Battle of the Titans II: Swiftech MCX478-V vs Thermalright SP-94

Cooling/CPU Cooling by jmke @ 2003-11-18

Little over a year ago we put Swiftech?s greatest against Alpha?s best. The MCX4000 vs PAL8942 review is more then a year old. And it is time again to find out who?s the king of the Pentium 4 aircoolers.

  • prev
  • next

Installation Compared

ThermalRight SP-94:

The SP-94 requires you to remove the motherboard and the default Intel retention brackets, after screwing the back plate into its place you put the heatsink on your CPU and using 4 spring/screws you secure the heatsink. It takes some time before everything is installed but you can be sure this heatsink won't fall off overnight (or when moving your case around, e.g : LAN - parties)

Madshrimps (c)


PRO
secured installation, no way this bad boy will come loose
provides sufficient pressure on the P4, you cannot miss

CON
Contra Points Need to remove motherboard from your case
Contra Points Need 2 different set of screwdrivers



Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu:

The Zalman is aimed at the Quiet power user out there, and is therefore in direct competition with the Swiftech. Its installation is straightforward, sliding in 2 metal rails and then screwing the heatsink in its place. Overall installation takes less then 2 minutes. Take a look at this small flash movie to get an idea on how the installation goes:




Madshrimps (c)


PRO
Easy installation
Uses Intel retention bracket

CON
Contra Points Screwdriver needed during installation



Swiftech MCX478-V:

The Swiftech makes use of the Intel retention bracket, using 2 clips the heatsink is put in its place. The installation is completely tool less, but you have the put a reasonable amount of force on the clips for them to "click" into their place. If you don't apply the same amount of pressure on both sides the heatsink will start wobbling from left to right. No problem if you have a "standard" Pentium 4. But if you have removed the IHS (Intel Heat Spreader), this movement might cause damage to the P4 core.

Madshrimps (c)


Madshrimps (c)


PRO
Tool less installation
Easy click-on system
Uses Intel retention bracket

CON
Contra Points risk of damaging the P4 core if the IHS has been removed


COOLINK Cool Armor2VS

I included the installation process of this heatsink for its similarities with the Swiftech’s. The Coolink however has the 2 clips already attached to the heatsink; this facilitates the installation even further. A full review of the Coolink Armor2VS can be found here

Madshrimps (c)


PRO
Tool less installation
VERY Easy click-on system
Uses Intel retention bracket

CON
Contra Points risk of damaging the P4 core if the IHS has been removed


Let's find out how the Swiftech performs, time for some testing ->
  • prev
  • next

Copyright © 2001-2011 Madshrimps, All rights reserved.
Graphic Design by Dennis Kestelle, Programming by Maarten Menten, Overall Site design by John Meys

All information and graphics contained in Madshrimps are sole property of the Madshrimps crew and may not be reproduced or copied in any manner without written permission from us.

Madshrimps