Thermalright AX-7 vs SK-6...

[metroplex]

Right now I am running a 80mm fan on my Thermalright SK-6 (using the diagonal method). The 80mm fan is a Globe B01138812H
capable of 39.8 cfm

The Sk-6 used to have a 6000 RPM T&T fan (42 cfm) but it was too noisy, so I got the Globe (32.6 dBA)

BUt my CPU temps are rising!!

Idling in DOS with the case closed, my AMD AThlon T-bird 1.4 @ 1.6 (11 x 144) ran up to 52C w/ the system temp at 35C!!!

I'm guessing it'd get close to 60C with XP Pro loaded and playing a game or something.

If I got a AX-7 w/ the same Globe fan, how low would my CPU temp drop?

Or would it stay the same? The reason I'm asking is becuase I don't know if spending $24 for the AX-7 would be worth it... I'm looking for QUIET cooling... anything louder than 34 dBA wouldn't be acceptable and I couldn't find many fans rated under 34 dBA that provided greater than 38 cfm of airflow.

Should i get the AX-7?

 

[NuLLxXx]

Do you have any Caps. near your socket? I found the AX-7 would work on one of my mobos but not the other....
Looks like about 1/2" on two sides and 1/4" on the other 2..... I have two systems using the copper wonder
SK-6 I like both but the AX-7 runs much cooler 5 C on one cpu 10 C on my hot 1.4Tbird....

 

[metroplex]

Yes there are!

I have an Abit KG7-RAID.

Doesn't look like it will work

 

[2Cool]

I am using an AX7 on a KG7 board, no clearance issues at all (the heatsink steps up from the base, and clears the capacitors)

 

[metroplex]

are you sure the KG7 has the same layout as the KG7-RAID?

 

[muddocktor]

The KG7, KG7-Raid and KG7 Lite all have the exact same basic layout. The only differences between the boards is the lack of the Highpoint 370 controller on the KG7 and the lack of 2 DIMM slots, as well as the lack of the HPT 370 controller, on the KG7- Lite. I'm running an original Swiftech MC462 on my KG7-Raid and it is at least as big as the AX7. There are no clearance problems at all with the caps, the closest thing to the socket is actually the northbridge fan. I had to grind just a little bit off the corner of my MC462 to insure that I had adequate clearance for the northbridge fan. This is because the original MC462 didn't have any cutouts on the bottom of the hs. I've also had an Alpha PAL8045 on this mobo, with no problems at all for mounting it. Get the AX7 because there are a variety of 80mm fans you can try on it that push more air with less noise than a 60mm fan. Plus, the noise that does come from the 80mm fans is lower pitched and less annoying than the 60mm fans of the same cfm rating. BTW, if you can find one, Delta makes an 80 mm focused flow fan that puts out 47 cfm with only 35 dB of sound, but they are hard to find. The only place I've found that has had those fans in the past is sidewindercomputers.com, but they won't be getting any until sometime in October. I plan to get several then and use them as powerful case fans.

 

[klah]

Here is a list of mobo's that the AX-7 fits onto: www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=113809

 

[NuLLxXx]

The one board that I couldn?t use it on, "IF" I really wanted I could cut off part of the a fin in the way of
this one CAP.... I love this HS...... I hope that AMD makes mobo makers push the clutter away from the socket
like Intel has forced with the HS retention system they use.....

I wish Thermalright, Inc would put a graphic on the website showing the size over a socket blue print! One true
to size that you could print out and place on you mobo...... I picked on up before anyone had tested it so I
had no info on what it would fit.....