SLK-800...Leaning Tower of Heatsink???

[BrainStorm]

Now that I have an SLK-800, I have a question for you SLK-800 owners out there. Are your fins perpendicular to the base? Mine are off by several degrees, causing what I would call the "leaning tower" when viewed from the side. I'll attach some pics below so you can see what I mean.

Does ThermalRight's QC just blow goats, or is SVC selling factory seconds (I didn't see anything on the ThermalRight box indicating it was a second)? Is everyone's SLK-800 like this, or is it something I should consider RMA'ing for?

I guess as long as it works, I shouldn't really care, but there's always that nagging question of whether it makes any difference or not, and how you would know.

Anyway, I'd appreciate a word from you SLK-800 owners out there about your experience. Thanks.

[BrainStorm]

pic 1

[BrainStorm]

pic 2

[BrainStorm]

pic 3

[Bravo]

SLK800

I laugh at it.

Here in Aus we have a cooler thats 40% of the price, and more attractive. Its not even completely copper, and performs identical:

http://www.dansdata.com/coolercomp_p5.htm#sfr2

SLK? I laugh at it :D

[sc0tty8]

wow, mine I do not think mine is like that....Maybe a little bit.

I would not put an aluminium hsf in my computer, I like my slk-800. You can laugh all you wnt bravo, but I will be able to go to sleep at night knowing my system is cooled by a quiality hsf that is proven.

[sysfailur]

Originally posted by Bravo
SLK800

I laugh at it.

Here in Aus we have a cooler thats 40% of the price, and more attractive. Its not even completely copper, and performs identical:

http://www.dansdata.com/coolercomp_p5.htm#sfr2

SLK? I laugh at it :D

?? Ehh.... which? According to that site, the SLK-800 has .46 C/W.... I looked @ all the heatsinks on the right and I see none that come near .46 except the other SLK models.

Which one are you talking about?

[sc0tty8]

Well I went to the link I think he is talking about the Spire 5F271B1L3 FalconRock II...

[Bravo]

Originally posted by sc0tty8
Well I went to the link I think he is talking about the Spire 5F271B1L3 FalconRock II...

You'll notice the performance between the 110 AUD SLK800 is the same as the 33 AUD SpireRock II with the same fan :D

And i quote:


You can't expect much from very quiet coolers, even ones with 80mm fans. So I was surprised to see the FalconRock II score 0.63°C/W. That's as good as some much, much louder coolers, and if your case ventilation's OK, it's should be good enough to run any Socket A or Socket 370 CPU at stock speed.

I was interested to see how well this unusually effective heat sink worked with a more powerful fan on it. I gave it a 5.4 watt Sunon 80mm, which is about as loud as most people are likely to be able to tolerate, but not a real howler. Now, the FalconRock II scored a downright excellent 0.52°C/W. That's in serious overclocking territory, and it's what I'd expect to see from a run-of-the-mill all-copper heat sink with the same fan. This thing's more effective than it has any right to be.

Pursuing the holy doctrine of More Power, I slapped a Delta FFB0812EHE, with a 16.2 watt nominal power rating, onto the unsuspecting heat sink. Now, it scored an outstanding 0.46°C/W. Only someone with a severe auditory handicap would be able to live with any Delta EHE fan in their PC, mind you.

So what we have here is a solid performer from any fan power level. The FalconRock II is an excellent choice if you want a quiet PC, and if you stick a quite modest normal case fan on it instead of its metal-framed stocker, it transforms into a proper overclockers' cooler. Highly recommended.

This FalconRock II came from Lownoise PC, here in Australia. They're selling it for $AU33, plus another $AU7.50 for shipping in NSW and the ACT, or $AU8.50 for shipping to other States.

At that price, it's a total bargain.

Same Fan = Same performance for, again, 40% of the price hehe :D

Btw, the SLK800 is sold in Aus for 110 without a 80mm Delta. An additional cost of 25 dollars brings this cooler to close to 75USD.

[felix88]

too bad you guys are getting ripped off for the Thermalright heatsinks. i can get an SLK800 for $30 + shipping in the US.

i'd also like to point out that the aluminum/copper units generally don't perform consistantly. sometimes the copper insert makes good contact with the aluminum, other times it doesn't. IMO, Alpha is the only company that knows how to do it right.

i bet the Spire doesn't outperform this one:

http://www.thermalright.com/slk900.html

anyway, back on topic.

i wouldn't worry about the fins leaning unless they are flimsy and bend with the weight of the fan.

[sc0tty8]

I got a huge delta on mine< i just noticed the fins kinda bend a bit, but they can be bent back, I seen they made a new rev of it with spacers in the fins so it don't bend liek that.

The slk-900 will pry be the next hsf I buy, as my bro wants a beter cooler which means I get to upgrade and do the hand me down thing;)

[felix88]

yup, i've been wanting to upgrade my PAL8045, but i'm not going to buy a swifty, and i don't trust the clips anymore.

maybe Alpha will come out with something new. i've always liked their stuff.

[N8]

I paid $29 for my SLK-800's & I love them. I will check if those fins are crooked tonight.

[BrainStorm]

Thanks, N8. The rest of you guys, while a debate of the efffectiveness of the SLK-800 is entertaining, it isn't really on topic. :D Can anyone else giive me some feedback on whether their SLK-800 fins are on straight? Thanks.

[N8]

BTW, it looks like you got a SLK-800A...it appears to be the new SLK-800 revision. I hafta wonder if the tilting was done in the new rev.? Sysfailur should know, he has a new 1. Mine are both the original SLK-800's.

