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Swiftech MCX478-V Heatsink |
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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Sunday, 01 July 2007 |
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Page 2 of 3
The pins on the MCX478-V use a helicoid design, meaning they have rings around them all the way up. This further increases the already impressive surface area. Apparently the distances between them and angles of these concentric rings are precisely calculated to optimize thermal efficiency and airflow. Each one is individually machined. We'll see how this translates into actual performance.
As previously mentioned the base has a very nice finish. You can lap it more, but Swiftech advises against this because doing so unevenly could cause degradation in performance. The MCX478-V has a rated flatness of better than 0.0003", something that could be thrown off by a bad lap.
Installation is interesting. For one thing, the two part pins used to secure the fan expand when pushed through the holes. After a few times the pins remain expanded and pliers are needed to get them back to their normal shape. They also can't be removed by bare hands. What this means is that swapping fans using these pins while the heatsink is installed won't happen. Since we tested our sample with a pair of different fans, we used twist ties instead. Furthermore, if you end up using the 92mm fan brackets (no reason not to), you'll notice that they slightly interfere with the side retention clips and particularly any installed fan.
It's almost impossible to install the heatsink if a fan is already mounted. The clips are pretty rigid too, so you'll need a screwdriver to push them down enough to lock into the frame. It's strange that manufacturers still create their own custom retention solutions when Intel's stock mechanism is about as good as it gets. Long story short, installation isn't a major pain (if you do it in the right order), but it's not a simple matter and requires a screwdriver. The main test system (shown above) is comprised of the following:
- Intel Pentium 4 2.4C, voltage set to 1.6V
- Abit IS7-E i865-PE
- 1GB (2 x 512MB) Kingston PC3200 UL HyperX @ DDR460 (230MHz x 2)
- Hercules GeForce3
- Onboard audio and LAN
- Maxtor DiamondMax 9 Plus 160GB HDD
- Creative 32X CD-ROM
- Antec Phantom 350 watt PSU
- Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound
For idle I left the computer untouched for an hour. Load was achieved by running Prime95 Torture Test for the same duration. I used Motherboard Monitor 5 to record the average temperature after an hour of 5 second interval readings (~700-800 total readouts). If you recall from our performance fan comparison, we picked a low speed 92x25mm Delta as the best quiet blower and a high speed 92x38mm Delta as the best, yet still tolerable performance fan. Since Swiftech claims the MCx478-V to function well even when equipped with a quiet, low output fan, we decided to test them both. The specs on the fans are as follows:
Delta Low Speed:
- Model: EFB0912L
- Dimensions: 92 x 92 x 25mm
- Rated airflow: 40.6CFM
- RPM: 2300
- Rated noise: 29.5dBA
- Power: 1.2watts
Delta High Speed:
- Model: EFB0912HHE
- Dimensions: 92 x 92 x 38mm
- Rated airflow: 79.81CFM
- RPM: 4000
- Rated noise: 46dBA
- Power: 5.04watts
First up is the low speed.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 09 July 2007 )
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