Yet another HSF recommendation question....

[BZeto]

Ok, I'll be running an Epox EP-8K5A2+ mobo with an Athlon XP 1600 OC'd. Not sure how much I'll OC it, but no doubt I will. Which HSF should I have on this puppy?

People seem to like the SVC CG68, and I know its a good price too. I'm looking for a good price, but COOLING and performance is the MAIN thing.

 

[BZeto]

bump....

 

[cheapgoose]

well, you got your ax-7 for under 30 bucks. alpha 8045 under 40 bucks, and your slk800(?) and swifty for under 50 bucks. take your pick.

I bought a swifty from svc, gave it to my gf, and replaced it with an alpha. both cost me some, but I'm happy.

 

[Profyrion]

If it fits, go with the Alpha PAL 8045.

 

[kyoshozx]

I have used both the alpha and the ax-7. The quality of the alpha heatsink is better than the ax-7. Both the bottom of the heatsinks are about the same very smooth but still very faint machine markings are left.

Both heatsinks are great and perform about the same within 1 or 2 degree C of each other.
Here are some of my experiences with the heatsinks.

Alpha:
I was using the alpha on my old asus a7v133a then upgraded to the asus a7v333 and could never ever get it to mount correctly on my asus a7v333 it just couldn't get good contact with the cpu, leading to have high temps thats why I swicthed to the AX-7. I'm using the alpha on the asus a7v8x right now and it works perfectly.

AX-7
Mounting this heatsink you have to be really careful, since you need to slip a screwdriver into the clip. I had the screwdriver slip once luckily it didn't do any damage to the mb. You have to apply a decent amount of pressure onto the clipHowever I've used 2 cpu with this heatsink before and even with very careful mounting of the heatsink I was about to chip the corner of both cpu's. Even though very very minor chips wasn't even able to tell unless I used a magnifying glass to verify.

Personally I would get the alpha heatsink instead of the ax-7 if your motherboard allows it. Mounting the heatsink might be a pain since you have to remove the motherboard but it's securely mounted. Second it's a lot harder to chip the cpu with the alpha since pressure is applied gradually when you screw it down. If you screw it down slowly and using a star pattern it's almost impossible to chip the cpu. Only problem I had with it was my inability to get it mount correctly on one motherboard. It's probably due to some error by me but i tried plenty of times to get it to seat correctly and it did look like it did, but apparently it did not.

 

[jaybee]

The GC68 is a cheap, quiet cooler, but it's not a great choice for overclocking. I just replaced my Speeze Big Rock II with the SVC GC68. The noise level is much better (over 1000rpm slower), but my temps went up a degree C or two. I'm happy b/c I like the more quiet setup, but if you want cheap and cool, I'd go for the Big Rock II's bigger brother, the Super Rock. $8.50 at newegg.

jaybee