Conclusion :

Price is always an important factor, looking around on the internet I found the price of each heatsink to be around:

Swiftech MCX462-V ~ €60
Thermalright SP-97 ~ €50
Alpha PAL8045U ~ €50
Thermalright SLK-947-U ~ €40

Scythe Kamakaze ~ €40
AMD Stock ~ €20
Evercool MAG-01 ~ €20
Evercool CUF-715 ~ €20

The last four all come with fans included, while the first four let you make the decision which one you want.

FAN Support:



Socket Support:


Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of the reviewed products


Swiftech MCX462-V
(Provided by: Bacata)
PRO
Plug&Play installation
Easy attachment of both 80&90mm fans
Top end performance in both silent as loud categories

CON
Higher price

The MCX462-V is a true engineering beauty, combining functionality with top performance, the helicoid pin layout allows for very low noise production when using different types of fans. The full copper block provides excellent thermal conduction making overclocking possible even with very silent fans!


Thermalright SP-97
(Provided by: Thermalright)
PRO
1st class performance in all categories
Secure installation
Efficiency increases with the CPU overclock thanks to the heat pipes

CON
Installation requires motherboard removal

The successful formula from the SP-94 Intel heatsink has been brought over to the AMD side of town, and the performance is stunning, providing excellent results no matter what fan is used, it edges out the competition by a comfortable margin!


Thermalright SLK947-U
(Provided by: Bacata)
PRO
Good overall performance
Secure installation
Competitively priced

CON
Installation requires motherboard removal

The "older" SLK947-U still delivers very respectable results, although its performance has been surpassed by the SP-97, it manages to provide the best performance/price ratio in this roundup. If you are on a budget but still want top end air-cooling for your AMD setup then look no further then the latest SLK from Thermalright!


Scythe Kamakaze
(Provided by: Bacata)
PRO
Includes a Fan + Rheobus
Decent performance

CON
Installation method far from perfect on all motherboards

I had a lot of installation issues with this heatsink but that was due to the socket/capacitor layout used by the board on which we did the test. The performance is average, edging out the old PAL8045 by a very small margin.


Evercool MAG-01 & CUF-715CA
(Provided by: Evercool)
PRO
Very easy installation
Decent performance
Silent 70mm fan included
Very competitively priced

CON
Not "strong" enough for overclocking your AMD

Both Evercool heatsink proved to be worthy replacements for the Stock AMD cooler, providing better cooling at lower noise levels while being priced at only ~€20! My preference goes out to the MAG-01 as it can be installed on almost all popular Sockets out there from Intel & AMD. The copper/alu mix does have an impact on the performance when compared to the full copper CUF-715CA, but the difference is minimal.