PAL8045 vs. MC462 Showdown!

[Darksword]

Hey guys, I decided to go a day early on the PAL8045 review. If you've been wondering if it's worth its weight in aluminum, now's your chance to find out. :cool:

http://www.icrontic.com/dk/AlphaPAL8045T/alpha17.jpg (http://www.icrontic.com/index.php?page=public/hardware&hardwareId=118)

[AmStoned]

DK:

Excellent review with thorough installation guide. Like many reviews PAL8045 is in fact on par if now a bit better than Swiftech, or way less cash. The new Alpha is one sexy bitch.

I got mine on Saturday from the Post Office and is loving it ever since, although I have the Sunon 36CFM on the sucking position. Have you tried switching our Sunon around to sucking so the air coming will get pull by the exhaust?

[Rando]

Definately the best bang for the buck.....:yes:

[catcorpse]

thank you very much. I neeed to get another heatsink for my OC bird and now I know what to get for my heatsink. I have loved Alpha not for there socket work but the monster slot A heat sink that I have. I could possibly cut it down to fit my socket, but I would need another slot sink :D

[floppybootstomp]

Nice review, DK. Well written and a good presentation.

I definitely need something better, my Silverado don't really cut the mustard with my 1.2 @ 1320.

We can get the Swiftie in the UK but it costs an arm and a leg :( I expect we'll have to wait a while before we can buy the Alpha 8045T over here, but I think I'll wait for it anyway.

Hope it doesn't take as long as the Philips range of sound cards though, they've only just become available here.

You Americans are spoilt! :D

[lurch63]

hey flopps, you wanna do a product fowarding thingamagigie, i'm slowly collecting parts for beezer to build his abit/tb computer, i got a 1.0avia and a kt7-raid waiting for him, i could order two and send one to you if you want, or any of the other UK guys , just let me know, and i'll order at the same time, sinc. lurch

[floppybootstomp]

That's tempting Mr Lurch. If you could find out the total cost in dollars including shipping, I may well take you up on the offer.

Trouble is, it's a weighty item, the shipping cost may make it not worthwhile.

I don't want to put you out or anything, but if you could find out the total cost in dollars, I'll get the exchange rate at the bank and figure it out. I can actually send dollars by recorded post, I got me's a BIOS saviour from Leonardo that way.

I tell you, I've never met a nicer bunch of guys than on this Forum :)

Sometimes I feel left wanting to return the favours I've received. I have returned some good stuff to other peeps, but sometimes I'm a little overwhelmed by the good vibes.

Ah shit, enough soppiness, gimme a price! :)

Lurch - :thumbsup:

[Alakazam]

Great review DK, it would be very interesting to see the fan reversed on the Alpha and some benchies. I was under the impression that they were designed to pull air from the sink, My 6035 works best that way, just curious.

[ImaginAsian]

Excellent review bro! Much more thorough then [H] and Club OC!

Everyon repeat after me...

ALPHA is the SHEEZNIT!!!! Swiftech WHAT????

:yes: :yes: :yes:

Damn..my cooler didn't make it while I was gone...arrgh!!!

Comment about the screw fitting only into the bottom fan holes...you can use a skinny screwdriver to tighten the screws from the top fan hole and avoiding the angled approach from the bottom screw mount.

[AmStoned]

IA, lookie what the Stoner's got in his system. Hey, didn't you ordered yours before me? Got mine the next day first class mail baby.:lol: Well, I'm sure yours will come on Monday. Swiftech? Who the hell uses Swiftech?

[ImaginAsian]

U SUCK

:D :D :D

I guess the only Swiftech Dude we gotta convert now is 0-60 :)

[lurch63]

aaaaaaaaaaah, i just erased what i wrote, damn i hate it when that happens, anyway what had already wrote was, hmm, i for one will be staying with my swiftech , since dk's review, and the performance isn't that big of a deal, i see no need to switch and further increase my debt, although since i am collecting parts for beezer's upcoming abit/tb system, i am going to get one, which i can then throw in mine and give him the swifty (;)lurch making dr. evil gesture with hand), but oh well, was nice to be next best thing for a while, now i can just wine about sour grapes, (jk,pun:))
well later, sinc. lurch

[martzweb]

i still like my sk6, and it does a fine job stopping my 1.4 .... (yeah you heard me IA...na na) from going thermonuclear.......

besides, some of us dont need to be Fashion Victims


go on.... i fight you with one hand......:)

[Darksword]

What cpu fan are you using with your SK6?

