Test Setup
Asus A7N8X Deluxe
AMD Tbred 1700+ JIUHB @ 2600+ 1.5v
1024MB Corsair PC4000
Western Digital Cavier SE 80GB
Vantec Tornado 80MM – 84.1CFM @ 55.2dbA
Silent 80MM -26.5CFM @ 22.5dbA
The Competition
Thermalright SK7
OCZ Dominator 2
The Results
Below is a chart of the results from my testing. All temperatures were taken using Motherboard Monitor 5. Load temps were taken after running Folding@Home for at least 15 minutes while playing Tetris Worlds on the Xbox. Idle temperatures were taken after at least 15 minutes with nothing running in the background. Room temperature was kept at ~20C.
As you can see in the chart the winner is the Swiftech MCX462-V with the Vantec tornado fan, beating the Thermalright by 6C. One thing that should be noted however is that the Vantec Tornado fan is extremely loud. Pushing a lot of air is one thing, but the whine that that fan makes in my opinion is just too annoying to use. With noise taken into account I think that the best combination of fan and heat sink would have to be the Swiftech 462-V with the Thermalright fan on it. The Swiftech beat the Thermalrght by 2C under load using the same fan. This demonstrates the superior design of the Swiftech.
Conclusions
The results speak for themselves. The Swiftech 462-V is an excellent choice in the war against heat and noise. It seems to be too easy for a company to repackage a heat sink with a more powerful (read louder) fan these days. Swiftech took the route less traveled with this heat sink, designing a heat sink to out-cool the competition with a high CFM or a low CFM fan installed. Including the ability to utilize a 92mm fan was also an excellent idea, allowing the customer to have the best of both worlds (that being high CFM and low noise.)
Overall the quality of the product is top notch. Having a beautifully machined base that does not need to be lapped. The helicoids pins are also excellent quality, with no possibility of them coming out of the base. The design of the heat sink has its ups and downs. The mounting mechanism was the most innovative and easy to use that I have ever seen. The only downside of the sink is the fan mounting mechanism. The snap rivets were way to hard to install, I think that traditional fan screws would be a much better solution.
Pros
Looks awesome
Conforms to AMD mounting specifications
Mounting mechanism is extremely to use
Excellent cooling performance
Mirror like finish on base
Cons
Fairly heavy (Worry about toting it around although un-installation is very easy)
Snap rivets
Bottom Line
This is an excellent heat sink to look at. It cools great, looks great, and is easy to implement. , and they're a great gang over there who will take care of your cooling needs. For our European readers, you can hit up our buds at .
If you have any questions or comments, be sure to hit us up in the Forums.
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