Overclocker Cafe - ThermalRight ALX-800

ThermalRight ALX-800 Heatsink

Manufacturer: ThermalRight
Supplied by: Sidewinder Computers
Street Price: $26

by Dean Barker (1/15/2004)

Introduction

Heatsink designs has fragmented into three directions since water cooling has taken off as a viable cooling alternative to the average Joe; silent, uncompromising performance (aka LOUD) and inexpensive. Generally, coolers fall into one, and only one, of the three categories. ThermalRight, long known as a maker of some of the most performance oriented sinks to be had, may very well be one of the first to change this category thinking.

The ALX-800 is a hybrid cooler constructed of copper and aluminum to offers superior performance without the typically expected high price tag for a high end cooler. Its suggested retail price is $30 but can be found online for around $25 and at times cheaper. Sidewinder Computers, who has sponsored this review, has them for $22 now. ThermalRight rarely fails to impress with their innovation and performance and the ALX-800 is no exception. Today, we're going to take a look at this hybrid cooler and see how it stacks up against the competition. As always, let's start out with the white paper.

Specifications

Observed Dimensions: 83 (W) x 40 (H) x 58 (D) mm - the width and depth taper down to be 58 mm square at the base

Construction: Copper / Aluminum hybrid

Observed Weight: 403 gms

Fan: not included

Clip: three prong latch

The ALX-800 is the first hybrid cooler we have seen here from ThermalRight, since the release of the AX-7 a year or two ago. As you can see below, the ALX-800 shares its shape with the very successful SLK series coolers. Tapering fins help keep the cooler's surface area high while not having any problems with compatibility with some motherboards. We intend on verifying this shortly because as you may or may not remember, the SLK-900 was plagued with problems on not fitting many boards because of it's size.

Thirty-two aluminum fins handle the convection of heat off a copper base that is anything but standard. More on that in a minute though. Below, we see that the aluminum convection fins are cut from a single block of aluminum. This aids with heat transfer by eliminating any bonding or soldering that no matter how good a job it is can never be 100%. Single piece construction is the only way to go.