[ImaginAsian]

Somebody has to LOOK GOOD and represent BBF...

And we KNOW you can't do it Martz :p

It's like Creme Broulee and Jello...You can want Creme Broulee (or however the hell you spell it) but you always gonna be Jello :P

Besides...did you have to SCREAM over that Delta Whine of just so I can hear :)

[AmStoned]

Man, y'all better take a buff and chill like the Stoner. Loud ass Delta fans doesn't mean shit, and CFMs are nothing but a number. You gots to have a good HSF to start with, and well, I gotta give it to Martz, switching from a good old Swiftech to an Alpha is a waste of money... Unless you're down with Alpha to represent. Man, ain't nothing else but an Alpha will go in my systems. Period.

[martzweb]

DK .... the stock ys-tech that it came with......... but it does have a 120 mil blowhole ducted directly to it..... idle is around 24C with a 40C UD frenzy temp......

OK...so i'm cheating on the idle....vcool is helping with that....:)

might just grab a better fan from somewhere (choice is limited tho in the UK)

IA.... as for coolness...... never mind the quality man... feel the width :D

[ImaginAsian]

Read it and weep folks :D

Got my Alpha today from SVC and installed the baby in under 15 minutes (thanks to my cutout of the mobo tray by 0-60...no removing mobo for me!) and she is running nice and smooth.

Temps are 1C better then the Swiftech (as expected more or less) but the damn anodized black of the Alpha looks SWEET next to my Zalman NB cooler as well. No camera folks :)

I have to now say this...Swiftech is way over-priced compared to the Alpha and they need to drop their prices soon. Swiftech is still a one of the best high quality HS but not worth it anymore at the price.

The springs on the Alpha seemed a bit tighter then the Swifty's making the compression a little better. Also, my 92mm Fan mod with springs is held on tighter since the Alpha is taller then the Swifty, making the fan springs under more tension :yes: I didn't use the fan shroud since it was blocking the 92mm fan airflow...so I got it blowing onto the sink which is what my Chimeny Airflow design requires anyway.

Totally recommend Alpha to you all...you won't be dissapointed!!

ALPHA CLUB MEMBERS

DK
Stone
IA
Rando

Who's next :p

[Darksword]

Methinks we need a special "Alpha Club" logo? Any of you Photoshop pros wanna take a hack at it? Maybe something about 100x50 pixels?

[AmStoned]

IA: What kind of tempts are you getting? Doing stock at the moment, 133x11.5 = 1530. Tempts are 38 idle, 41 load. case = 30, and room tempt = 20.

[ImaginAsian]

At 153x10 = 1.53GHz, I am getting 45-47C Full, 26C Idle, with case temps around 26-28C and room temp ~ 26-27C. The full load temps are taken using a CompuNurse. The IWILL thermistor is crap and shows the temp to be 40-42C (it doesn't even touch the bottom of the core).

What are you using to take the temperature readings? Do you have a nurse?

Hey DK...i was looking at the review again and noticed the Alpha Fan was blowing with the Shroud attached. Did you reverse the Fan to Suck as Alpha Recommends? Also, that "white" shroud can be peeled off to show the real aluminum shroud...the white tape is just protective backing :D

[AmStoned]

Oh, yeah, there's a nurse in the case, but it's used for probing HD/Case tempt. Using the MSI tempt probing program, and I have no idea where the probe is actually located. Don't really want to open up the case again to have the nurse licking the CPU's ass.:D I'll just wait 'til they come up with a program to utilize the XP's built in tempt probe.

And goddamnit, UD server's been down for the past 2 days. I'm using SETI to load the CPU.

[Darksword]

Yeah, that was brought to my attention a few days ago. I should have my interview with Alhpa Novatech posted in about a week (I hope) at which time I will redo the benchmark tests with the fan sucking using the shroud, and with the fan blowing onto the heatsink without the shroud.

