Techaddicts.net-Thermalright SP-97 Heatsink Review

Review by: Jose

Date: April 21st, 2004

Provided by: Thermalright, Inc.

Thermalright Inc makes great quality heatsinks. Back then, the SLK-800 outperformed all of the big names in cooling. Thermalright includes no frills with their heatsinks. The SP97 is a revision to the SP94 (for Intel Pentium 4 systems), that offer compatibility to AMD Athlon systems. This heatsink, like it's predecessor, has 3 heatpipes that protrude out of the side. This heatsink is only compatible to use with motherboards that have standoffs. Click here to check if your motherboard is compatible with this cooler. This heatsink cannot use the lugs that the SLK-800a and SLK-900a have due to the weight and size. Let's look at the packaging:

The heatsink came in an unusually large box. This is not a bad thing of course, since it usually means that it is well packaged, which was the case. A large amount of packing peanuts were used, and the box that pertained the heatsink was not damaged at all.

This is the typical Thermalright packaging, only wider than their SLK series boxes. The carton box is rugged and strong. Typically, Thermalright does not include the "stock fan" with the heatsink, so you have a choice on what to get to cool it.

Inside the heatsink box, there are two layers of foam which protect the heatsink, and divide up the sections of the box where the accessories are. A plastic wrap is used to further protect the heatsink. Again, Thermalright has done a great job in the packaging, you can tell the excellent quality Thermalright products are made with. In the top layer, the SP-97 can be seen, and the fan wire clips in a plastic bag.

In the bottom foam layer, the rest of the accessories lay. The thermal compound, screws and springs are to the left of the heatsink.

Below the heatsink sits the motherboard retention plate, with a plastic protective sheet that acts as an interface between the motherboard and the plate to prevent the mainboard from shorting out.

Here are all the parts included with the heatsink. A simple installation guide is also included. I would recommend to check out the Thermalright page of the SP-97 for more information.

The picture below shows the heatsink from front to back. There are 32 fins, each have a large surface area. Three large heatpipes come from between the base and the fins of the heatsink, to the upper section of the fins, where the heat is dissipated.

A top view of the heatsink. It is clearer where the heat pipes go from this picture. The only heatsink we reviewed that has heatpipes is the Cooler Master HCC-001, which had 2 heatpipes and a 60 mm, 7000 rpm fan. Here a 92mm or a 80mm fan can be placed to cool the fins.

The heatpipe concept consists that heat will travel faster from the base to the fins, when the liquid on the heatpipes boils, and turns into a vapor which moves the heat to the fins in the top. Of course, air does not conduct heat as well as water. Water has a very high heat capacity which means it can hold more heat than air, which is one of the reasons why water cooling is effective. People have done tests years ago with heatpipe laden heatsinks, to test the effectiveness of the heatpipes by cutting them off and seeing what difference it makes. In those cases, it seems to help a few degrees, and it should help in this case. Also, the fan wire clip holes on the heatsink should be noted. You can also place 92x38mm fans such as the Vantec tornado by using the appropriate holes, much like the SLK-800a.

The other side of the heatpipes, where the heat from the heatpipes is dissipated to the fins

To compare the size to the popular SLK-800a, the SP-97 is not that much larger. There are no compatibility issues with most motherboards that have the 4 motherboard holes for the standoffs. Most notably, the DFI NFII Ultra motherboard cannot be used with this heatsink, as noted in the SP-97 compatibility page. The SP-97 is more longer than wider compared to the SLK-800. Without the heatpipes, I would think the performance of the SP-97 would still be better, but not by much. The ability to use a 92mm fan will also change things around. Also, the SP-97 does not have the interestingly shaped base that the SLK-800a, which rises vertically into the upper section of the fins. This allows the heat to move from the base to the fins quickly. The SP-97 does not have this, but it does have a larger base connected to the fins and the heatpipes, which are large advantages to the already powerful SLK-800.

The base of the SP-97, at first glance looked alright. This heatsink does not require extra protective pads like the SLK-800 since the base makes contact with the processor pads. A plastic "tape" covers the base of the heatsink to prevent it from scratches or dings. Removing the plastic tape was easy, and it did not leave adhesives that from previous experiences with some other heatsinks have done so. Even so, we cleaned the base with isopropyl alcohol to make sure any contaminants were gone.

The base of the heatsink was not perfectly flat. It could have been better, specially for the price of the heatsink, but lapping would only help 1 degree or so. I did feel some small ridges while passing my finger nail. Since the SLK-800a used in the testing was lapped to 1500 grit, it's appropriate to lap this heatsink to 1500 grit for testing. Below you can see that this lapping almost makes a mirror image. I also did not feel any ridges while passing my finger after the lapping.

The heatsink came with a guide on how to set up this heatsink. For some, it will be confusing. It is good to follow some reviewer's installation procedures since everything is crammed into one picture here.

There are a few extra steps in the installation of this heatsink. This heatsink, as mentioned before cannot be used with the triple lug clip, nor can it be modified to do so. In order to install this heatsink, the motherboard has to be removed from the case. This can be time consuming for some, specially the ones that do not have removable computer trays. The next step is to place the "X plate" with the plastic protective plate in between, in the back of the motherboard. This is to prevent from the motherboard from shorting out. After the metal plate is aligned, the 4 standoffs have to be screwed in from the front side of the motherboard, to the plate. With the ABIT NF-7 2.0, the large plastic washers go in between the motherboard and the standoffs. Other motherboards may call for the small plastic washers to be used. After all 4 standoffs are secured, the next step is to put the heatsink, with the processor in the socket (w/ thermal compound) and let it sit in the right position as mentioned in the instructions sheet. After that is done, take the screw and spring assembly, and slide in a metal washer, so that it makes contact with the springs. After that, put the screw (with the 2 parts) and drop it in to the heatsink holes, the washer should make contact with the heatsink base, not the spring. Now, screw them in until you see the standoffs move. After you have done this four times, the last step is putting in the fan.

Screws, washers (plastic/metal), springs and standoffs, you will appreciate the fact that an extra set is included in case any of the small pieces are lost

The ability to mount this heatsink through the motherboard standoffs is excellent for lan parties, or for people that move their computer alot, since it sits very securely on the processor. Only 80mm and 92mm fans can be used here, and 2 wire clips for each are included. These wire clips allow for the fans to be taken off easily. They have to be matches to the holes in the fins. It is easier than screwing the fans to the heatsink, and there is minimal vibration caused using these clips.

The fan that we will use in the testing will be the Top Motor 92mm double ball bearing fan. It rotates at an average 2600 rpm, and pushes 42.4 CFM of air. It also produces 33 decibels of noise. The SLK-800a used in the comparison will use an 2800 rpm (variable rpm) 80mm Cooler Master fan. It does push a slightly smaller amount of air, but produces about the same amount of noise. The Cooler Master Jet 7 in the testing uses a blower fan that moves @ 2500 rpm. The noise from the three heatsinks are approximately the same.

For the temperatures, the onboard thermistor will report temperatures. Now to the temperature results:

I've been impressed both of the performance of the heatsink, and the engineering behind the making of this heatsink. Also, few heatsinks allow for 92mm fans to be used, which typically move more air at a lower pitched noise. The three heatpipes, and the large surface area of the fins is effective cooling overclocked systems. The quality is also top notch. No cheap parts, only high quality materials. The packaging was great also, since it prevents from a consumer from having to RMA the product in case the heatsink gets damaged. I'm very impressed.

Overall, this heatsink deserves an editors choice for the performance. If price is not an issue, and you do not want to dive in to watercooling, this should be your top pick. This heatsink gets a 9.5/10.