Performance

To gauge the performance of the ThermalRight ALX-800 we have compared it against the ThermalTake Volcano 12 cooler.  The same Tt Smart Fan 2 set to run wide open at a 76 CFM was used on both coolers.  This way we are ensuring we are testing the sink and not the fan.  Each cooler's load temperatures were measured on five successive runs of SiSoft Sandra 2004's CPU burn in module.  The highest and lowest recorded temperatures for each were thrown out and the remaining three averaged.  Ambient room temperature was 22.2 degrees Celsius and did not fluctuate more than .4 degrees during testing.  Generic silicone thermal paste was used in all tests.

Let mention something quickly to avoid a flood of e-mails.  Our standard comparison cooler has always been the ThermalRight SLK-800.  In this review, I would have really liked to have seen the SLK go against the ALX but unfortunately our SLK-800 was damaged hence the new comparison cooler.

Test Bed

• AMD Athlon XP 2400+

• ABIT KV7 (KT600) mainboard

• VisionTek Radeon 9800 XT VGA

• 512 mb DIMM of OCZ PC 3200 DDR

• Maxtor 80gb SATA HDD

• Generic CD-ROM

• Windows XP Pro

Results

Conclusion

Test results yielded us quite a surprise.  What is significant out of the ALX-800 besting the Tt Volcano 12 by 3.6 degrees C is that in our review of the V12 it was bested by the SLK-800 by 2.9 degrees C.  What I'm saying here is that our test results strongly suggest that the ALX is a more efficient cooler than ThermalRight's venerable SLK-800.  This from a $25 cooler. 

ThermalRight has done its homework with the ALX-800.  Producing a kick ass air cooler and priced it inexpensively enough to completely undercut the competition.  Kudos to ThermalRight's R&D gang for the ALX-800 and another jewel in the ThermalRight crown.  The ALX-800 should be on the short list if not be the only air cooler on your list for your next upgrade.  Thanks again to Sidewinder Computers for making this review possible.