BTW.... If the true aluminum color looks anything like the puke color I saw from ClubOC and [H] reviews, I may just leave the white coating on it. :D

[ImaginAsian]

Kewl man! Can't wait to see the results and the interview with Alpha! Tell them IA wants a job there :P

And Hook Us Up man! Give us some Alpha T-Shirts, Pencils, Toliet Paper, Deodarant...whatever ya can get :D And the aluminum color looks good man...trust me :)

Hey Stone...u still having UD problems? Mine are firing away on all cylinders. The Agent was upgraded yesterday so the servers sucked ass but all is well now. Get back to chasing panties and to hell with Aliens :D :D :D

[AmStoned]

IA: The UD Agent must be the culprit of the problems. Got the link for the new UD Agent?

Update: NM, found your other thread. *Sighs* Looks like I'll try again tonight.

[Darksword]

UD is finally giving us T-Bird folk some credit. My "1.5Ghz T-Bird" is rated at 135 points, compared to the 1.5Ghz P4 which is at base 100 points.

[lurch63]

God, IA is going to be macking on some chick, finally seems like he's going to hit pay dirt, as he whips out the alpha rubber that he got. :) (sigh) lurch

[Rando]

and using the swiftech mounting studs, worked just fine, be damned if i's gonna pull the mobo.:cursing: 1.6 tbird/1.89vcore/45-47 full w/ 28-29 case/room temp.

[Alakazam]

The guys over at ipkonfig (http://www.ipkonfig.com/Reviews/Heatsinks/Alpha-PAL8045U/) just did a comparison with the different fan configurations, very interesting.

Test Bed
AMD Thunderbird 1.333Ghz/266Mhz @ 1.46Ghz
Abit KT7A/266Mhz Motherboard | Latest BIOS update
ArcticSilver ][ Thermo Compound
Windows 2000 Pro SP2
394MB PC-150
VisionTek GeForce2 Ultra
WD 40GB ATA/100 Hard Drive
Test ran for 30Min

HS Tested At:- - CPU Speed- CPU V- Celsius

Idle -- Air Outward 1.46Ghz 1.95v 39c
Load - Air Outward 1.46Ghz 1.95v 41c

Idle- - Air Downward 1.46Ghz 1.95v 42c
Load - Air Downward 1.46Ghz 1.95v 46c

That's quite a difference as far as I'm concerned, if DK's numbers match up I think IA might have to rethink his cooling scheme. How about it IA

[ImaginAsian]

Interesting indeed Zammy...those are big differences...biggest I've seen to date. While I don't discredit their results, the delta is awfully large compared to my past experiences with the 60mm PAL and PEPs.

I would imagine the shroud sucking is ideal in NEGATIVE airflow case designs since the rear fans are working in unison with the CPU Fan. In POSTIVE airflow designs, and especially so in a chimeny air path, I think blowing onto the heatsink in conjunction with a side blowhole and the rears blowing into across the fin veins provides me the optimum configuration.

[floppybootstomp]

I got one now, thanks to the one named lurch :D

A little advice, fellow forum members, if I may be so bold...

I have an Antec SX1030 case, 2 x Sunon 80mm's sucking at the rear, 1 x no-name 80mm fan blowing in from the front. 300W PSU, single fan.

So, is it best to have the 8045 Sunon 80mm fan blowing down or sucking up?

I favour blowing down, but I'm not really sure :confused: I haven't actually fited it yet, but soon come, soon come :rasta:

[AmStoned]

Welcome to club Alpha man! Flops, I have the SX830 with 3 fans up front intake, and two fans on the back (3 if you count the PSU) exhaust. I use the same Sunon fan you use on the Alpha, and is set in sucking position. The reason is once air's suck out of the Alpha, the two exhaust will take over to transfering the bad/hot air out. I was touching my Alpha (no, not that way, you sick bastard) after a 24 hr run, and I'll be damn, the pins are actually warm, indicating good contact between CPU core and HSF, and proper heat transfer. So to sum it up, SUCK IT!!!:D

[ImaginAsian]

You have a negative airflow case design (nice case BTW :) ) and I believe the best situation would be Shroud on, Sucking. That way the 2 rear 80mms and suck out the hot air exhausting from your CPU fan. The 1030 case has positioned the rear fans nicely just for this purpose.

BTW...Welcome to the Alpha Brotherhood :wizard: :wizard:

Do you know how much was shipping? I offered to do the same thing for our bro Slayer!


