Thermalright was kind enough to send over their newest heatsink, the AX-7. This heatsink is the successor to the now famous SK6 which was an outstanding heatsink. The base of the unit is made of copper while the top part and the fins are made of aluminum. All right enough intro, lets get down to business.
When I opened up the package which had the AX-7 in it I was surprised to see how big the box was and how heavy it was. It is very secure and protected so it will not get damaged during shipping.
When you purchase the Thermalright AX-7 you get the heatsink, 4 screws, 4 washers and a thermal pad. They should have included some kind of paste instead but you can purchase it separately.
The AX-7 is very unique looking, it looks somewhat like a Thermoengine, but at the same time a lot different. It has fins around the sides or it rather than on the top, it takes an 80mm fan and has a smaller base.
The base is 60mm while the top is 80mm which you can see better in this picture. The base has an outline for where you are supposed to place the thermal pad if you decide to use it. The base of the AX-7 is very well finished and has a great shine to it.
The clip of the AX-7 requires a screwdriver, but I really like the fact that the clip utilizes all of the 6 tabs on the socket. Using all 6 applies more pressure, evenly distributed to the core and if you have broken the middle tab with another heatsink this one will work for you.
As always I would have like to have seen a clip which does not need a screwdriver, however this clip is very easy to use and it was not a problem at all. The AX-7 just barely cleared the capacitors around the socket, you may want to check that it will fit on your motherboard before buying it.
Test Bed
- AOpen AK77 Pro(A)-133
- 1.2Ghz Thunderbird
- 256MB Crucial PC2100
- 3D Power Geforce 3
- Enermax CS-003-A106 case w/ 300w PSU
Like always I will be using Artic Silver 3 for testing, I will also be using an external Compunurse thermal probe for the temperature readings. I will be using 3 different fans to test this heatsink, here are the specs to all of them. The Panaflo is model # L1A, 24 CFM, 21 dB. The YS Tech is model # FD1281259B-2N, 47CFM, 36.90 dB. And the Delta is model # FFB0812EHE, 80.16CFM, 52.5 dB.
I let the test bed idle for about 20 minutes with each fan and took the readings. The Panaflo does not perform too well with this heatsink but the YS Tech and Delta put out great results.
I then used Prime95 to torture test the CPU and bring it to load. With the panaflo the CPU gets very hot, with the YS Tech and Delta the temperatures are still very good. The Delta as you can imagine is doing the best, 42.7 degrees Celsius at load is very good.
I then overclocked the 1.2Ghz Thunderbird to 1.4Ghz (9×156) with a Vcore of 1.85v. I decided not to use the Panaflo during the overclocked tests because at default the CPU got too hot. The AX-7 does not perform too well with the YS Tech but with the Delta its still doing really well.
Again I used Prime95 to torture test the CPU and bring it to load. As you can see with the YS Tech fan the CPU temperature goes over 54 degrees which is not too good. With the Delta its still at 48.5 which is pretty good, but this thing is loud.
Conclusion
The Thermalright AX-7 performs really well with the Delta compared to the others, however to get that performance you have to deal with 52 dB which is very loud. If you do want a heatsink that is going to keep your fast Thunderbird or XP nice and cool while overclocking this heatsink will do the job great while pared up with the Delta.
If you are not looking to overclock I would suggest another heatsink to you. Even though the clip is the kind I do not like, I like it because it uses all 6 tabs. This heatsink is relatively cheap, it goes for about $30 without a fan and is a great value.
Overall I would give this heatsink an 8/10. I would like to thank Thermalright again for sending this heatsink over for me to review.
Pros
- Good Performance
- Uses an 80mm fan
- The base is finished very well
- Good clip
- Great packaging
Cons
- May not fit on all motherboards
- Delta is loud
- Thermal pad