Installation Continued

Once the heatsink is placed in its position, you'll have to secure it to the motherboard. The above image shows the correct order of the screw assembly for installation.

You'll need a Phillips head screwdriver to fasten the bolt to the backplate. The spring is pressure sensitive, and once the screw is thumb tight, you can stop tightening it. Repeat for the other screw, install the fan of your choice, and you're done.

The installation isn't difficult at all, and it's unlikely you'll need to remove your motherboard. A clip system like their other heatsinks would be easier to install, but this system is much easier than Swiftech's older heatsinks which required four screws to secure.

This model is slightly out of spec when it comes to AMD's clearance specifications. We didn't have any problem with our MSI K8T, and the only situations where I can see the heatsink having problems is if the chipset cooler is unusually large.

Test Setup - Athlon 64 @ 2090MHz

MSI K8T Neo: Athlon 64 (10x209) @ 1.95v, 2 x 512MB Kingston HyperX PC4000 (2.5-3-3-6), AIW Radeon 9800 Pro, 120GB Western Digital SE 8MB Cache, Windows XP SP1, ATI Catalyst 4.5.

Going up against the Swiftech MCX6400-V for our Athlon 64 tests will be the Cooler Master Hyper 6. Both coolers will be using the Cooler Master A8025-30CB-3AA-PI 80mm fan included with the Hyper 6 in a single fan configuration. We will also present numbers with two Cooler Master fans (Blow/Suck config) on the Hyper 6 and compare it against the Swiftech paired with a Vantec Tornado 92mm fan. We're also tossing in an AVC Z7UB401, which is an AMD approved cooler and similar quality-wise to what you would find with retail Athlon 64s.

We will also use an Enermax speed controlled fan and compare the Swiftech against itself at high and low settings. Arctic Silver 5 was the thermal paste used for all the tests. The enclosure is a closed Lian-Li PC65, with stock fans on at standard speeds.

To load up the system, we ran Prime95 run for 30 minutes, with Folding @ Home running in the background. Ambient room temperature is maintained at ~23°C/74°F.

Temperatures did not take long to stabilize (about eight minutes) at their max temperatures, so at the 10 minute mark, readings were measured at 2 minute intervals, added, then divided by 10 to attain the average temperature.

Cooler Master 80mm (High)

Heatsink, Fan (Speed)	Temperature (°C)
Hyper 6, 80mm fan (High)	53.5
MCX6400-V, 80mm fan (High)	53.5
AVC Z7UB401	62.5

Compared with the AVC, both the Hyper 6 and MCX6400-V blow it away. We're talking about a 9°C difference here, which is quite significant.

2 x Cooler Master 80mm (High) & Vantec Tornado (119cfm, 56dBA)

Heatsink, Fan (Speed)	Temperature (°C)
Hyper 6, 2 x 80mm fan (High)	50.5
MCX6400-V, 92mm fan (High)	51

The dual fans on the Hyper 6 shave about 3°C off the single fan temperatures, and the large Vantec fan knocks 2.5°C off of the Swiftech. The noise is pretty disturbing here, and unless you're used to having a vacuum cleaner turned on next to you all the time, it's too loud for my tastes.

Enermax Fan (41cfm, 26dBA)

Coolers @ Full Load	Temp (°C)
MCX6400-V, 80mm fan (Low)	55
MCX6400-V, 80mm fan (High)	53

Running the Enermax at it's lowest speed increases temperatures over the high setting by 2°C. Note that the Enermax cools the Swiftech a little better than the Cooler Master fan by 0.5°C.

Final Words

I really didn't expect the Swiftech to perform on par with the Hyper 6, but it exceeded my expectations by doing as well as it did. Compared to most OEM level heatsinks, it's a no brainer. They cannot hold a candle to what enthusiast level heatsinks are capable of.

As usual, the Swiftech MCX6400-V is of excellent build quality. It's certainly impressive to look at, and it's large size makes it tough to miss if you have an LED fan on top of it. I would have prefered a clip mechanism to secure the heatsink, but given the weight, I can see why Swiftech chose a bolt on method. Installation is straightforward, and should only take a couple minutes to install.

Performance was good, but it is still edged slightly by the Hyper 6. Low speed fans work very well with the cooler, but for obvious reasons, a higher speed fan will net better performance. Despite the large size, the MCX6400 is actually more convenient than the Hyper 6 as it should not interfere with cases where you have (stock or user modded) a blow-hole duct over the CPU. At $47.95 without a fan at Crazy PC, it is certainly worth the money.

Pros: Good performance, excellent quality.

Cons: Not the top of the class in terms of performance, but quite close.

Bottom Line: This is another excellent offering by Swiftech, and the price is competitive for a heatsink of this quality. For Athlon 64 owners looking to move away from their stock coolers, the MCX6400-V deserves to be on your shortlist.

If you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.

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