You know what guys...I really need to spend some time to test my case in different fan configurations and report back to ya. I just need to find the time!

[floppybootstomp]

I fitted it. Fucking hell, does that make a difference or what! :)

Scuse I, no more cussin' but I am impressed. In the end, before reading IA and AS's above posts, I fitted it as you two's recommended, with shroud and sucking. It just seemed to make more sense the more I thought about it, what with the 2 case exhaust fans seeming to be positioned just right.

Prior to the install I was using a Silverado and was getting 51C under load, 42C idle.

Here's my new temps,room temp 19C, using MBM, 3r bios and UD as a load:

Under load, fans on: 37C

Under load, fans off: 41C

Idle, fans on: 35C

Idle, fans off: 36C

Quite a difference eh? :) Interesting to note hardly any difference with idle temp whether fans on or off and that when the fans are on under load, they obviously do a good job sucking out the hot air.

Me happy :D

IA: I think the shipping was about $26.00. The whole deal required that I sent lurch $80.00. I sent him 4 x twenty dollar bills by registered post. That worked out at roughly £61.00, everything included, for me.

That may seem expensive, but it still works out about £5.00 cheaper than what we can buy the Swiftie and a fan for over here. And, to me, it was one of those 'Just gotta have it' items :)

And it's nice to be a little exclusive in the UK :D

The only other thing to remember, for customs sakes, is to mark the parcel as 'gift' (if prompted) to avoid export duty. It took nine days to get here.

I sent Lurch some CD's recently. I put my return address on the back of the jiffy bag. When this arrived, lurch tells me, his dad was a little anxious over where it had come from and was considering taking it to the authorities for Anthrax testing, until lurch arrived home and explained.

That's either funny or sad, depending on your viewpoint...

Anyways, it'd be cool to have two UK guys in the Alpha club :hat:

Git ma name up there now! (pretty please :rasta: )

Enclosed MBM pic is under load, fans on:

[ImaginAsian]

Originally posted by floppybootstomp
IA: I think the shipping was about $26.00. The whole deal required that I sent lurch $80.00. I sent him 4 x twenty dollar bills by registered post. That worked out at roughly £61.00, everything included, for me.

That may seem expensive, but it still works out about £5.00 cheaper than what we can buy the Swiftie and a fan for over here. And, to me, it was one of those 'Just gotta have it' items :)

And it's nice to be a little exclusive in the UK :D

The only other thing to remember, for customs sakes, is to mark the parcel as 'gift' (if prompted) to avoid export duty. It took nine days to get here.



Thanks for the info bro...and definately need to mark it as a gift! Slayer...that kewl with you on the shipping costs? We can just take care of the money through PayPal (make it easier). Drop me a PM on your decision and we can discuss exactly what you need (HF or HSF)

Flops...AWESOME results there bro! I'm sure you are thoroughly satifised yes? What fan you got on there?

[floppybootstomp]

IA: thanx bro :)

I'm using the fan that shipped with the Alpha, the Sunon KD1208PTBX-6A.

The only down side is that it's a little noisier than the Silverado. You any suggestions for a quieter 80mm fan?

This also shows that the Silverado is really only for those who value quietness above efficiency on a stock system. It's not an Overclocker's cooler.

And talking of overclocking, I just had to try and up my CPU, with some success. I was getting 1320 from this 1.2, now I'm getting 1382 and stable. I just couldn't squeeze another Mhz from this AXIA 9, and I tried a 101 combinations! It booted at 1393, but wasn't stable. Anything a tad over 1400, it wouldn't boot.

Oh well, got me another 600Mhz, so it can't be bad :) Gained a coupla degrees along the way, but I'm still below 40C.

Flops is feeling very cool right now, oh yeah :D :rasta: :beer: :hat: :rotate:

[ImaginAsian]

Is that the 50cfm Sunon? I think the dBA is right around 40...

If you want a quieter option here are some choices:

Mechatronics 53cfm, 39dBA (watch out RPM is higher then Sunon)

Panasonic U1A 47cfm, 38dBA

Panasonic H1A 39cfm, 32dBA

YS Tech 48.5cfm, 37dBA

Their is a new Sanyo-Denki fan which is the BEST in terms of noise vs. performance but I have not yet been able to locate it here in the states. I saw it posted on a UK site so you might have beter luck!

