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Date Posted: June 12, 2002

The Alpha PAL-8045T Heatsink

    The major changes have to do with sheer size, the 8045 is 10mm taller than its little brother and is also 20mm wider.  As it is bigger it thus will weigh more, so it uses the four holes around the CPU socket.  This helps to not put any strain on the socket slugs, and also is useful as the heatsink is too big to use the slugs.  We will talk about the mounting differences a little later on.  There is also a shroud for this heatsink, to direct the air from the fan onto the aluminum pins.  There are definitely many pins, used instead of fins, for transferring the heat from the copper/aluminum base to the surrounding air, but I didn't count how many there are.

    What about the clipping/mounting mechanism, is it any different than any other heatsink?  Well for a start the four holes around the socket are finally used, as only one other heatsink company uses this method, Swiftech.  For mounting instructions I'd suggest you look at (pdf). 

    The pros about this way of mounting is that it doesn't damage the slugs around the socket, and as such it will not rip off as you are transporting your case around.  It also allows for equal pressure to be placed on the CPU die itself, and it is easier to put on or take off (assuming you have the motherboard out).  The major downside to this mounting mechanism is that your motherboard has to be taken out of the case before you can take the heatsink off.  Another downside is that not all socket A motherboards make sure that there is enough space around the socket for the heatsink to fit, and/or the socket holes are not present.  In fact Alpha has a list of many .

    Well we have looked at the heatsink, and since we know that Alpha sells their heatsinks to companies without fans, what fans did we use for this heatsink?

    From the left to right we see a Sunon 50CFM Fan rated at  40.5dBA @ 3900RPM (Part #KDE1208PTBX-6A);  next is another Sunon fan this one produces 43CFM and is rated at 37dBA @ 3200RPM (Part #KD1208PTB1-6); and lastly, to break the monotony of Sunon fans we have a Thermaltake 37CFM Fan rated at 30dBA @ 2900RPM.  While none of these are the 68CFM or 80CFM Delta's, they are fans that aren't so loud that your ear drums will blow after listening to them for a couple of hours, yet they still move a good amount of air.

    We've talked about the heatsink and the fans it will be tested with, now lets look at the test system.

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