Socket A Heat Sink Roundup
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Overclocking processors nowadays is just not as simple as before. Sure the hated jumpers are mostly removed so that we can tweak within the bios, but the most hated and dreaded enemy is still with us. HEAT! Heat is our number one enemy in the good overclocking business. Past processors were much easier to cool and did not require a great number of fans nor did it require great increased caseflow or the large surface area on the HSF's of today. The well known Celeron 300A was a great overclocker and could be done with stock cooling. I have a Pentium II 400 that I slightly overclocked to 420 with passive cooling. Unfortunately, stock heatsinks these days will no longer carry out the job. When it comes to overclocking, better and more massive heatsinks are a must. It is even better to choose copper because of its heat dissipation capabilities. Sure enough the Swiftech MCX462 and the Alpha PAL8045 are the best choices to cool your hot T-birds or palominos or T-breds, but not everyone can fork out the cash needed for those babies. Today we have a look at a roundup of affordable heatsinks from well respected heatsink manufacturers and see if they’re adequate for your overclocking needs.
Written by: Poiuy223
Reviewed: July, 2002
Edited By: Mack (SPeeD)
Introduction: Overclocking processors nowadays is just not as simple as before. Sure the hated jumpers are mostly removed so that we can tweak within the bios, but the most hated and dreaded enemy is still with us. HEAT! Heat is our number one enemy in the good overclocking business. Past processors were much easier to cool and did not require a great number of fans nor did it require great increased caseflow or the large surface area on the HSF's of today. The well known Celeron 300A was a great overclocker and could be done with stock cooling. I have a Pentium II 400 that I slightly overclocked to 420 with passive cooling. Unfortunately, stock heatsinks these days will no longer carry out the job. When it comes to overclocking, better and more massive heatsinks are a must. It is even better to choose copper because of its heat dissipation capabilities. Sure enough the Swiftech MCX462 and the Alpha PAL8045 are the best choices to cool your hot T-birds or palominos or T-breds, but not everyone can fork out the cash needed for those babies. Today we have a look at a roundup of affordable heatsinks from well respected heatsink manufacturers and see if they’re adequate for your overclocking needs.
Test Setup
Antec SX630 (WITH NO CASE FANS)
AMD Thunderbird 1000mhz (AYHJA stepping) @1333mhz
Abit KT7A (flashed with the latest bios)
Corsair PC150 Cas2 256mb
Inno3d Geforce3 Ti200
Quantum Bigfoot ATA33 12gb
Generic 44x Cdrom
Arctic Silver 2 Thermal Paste
Test fans:
Thermaltake 60mm 32CFM 28dba
Delta 60mm 37.6CFM 46.5dba
An ambient room temperature of 68c kept consistent
Burn in programs:
Data Collection:
MBM 5
Abit Hardware Monitor
The reason I chose not to include any case fans for better airflow is so that the real heatsink potential can be put to test. That’s why the burn in runs lasted only 15 minutes each. The reason behind the Thermaltake 60mm fan is that it is the best performance/noise ratio of the fans I’ve looked in on. It does not sacrifice performance for noise and is not considerably loud. The reason for the Delta Black Label is that it is practically equipped with most of the heatsinks out there today. It’s one of the best fans for producing airflow but is considerably loud. Lets get started.
OCZ Gladiator
The base of this heatsink is not exactly shiny and well lapped. There is an adequate amount of space between fins for airflow. It has a nice dark pink shroud that gives it a nice taste for overclockers with red pcbs. The base of the heatsink is not very smooth and shiny. For extreme overclocking, lapping will be required. The clip of the heatsink is easy to work with since all you need to have is your index finger and thumb.
Delta Fan:
Thermaltake Fan:
OCZ Dominator
The Dominator is made entirely of aluminum so as expected it should be the worst performer out of the bunch. When I received the heatsink, there were metal shavings left trapped in between the fins. A little compressed air resolved the problem but can be dangerous when many components in a computer are conductive. I wouldn’t want any metal shavings flying around in my system. The clip of the heatsink is the easiest thumb clip I’ve used. Only a little bit of pressure is required. The bottom of the base is not entirely shiny but still smooth. The fins made to have more surface area in that one side is smooth while the other is rough, due to fin skiving.
Delta Fan:
Thermaltake Fan:
OCZ Goliath
This baby is monstrous and very very pretty. The blue shroud is attractive to modders with windows on their side panels. The base is extra big for more surface area. The shroud is nice so that it directs airflow, but in this case, it seems like the shroud is getting in the way of good performance. This heatsink turned out to be a let down of the roundup. If there was no vacuum in the case, the hot air gets trapped in the shroud and does not escape very easily. All in all, this heatsink is not a recommendation.
Delta Fan:
Thermaltake Fan:
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