If I had to choose between the four above, the YS Tech is a good ratio or the Panasonic H1A is very quiet if you can accept a higher temp. The way I look at it, if your machine is stable at higher temps, then its ok to save your hearing!

I used the U1A before switching to 92mm mod (using spring clips)...ths U1A is a very nice fan. It's not that loud either...although you since you are use to the silverado so its going to take time for you to get adjusted to a higher noise. The buzz is this new Papst fan which is like very quiet but the cfm is not too high. Only for those who don't care about temps being a bit high. Anandtech had reviewed it with the Alpha back with their heatsink review.

[floppybootstomp]

Thanx IA, now I got something to go on, I can go searching :)

[ImaginAsian]

Hey Jupes! Nice to see ya drop in again bro.

I have to agree with your statement about the Alpha performing a bit better then the Swifty. I attribute it mainly to the tighter mounting spring compression that I experienced. And wow on the 80/120 tray hole...me thinks you gonna mount the fan externally on the case outside? Wow...keep us in the loop! I also routed all my wires through that top right side...what a great feature that is. I wish I could take pics of my case insides for you all...0-60 did a really great job on the case.

Flops...np bro...anytime! let us know what you decide on :)

[floppybootstomp]

Talking of tighter spring compression, did any of you folks fit the extra nylon washers, so there were two at the top of each spring?

I read the instructions and decided to fit two on each spring from the start, I thought it'd save all that messing about if I couldn't get them tight enough, I really couldn't see the harm it would do.

And it seems to have worked :)

IA: I've found that turning off my front mounted no-name 80mm intake fan makes not a blind bit of difference to my temps, but sure as hell cuts down on the noise level.

So for the time being, I'll stay as I am. I'm drawing up a list of quiet fans and will eventually change over though. Again, mucho gracias :)

[floppybootstomp]

I had one nylon washer at the bottom of each spring and two on the top of each. I superglued the nylon nuts to the mobo first, and yes, I had one metal stand-off rotate in the nylon nut as well. I held it in place with a pair of long nosed pliers to tighten it up. I did notice that on this KT7 RAID board, one of the stand-offs was actually unacessable to get a pair of pliers onto, so I'm glad that one didn't spin. And spare nylon captive nuts would have been a good idea, I agree.

[Orange Peel]

Sorry I'v enot been around much over the last few days. The damn Proxy server went down and I had to reload the whole thing!

I NEED AN ALPHA!!!!!

Paypal is being sorted as we speak. So, I should be able to do a deal sometime soon IA.

I can see some serious money being spent in the future if this system works out OK. :)

Just an idea....

In the future if us Brits want stuff from the US, perhaps we can do some kind of bulk order to lower the overall cost. Don't know if this is a good idea but maybe worth thinking about.

Later's
Slayer.

[ImaginAsian]

Did yuo guys install the Alpha inside the cas--->i.e. standoff spinning? Of course I have that mobo tray cutout beneath the socket now so I have access to the nut at all times :) BUT, when I didn't have that I tightened the Swifty/Alpha outside and used needle-nose like flops on all four screws.

Flops...nope on the extra washers...good idea, I'll try it this sometime this weekend since I have easy access to it.

Salyer...NP bro...just give me the green light and its off to ya! Good Idea on the bulk ship/purchase thing...Lurch and I can setup up Panty Shipping Enterprises to take care of all yer needs :D

[floppybootstomp]

You can get it Here (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Alpha_CPU_Coolers_28.html)

It's £40.00 inc. VAT from www.overclockers.co.uk, atm 1 to 3 days wait.

[Orange Peel]

Yeah, just spotted it Flop's... Still being ripped off over here but proberbly the same price from the US with shipping!

[floppybootstomp]

Au contraire mon ami :)

Both supplied without fans, the Swifty costs £54.05 over here whilst the Alpha 8045 goes for £39.95. That's only a coupla quid more than the SK6. (all prices inc. VAT).

That's not bad value at all, IMO. And for another £3.53 you can get an 80mm YS-Tech fan with it.

