Performance

Pentium 4 2.4GHz Northwood "B"
MSI i845PE Max2
Nanotherm Ice Thermal Compound
Prime95 run for 20 minutes
Room temperature is maintained at ~23C/74F

Going up against the MCX4000 will be a modified MCX462, the Vantec Aeroflow, and an Intel stock cooler. As mentioned in previous reviews, the stock Intel cooler is an all aluminum design, and is the one packaged with early Pentium 4 CPUs, as well as with the CPU we're testing today. We are including it in the review for the sake of gauging it against performance coolers.

The Aeroflow will be directly compared with the MCX4000 to test 70mm fan performance. The MCX462 was modified with the Pentum 4 installation brackets, and will be compared against the MCX4000 to test 80mm fan performance.

The 70mm fan used for the Swiftech and Vantec is none other than the Y.S. Tech TMD fan. The model we're using is supposed to be a newer revision, and doesn't have the problems of the earlier versions. The 80mm fan used will be the Thermaltake Smart Fan 2 at both low speed, and at high speed.

Temperatures presented will be at full load.

70mm TMD Fan Performance

The MCX4000 scores a narrow victory over the Aeroflow. Although the difference is small, I was actually a little surprised that the MCX4000 performed as well as it did with a 70mm fan. There were a fair number of pins that were not covered by the fan, and I half expected higher temperatures since those pins weren't being directly cooled.

80mm Fan Performance, 20.55 CFM at 1300rpm

At 1300rpm, the fan is near silent. The downside to this is performance of the heatsink is not as good as it could be. Even so, it outperforms the modified MCX462, and performs on par with the TMD fan, which is noticably louder.

80mm Fan Performance, 75.7 CFM at 4800 rpm

At 4800rpm, the fan is quite noisy, but moves a good amount of air through the heatsink. The MCX4000 puts out the best temperatures we've seen for a Pentium 4 air cooler. Your ears will pay the price though.

Overclocking

With such a thick base of copper, I had some high hopes for overclocking. Since copper can absorb heat fairly quickly, it was no surprise that the MCX4000 allowed us to POST at the highest levels we were able to acheive with our CPU/Motherboard combo. The previous high was 161FSB, but with the MCX4000, we managed a 165FSB POST. The system eventually hung at the POST screen, but we were able to boot into Windows and run benchmarks at 158FSB. Temperatures after 20 minutes of testing was about 59C. Keep in mind that we were using an 80mm Smart Fan 2 at full speed. At 59C, the heatsink probably has a lot of headroom if you have yourselves a more overclocking friendly CPU or motherboard.

Final Words

If you're content with running your Pentium 4 at stock speeds, there isn't really that much of a need for such a large cooler. Then again, I doubt most of you settle for factory settings. Overclockers who need the best, if water cooling is too cost prohibative, need to look no further than the MCX4000.

Swiftech put a lot of care in its design, and the MCX4000 is simply a beauty to behold. Don't let these pretty looks fool you though, as it comes with the performance to back it up. It's not cheap, but you're not buying somebody's heatsink made in some outhouse.

The only criticism I can see is the fact that you'll need to both remove your motherboard, as well as removing the Intel retention plate. It takes a little more elbow grease to install than standard Intel coolers, but the trouble will be well worth it.

Pros:
Excellent performance
Adaptable - Use almost any fan you want
Excellent build quality
Looks great!

Cons:
Installation requires removal of motherboard

Bottom Line: The MCX4000 outperformed all the coolers we've tested today, fan sizes aside. In terms of air cooling, whether you prefer fans to be silent, or flat out loud, the MCX4000 is up to the task. Unless you choose to go water, you'll be hard pressed to find a better heatsink.

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

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