A hardware tech site for the rest of us.




Enzotech Heatsinks
Enzotech Ultra-X
Sunbeam Automaton
HIS HD4670 IceQ
Kingwin EZ-Dock
HIS Multi-View
HIS HD4850 IceQ4
HD4870 Freezer DHT
Apevia X-Sniper
HIS HD4870x2
Kingwin 1220w PSU
Visiontek HD4870
Kingwin 1000w PSU
Eagle N-Series Pro
Force3D HD4850
Sunbeam Freezer
Visiontek HD3870x2

Viper's Lair
Bjorn3D
Mod The Box
nV News
Overclockers Online
ProClockers
Tec Central
Tweaknews
Virtual-Hideout

 

ThermalRight SP-97 Heatpipe Cooler

What's hard to miss are the three 8mm heatpipes.  These pipes run through the base and curve up to and then through the top of the convection fins providing an added boost to the cooling efficiency.

     

The base of the ThermalRight SP-97 was smooth to the touch and showed no imperfections we could detect.  Its base was polished to a nice but not exceptional shine.  While not exactly a shaver, it will most certainly get the job done.

  

On either side of the outer most convection fins you will find three small holes.  There are for attaching your fan clips.  The lowest of the three is for use with a 80 x 80 x 25mm fan.  The upper two are for 92mm fans, be they 25mm or 38mm numbers.  The mere thought of a 92 x 92 x 38mm fan blasting gives me a headache but if you want monster air movement this would be the way to go and the SP-97 can deliver.  The fan clips are easy to use.  All you do is lay your fan inside the appropriate slots and pull the clips up so they bear down on the screw holes at the corners.  You can see below the 'slots' I'm referring to.  What almost looks like steps from this angle are what keep your 80 or 92mm fan in place.  The pic to the bottom right here is with a 92mm fan mounted.

  

Heatsinks mounting to mainboards is no longer a new concept.  What I do like to see with this type of installation is anything making it smooth and easy.  A large plate with screw holes in it takes the place of traditional nuts for accepting mounting screws.  The plastic cover ensures you won't be touching metal to the mainboard base which can be a bad thing.

  

Installation went without major incident.  Four receiving screw lugs mount through your mainboard (provided your mainboard is compatible and has them) into the plate we noted.  On my first go at installation, I had unplugged the ATX power cable to give myself more working room.  This was fine until after I mounted the SP-97 and I discovered that the ATX power connector could not be plugged back in with the cooler in place.  Redoing things, we were able to install the SP-97 with the ATX plug in place and found no points of contact between the plug and cooler.  You could not get a more familiar fit as we didn't have hardly an extra millimeter to spare.  Our test board was an ABIT KV7.

  

 

BACK                    NEXT



Legal Notice and Fine Print

All names and trademarks used herein are the properties of their respective owners.  The Overclocker Cafe™ and its staff accept no responsibility for any damages incurred from deviating from your computer's factory settings.  All forms of correspondence sent in are viewed as eligible for public view unless mutually agreed to previously as otherwise.  The name Overclocker Cafe', its images and site specific logos are the Trademark and Servicemark of the Overclocker Cafe' Company. Williamsburg, Virginia.

All rights reserved.  All pages Copyright © 2000 - 2009 by R. Dean Barker.

Graphics by Navin Amarasuriya
[ Privacy Policy ]