I've a feeling you're gonna go for one..... :hat:

[lurch63]

and speaking of lurch, howdy boys, how you all been, and just to say something on the subject i installed beezer's alpha the other night, on the kt7-raid board, and since we put the whole hsf on the board first actually didn't get a fan on a board, also beezer sprung for one of those antec cases and man it is sweet, but i'm not going to blow a 100 bucks on just a case no power supply, i wasted lots of money on my new enormax 430watt whisper power supply, ;) , but anyway IA's in Texas , i'm in New York, the shippings cheaper to UK, so give me an IM if you want one, but anyway this semester is turning into an all out blowout bit of fun, between digital signal processing and control systems, i'm not going to be around much till mid Dec. missing all the fun, oh well, later, lurch

[floppybootstomp]

careful with those NAND gates Eugene :)

[lurch63]

jupiler, thats just not my language man, what the heck you say?

flopps, i wish it was good old nand gates, right now its all transfer funtions and calculus, signals, closed loop functions, open loop functions, they all use the same darn math, of coarse thats the math i didn't bother to study b/c no one uses that, except oops, i get to use it, boolean algebra was fun, this bites, well now to work. later, lurch

[AmStoned]

Ainsi vous voulez ajouter un forum français? Le non, celui est un mauvais homme de Frech, mauvais doggy.:D :D :D

[AmStoned]

Mmm... Just messing around with this translator, I guess it doesn't really give me what I wanted.:D If we make a French forum, we'll have to make one for every language spoken in the forums, so that's makes 3 - English, French, and Gaelic (who speaks gaelic?).:D Okay, this is getting out of hands.

BTW, did you get my second paragraphy? It says, "That's a bad Frenchman, bad doggy.":D

[floppybootstomp]

Sad to say I don't actually speak da lingo :( Just know a few little snippets, is all 'un peu'.

I'd like to though, I really like the language. It'd come in handy when in New Orleans or Canada I suppose, not to mention Paris :)

Now then, where's my daughter's 'Learn French for your GCSE exam' CD?

[Orange Peel]

I also learned French at GCSE level, but I'll be buggered if I can remember any of it. Wait a minute, nahhh can't remember anything... Merd!

[ImaginAsian]

I finally got around to installing additional washers on the Alpha and I didn't get any noticeable improvement. Leads me to believe my torque is just right on the screws to begin with.

[leonardo]

Floppy, IA, Darksword, AmStoned, Jupiler, Lurch, Slayer, Alakazam, et al - seems I know everyone here. ;)

Darksword. Is your system still housed in your FK320? Reason I'm I asking is that I just ordered the 8045; it should be in tomorrow. Are you using the duct's shroud over the 8045. I presume you have your 8045 venting with airflow going out of the case.

I've presently got the Swifty 462 with the 68 cfm Delta. Believe it or not, due to some pretty swift (pardon the pun) ghetto modding, the HS isn't too loud. Well anyway, I ordered the 8045 with a Mechtronics 53cfm. My Swifty configuration is with the fan pulling air out of the HS - not accoriding to the Swifty's design parameters. Well, the 8045 is designed for that configuration. I'm hoping for temp reduction as well as more noise reduction.

[ImaginAsian]

Hello again Leo ;)

Glad to see u be joining the Alpha club! To be honest, your temps won't improve over a Swifty...it'll be on par with it. Most people find with the shroud in place and the fan sucking as designed on the Alpha...a 2-3C improvement is seen over blowing.

I think you actually might see an increase in temps since you are going from 68cfm direct flow (delta has fin veins) to 53cfm...but who cares, the Alpha looks better :D

[AmStoned]

Leo: Nope, DK got dissed too much by us Antec users, he got his ass a nice Antec SX1030. Jump over to the case thread to see how we setup our Alpha in the Antec.

[leonardo]

IA, AmStoned,

IA. Not so sure. I bet I will get a temp drop with the Alpha. As I said, it's designed for exhausting air. The Swifty is not designed for exhausting, but is setup that way in my system. Also, I plan on experimenting with both fans.

Darksword. Too bad you ditched your Fong Kai. I've taken a good look at the SX 1030s. They are very nice, but to me just have no advantage over a Fong Kai 320.

AmStoned - I did though, look at an SX1030B SOHO at CompUSA the other day. Price per package, it's a really, really nice case. I wouldn't mind getting that for a second computer (family's).

[ImaginAsian]

I think if you place the Alpha fan shroud over the Swiftech and exahust as you intend, the results may be the same with the Alpha. Still...curious to see what you find out!

