to have buyer's remorse with this one.

And the other dude is right 5c is a lot to me, but to some, well, they dont even monitor temps. If your going to seriously OC, go with the 800, u just cant go wrong with that HS no matter what!

 

[koohead]

well, one advantage of spending a few extra bucks is Thermalright offers a SLK-800u, which is basically the 800, but with a bracket that enables you to bolt the HS onto the mobo instead of fighting with those tight clips. Due to the weight of the 800 (500g I believe), and the design of the base, some users have reported problems with the HS maintaining contact with the cpu. bolting it on keeps it in place. I noticed a couple of degrees drop just going from a clip on to the bolt on hs.

 

[bupkus]

Its a combination of
1. hs
2. fan
3. case (preferably with mods)
4. cpu and amount of OC.

I have an slk-900 w/ a 92mm Zalman fan on a 2100+ overclocked to 2600+ on an epox 8rda+ w/ fsb=200.
At first I had it in an Antec 830sx case with a modded 92mm (7V) blow-hole on the top panel. On load it would reach 41C with the all case fans removed but for a fan in the drive cage.
I got this CoolerMaster case (all aluminum) and the same mobo/cpu/hsf is 2-3C hotter on load.

I also have an sk-7 with the thermaltake smartfan(manual @ about 2500rpm) taken from a Volcano 9 sitting on a 1700+ (1.5v) on an epox 8K5A2+ w/ raid in the Antec 830sx and this cpu is set at fsb-166 w/ 12X = 1.992GHz or about 2400+ and it runs very cool. The combination of a cool running cpu and the rest together does it.

I find the most important features are starting with a cool running cpu even when overclocked and a fan on the top panel.
If you're not inclined to cut a hole in the top, atleast make sure the case fan grill guards aren't just a metal plate with tiny holes for the fan to blow the air through.

 

[darqice]

thankyou those who replied intelligently !!!

if I can get my 1.47ghz xp1700 to 2.0 ghz (10 x 200) with a sk7 and smart fan, I'll be a happy camper. I'm fully of the belief that the half the point of overclocking is to keep costs down. Where is the benefit of spending $50+ on a heatsink and fan when for the same price you could have gotten a retail boxed cpu of the same speed that you are oc-ing your xp1700 to?

my 2 cents

ps: i do like the idea of bolting on a heatsink like the 800u, but I don't see any holes on my new epox 8rda+..?

 

[Tab]

Not to mention the SLK-800 can take TMD fans

 

[stevejst]

Not to mention the SLK-800 can take TMD fans

SK-7 can too. I am actually using TMD fans on both of these heatsinks. There is something you need to know about TMD fans -- you need to take serious precaution with these fans. TR heatsinks are good choice since they do not use screws and then the fan can be isolated from the heatsink by judicial use of electric tape. Make sure you understand that these fans are dangerous for your motherboard otherwise since they can short it out. I burned 3-pin connector on one motherboard and I burned my older Epox motherboard that way before I learned the lesson. I know they claim that new batch of these fans are not as dangerous but I am taking no risk any more. Only TR heatsinks and electric tape (two layers!).

 

[mboy]

Originally posted by: stevejst

Not to mention the SLK-800 can take TMD fans

SK-7 can too. I am actually using TMD fans on both of these heatsinks. There is something you need to know about TMD fans -- you need to take serious precaution with these fans. TR heatsinks are good choice since they do not use screws and then the fan can be isolated from the heatsink by judicial use of electric tape. Make sure you understand that these fans are dangerous for your motherboard otherwise since they can short it out. I burned 3-pin connector on one motherboard and I burned my older Epox motherboard that way before I learned the lesson. I know they claim that new batch of these fans are not as dangerous but I am taking no risk any more. Only TR heatsinks and electric tape (two layers!).

Very bad practice to plug any of your fans into a mobo header!

 

[k1114]

Very bad practice to plug any of your fans into a mobo header!

Depends on the fan.

 

[bupkus]

Originally posted by: k1114

Very bad practice to plug any of your fans into a mobo header!

Depends on the fan.

Had no problems with Zalman 3-pin fans in epox boards. I even have a zalman 92mm fan plugged into my epox header w/o probs. But generally speaking "...you are correct, sir!" I think I'll look for some cables that split the power supply from the monitoring wire. You know what I mean? One pin goes to the header while the other 2 go to a molex 4-pin plug to the ps. Best of both worlds.

 

[mboy]

I hear ya, just becasue someone never had a problem, doesnt mean it is good practice. Any hardcore overclocker will tel u it isnt a good idea to hook up your HS fan to the mobo, little tiny chipset fans, maybe but not a HS fan!

 

[stevejst]

True for high power fans like Delta or Tornado Vantec and ordinary motherboards. TMD is not high powered (not according to specs) and overclocker motherboards like Abit and Epox should be able to take it.
But there is a different problem with TMD fan. It is a housing that isn't properly isolated from the coil, read overclockers.com for more about that.
I use 80 mm Sunon regularly and they are no less powerful than 70 mm TMD fans and I had no problem with any Sunon yet.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: s0ssos
i don't think it offers you that much. because though the slk's may be nice at cooling, they'll be super-loud...[snip]...go with watercooling. it's over a hundred bucks, but cools better than any of these, and it's super quiet and it's super quiet

last I heard not one heatsink I have sat on my desk has made a peep....my slk-800 with both a Power PC & Cooling Silent 80mm and a Sanyo Denki 80mm is quiet....by 1.4-S @ 1.5GHz is at 35C right now...

I have heard some pretty loud waterpumps though....

 

[Paradigm]

Does anyone know if there is any problem using the SK-7 on an AMD 1800+? Thermaltake's site says that it's for 2000+ and higher. I've got a Vocano 7+ now and that thing is loud. I've had to move by box into my room and need to quiet it down so I can sleep at night..

 

[bupkus]

Originally posted by: Paradigm
Does anyone know if there is any problem using the SK-7 on an AMD 1800+? Thermaltake's site says that it's for 2000+ and higher. I've got a Vocano 7+ now and that thing is loud. I've had to move by box into my room and need to quiet it down so I can sleep at night..

See my post above...

I also have an sk-7 with the thermaltake smartfan(manual mode @ about 2500rpm) taken from a Volcano 9 sitting on a 1700+ (1.5v) on an epox 8K5A2+ w/ raid in the Antec 830sx and this cpu is set at fsb-166 w/ 12X = 2.0 GHz or about 2400+ and it runs very cool.

 

[Paradigm]

Looks like I'll be buying a new HSF today. Thanks!