Thermalright Thermalright SLK-800 ( Heatsink only). Copper heat spread (Thermalright-SLK800)

Reviewed by: AlexanderAkulick

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: Works with 80mm. fans, clears mobo components well, 3- point clip, and color blends better with other copper colored components. Huge build-up hype fron users.

Weaknesses: Doesn't cool as well as an Aeroflow, over 500gram weight, install requires adding pads for AMD chips, mating surface is not smooth (requires lapping), and frankly its performance is'nt that thrilling.

Overall Evaluation: UPDATE 2/7/04 The new kid on the block is the Gigabyte Cooler at just over 400 grams at New Egg - it really kicks. I bought this as a replacement for a Vantec Aeroflow hoping for improvements in temperature, less noise, and colors to better match my other components. I only got eye candy. The Aeroflow was allready giving a steady 32deg.C. processor temp., in my very heavily loaded but well cooled Antec tower, and the SLK-800A lost ground here only achieving a steady 35deg.C. on my 3000XP.(Results were verified using the processor's temp diode and the Digital Doc 5's temp sensors.)The fan I chose being a Thermaltake 80mm. Smart Fan II CoolMod. Running this fan at its higher RPM's for more CFM resulted in no better temperature performance so the end noise level was no higher than the Aeroflow's TMD fan at the Thermaltake's lower speeds but THE THERMALTAKE FAN HAS THE BETTER LOOK with its lights and colors, and its speed can be varied using its temp sensor and or variable switch.(PN: A1506 - an excellent performance fan - read its specs. at thermaltake.com) In side by side comparison the Aeroflow has more surface area than the SLK 800A and I don't feel a SLK 900A would have made any more improvement than the Aeroflow was allready delivering. If so it would be negligible at the cost of more weight. So buy the Thermaright if you are only interested in looks, otherwise get an Aeroflow which doesn't look bad but only comes in the chrome look, is lighter, cools better, and is less expensive.PS:The weight of the SLK 800A could cause breakage if you move or bump your PC too much!