Regarding the FuGKai-320, the real advantage the Antec has over it is that Bezel :D

If you do decide to pick up a 1030, let me know and I can show you where to buy one for much cheaper then CompUSA :eek:

[lurch63]

hey leo great to see ya man, damn i first read what you put too fast , thought that you said you picked up an 8086, i was thinking "wow big acomplishment" superglue a penny to it and i think you have enough cooling, then reality checked in and that i was making the dumb error, but great to see you man, last i remember hearing from you you were looking foward to a big fishing trip with your son, hope it went well, and good to see you, catch ya around, sinc. lurch

[Darksword]

When I had my Fong Kai, I didn't use it with the duct because I broke off one of the tabs and it wouldn't hold on anymore. :( On the plus side, the PAL8045 still worked just fine and I got very good temps with it.

As far as the switch from the Fong Kai to the Antec SX1030 let me go over my reasons why:

1.) Easier accessibility - When testing out hardware I am opening and closing my case a lot, so I needed a case that required no effort to get into. With the FK, the side panel can sometimes be stubborn to get off. I had to really press down on it and pull it hard towards me to get off. This isn't a big deal for most, but over time it got very annoying and time consuming.

I can get into my Antec case in less than a second using the latch. Trust me, it is much easier and makes getting into my case a pleasure rather than a chore.

2.) More expandability - The Antec comes with four 5.25" bays and two 3.5" bays. The Fong Kai only has three 5.25" and one 3.5". The majority of most users don't need more than what the FK provides, but I like having the option of adding more drives should I need to. In that respect, I felt that the FK was a bit too confining.

On the same note, the Antec has two removable hard drive racks, whereas the FK only has one. The Antec has made it possible for me to add a third hard drive to my system, and I still have room to add a forth. Again, expansion is the key here and the Antec gives me more room to grow with.

3.) Cooling and Ease of Use - In my old FK I had a Panafo L1A intake fan which worked pretty darn well. I think it is rated at 69CFM and 30dBA. The only problem was the cumbersome bay that is used to house the fan. Getting to the fan to clean it out took more time than I liked. On the Antec, the two 80mm intake fans are held in place with clips and only take a few seconds to remove and put back on. CFM isn't a problem, since I can use two quiet 80mm fans and get the same overall out put as the L1A.

Secondly, you know that in the FK there is that annoying metal plate right underneath the power supply. I have absolutely no idea why it's there, as it serves no purpose whatsoever and just gets in the way of airflow. I use a dual fan Enermax PSU which would have been almost useless in the FK because that damn metal plate blocks off air from coming into the bottom fan. Also, it made removing my cpu heatsink more difficult because it often got in the way.

Drive rails - I really like using drive rails over messing with screws each time I want to switch out a drive. That's another big plus for the Antec. Like I said earlier, I'm often switching out a lot of hardware while testing so the use of drive rails saves me a ton of time and hassle.


So there you have it in a nutshell. For my particular needs, the Antec case is much better for me. More expansion, easier to get into, better cooling design, easier to switch out drives, and looks sharp too. The only drawback is that the Antec case isn't as deep as the FK, so things are a tad more cramped on the inside. Still a very minor annoyance considering all of its advantages. :thumbsup:

**FYI** - I recently tested out the Swiftech MCX462 against the PAL8045. Scores were very close, which makes the PAL8045 a better buy from a value standpoint. If you get a chance, you can check out the review here (http://www.icrontic.com/index.php?page=public/hardware&hardwareId=167).

[ImaginAsian]

For those who don't like to read...here is the skinny of DK's most excellent post:

DK woke up and smelled the Antec Coffee and realized IA was right all along

:big grin:

[floppybootstomp]

I made the right choice last April when I got me's an Antec 1030 and not one of them funny looking Fong Kai's then?

All the points you raised, DK - yup, I agree, especially the bit about quick access, oh, and the removable HDD trays, and, and, :D

[leonardo]

Your points are well taken. As I said in a previous post (or thought I did), I took a good look at a charcoal SX1030B SOHO at CompUSA. It's a very well thought-out case. I think the biggest advantage is latch-removable side panel. My Fong Kai is under my office desk/station at home. It's insulated and has little behind for messing with the cables and such. It's a real B-ytch to unconnect, yank it out, and flip it up on the station or table just to test, tweak, and configure.