[N8]

by looking at the newegg pics I would says urs is rather messed up. Look at the angle of ur fins where they're welded to the material around the clip, & then look at these newegg pics:

SLK-800:
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?image=35-109-005-05.JPG/35-109-005-06.JPG/35-109-005-04.JPG

SLK-800A:
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?image=35-109-008-01.JPG/35-109-008-02.JPG/35-109-008-03.JPG

[BrainStorm]

Originally posted by N8
by looking at the newegg pics I would says urs is rather messed up. Look at the angle of ur fins where they're welded to the material around the clip, & then look at these newegg pics:

SLK-800:
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?image=35-109-005-05.JPG/35-109-005-06.JPG/35-109-005-04.JPG

SLK-800A:
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?image=35-109-008-01.JPG/35-109-008-02.JPG/35-109-008-03.JPG

Yeah, it's an 800A all right. And I have to agree, based on that pic at newegg, mine seems messed up. I just wonder how much if any it affects performance and whether it's worth sending it back. It seems to do a good job, but like I said, maybe it could be doing a few degrees better. Dunno. Maybe I'll send the pics to ThermalRight and ask them.

[N8]

Originally posted by BrainStorm
Maybe I'll send the pics to ThermalRight and ask them.

I would do just that :)

Edit: LOL, the more & more I look at that, the more I realize just how screwed it is. The 3rd pic really tells all...thats wild...

[BrainStorm]

I sent it off to ThermalRight and got this lovely response


First you suppose contact with SVC to see what's going on your heatsink. If there is a manufacturing default, you can go back to me again. I will help you.

Thermalright

So they are telling me to ask SVC if there is a manufacturing defect. :lol: I sent back a response saying that I'm asking them if it is a manufacturing defect so I'll know whether to go back to SVC or not. Unfortunately, she doesn't appear to be a native English speaker, so we'll see how things go.

[N8]

Well, I think its safe to say that there's no way SVC did that. TR had to have :)

[BrainStorm]

Originally posted by N8
Well, I think its safe to say that there's no way SVC did that. TR had to have :)

Agreed, unless SVC is selling factory seconds (i.e., QC rejects) that they picked up for a song, like an outlet mall sometimes does, only without tell you.

But I saw nothing on the ThermalRight box that indicated anything like that. So I'm just assuming it made it by ThermalRight's QC somehow.

Man, my luck with computer parts has started sucking all of a sudden. I've never had to RMA anything prior to that Corsair ram. Which BTW, they agreed to replace after I talked to their tech guy. Now we'll see how soon it gets back to me and whether they try to charge me for shipping.

[N8]

hehe, I was thinking the same thing about ur luck. I doubt SVC is selling 2nd-hand stuff, my 4 sinks look fine. And there is no way any sort of QC person saw ur sink...that's really messed.

[okra]

Agreed. That 3rd pic tells it all.
I would RMA that thing, if for nothing else than the principal of the matter. :D

[TryCatchThrow]

BrainStorm,

I just got 2 SLK800s. They both have ridges on the bottoms. I thought that they should have been mirror smooth. :confused:

Do I need to lap these ridges off?
Does anyone else have these ridges?

They are very fine, evenly spaced machined lines.

Thanks all,
:comp10:

[BrainStorm]

Originally posted by TryCatchThrow
BrainStorm,

I just got 2 SLK800s. They both have ridges on the bottoms. I thought that they should have been mirror smooth. :confused:

Do I need to lap these ridges off?
Does anyone else have these ridges?

They are very fine, evenly spaced machined lines.

Thanks all,
:comp10:

My 800A also had very fine machining marks on the bottom and could probably stand to be lapped. Not what I expected in that regard either.

How were yours as far as the fins go? Anywhere near as bad as mine?

[TryCatchThrow]

Sorry, looks like a manufacturing defect to me. :( My fins are perfectly straight, just the machining lines on the bottom. Still wondering if those are supposed to be there. :confused: These are definitely SLK-800A's and I got them from SVC just this last week. If I were you I'd call SVC and RMA it. They've been doing good on their RMA's lately according to resellerratings.com.

Good luck!

[BrainStorm]

TryCatchThrow, thanks for the input. I sent a letter off to their RMA dept. yesterday, but haven't heard back. May try calling them today.

[JBELL]

air cool?? BAH!!!!! how about 2.9GHz full load @ 87F


WAR SWIFTECH QPOWER!!!

[LBJGH]

here is mine... I can't see em leaning, can u?
http://members.rogers.com/lbjgh/slk.jpg

... and yes I did reseat the CPU properly. :p

[BrainStorm]

Originally posted by LBJGH
here is mine... I can't see em leaning, can u?
http://members.rogers.com/lbjgh/slk.jpg

... and yes I did reseat the CPU properly. :p

I can't see it leaning any, but it would be easier to tell from a pic of one of the ends (like my pic 3 originally posted).

[sjohnson]

Fins on mine are straight, original 800. I also had machining marks on the bottom, decided to lap it. Most I've heard of could stand being lapped.

[BrainStorm]

Finally got my replacement yesterday. It's an original SLK-800 instead of the 800A. Man, the fins on this thing are easy to bend. Sure liked the 800A better in that regard. The bottom was smoother on this one, although could probably still stand a little lapping. Overall performance seems a little worse (or maybe my memory is bad).

Anyway the fins are perpendicular to the base on this one, but it really looks like I RMA'd the old one for nothing as far as performance goes. :(

[okra]

What temps are you seeing with it now?

[BrainStorm]

37 idle, 43-44 loaded. And that's in socket, not on die. :(

[Mark Larson]

I honestly didn't see anything wrong with it, even in the third pic. Oh well, live and learn.

Time for you to get yourself an SLK-900 ;)