To make the SX1030 a real killer though, they could adopt an exhaust shroud and an 92mm system exhaust port. I don't know why good case makers insist on those little toy 80mm fan ports. Oh yeah, that metal rack beneath the PSU is for tortional rigidy. The FK is a little on the heavy side (great steel) and might flex a little too much without - so says its maker. One of the things I like most about the FK is its roominess.

Still though, after my tour of the 1030B, I can see why you guys like them so much.

OK, now that we've toasted the original topic of this thread, what now?

:rollin:

[TheHeretic]

Well ordered one of them there Alpha's last nite. Got the email saying it went out first class mail today. so by this weekend i hope to have the whole thing together. (gotta reconfigure some hardware amongst the systems)



TheHeretic

[lurch63]

just talked a guy i know into getting one for his proc upgrade to be had, he doesn't overclock but i told him he could tune down the fan would definitly be better than the generic crap he got on their now, i'd be scared to see his temps, just need to talk to him once or twice more to push him in the right direction, well later,

going out with my bros to catch L.O.R.

lurch

[TheHeretic]

This thing is friggin huge!!!:eek:

finally got the Alpha. took over a week. So much for fast mail service. Oh well. its here.

gonna try the rebuild of the system this weekend.


TheHeretic

[leonardo]

Great heatsink. Finally installed it after having received it about 10 days ago. Running (Alpha 8045) with below signature, full load, at 43*C. Room temperature is 22*C. This is 1-2*C cooler than operating with the MC462 under the same conditions. These are the results I figured I'd get. FYI, I'm using the Delta 80mm (68cfm) with this bad boy. The Delta is configured to draw air out of the heatsink; it's ducted out the back of my Fong Kai. Using four nylon washers on each spring. Later I'll try the Mechatronics 53cfm fan, which is sitting on the shelve.

DragonAce - check you email.

[Skamp]

Will hopefully be getting my Alpha next week:D

[ImaginAsian]

Whoops...I stand corrected Leo :) Nice results with the Alpha...

Ever curious about putting a larger fan on there? I have a 92mm fan on mine at the moment

[leonardo]

I've experimented with reductions before to use oversized fans. Consistently, results were not positive. If anything, I'll install the Mechatronics 53cfm I've got. Cooling is very good now; next I'd like to try for more noise reduction. Due to extensive ducting and sound insulation, it's already quiet, but I'd really like a whisper sound. If the Cooler Master heat pipe/heatsink hybrid turns out to be as good in real world as it is in the tests so far, I'll probably buy one of those.

Side Note: Iron Chef, you posted, "If you do decide to pick up a 1030, let me know and I can show you where to buy one for much cheaper then CompUSA". And when you add shipping to Georgia, what, I save 75 cents? Go ahead and give the link, please.

[Darksword]

Consider picking up a rheostat to use with your 80mm Delta. I use on with my MCX462 and even at the lowest setting my full load temp was about 40C. :)

[leonardo]

So, if I went to Radio Shack, or an electrical supply shop, what type of rheostat would I ask for? 12V DC?

[floppybootstomp]

Assuming the fan is 12V DC (and it will be if it's taking it's power from the computer PSU) then - yes, ask for one to suit a 12V DC supply.

I've used ordinary variable resistors ('pots') before to control fan speed, most fans draw little current and I've never had a prob using them, but the rheostat is more robust and a better choice.

[leonardo]

Great, another computer mod to impress my son, and to further convince my wife that I've gone off the deep end.:eyes:

[floppybootstomp]

:roflmao:

Yes, I sometimes think most of us here have been paddling in the 6 metre depth end of the pool for some time now... :tooth:

[TheHeretic]

6 metres???


Some of us are swimming in a pool that would take a DSV to find the bottom.

:p

TheHeretic

[ImaginAsian]

Originally posted by leonardo
Side Note: Iron Chef, you posted, "If you do decide to pick up a 1030, let me know and I can show you where to buy one for much cheaper then CompUSA". And when you add shipping to Georgia, what, I save 75 cents? Go ahead and give the link, please.

http://www.emscomputing.com/

Search for: Antec SX and you will find a SX1030 for $48 with no PSU or $73 with one.