Overclocker Cafe - Thermalright SLK-800U

Thermalright SLK-800U Heatsink

Manufacturer: Thermalright
Supplied by: Thermalright
Price: $39

by Brian Tiller (5/8/2003)

Introduction

A few days ago we reviewed the Thermalright SLK-700 heatsink and today we're back with it's big brother, the SLK-800U. Not only is this heatsink bigger, but it also goes both ways. Whoops, I shouldn't have said that, now Dean is going to get all excited. What I meant was that the "U" in the name means that the heatsink will fit both AMD and Intel CPUs. Well today, thanks to the folks at Thermalright, we're going to find out just how well it performs on both platforms.

Specifications

Let's get right to the specs of this heatsink before we go any further.

Weight: 550g for AMD/567g for P4
Construction: Copper
Application: AMD and Intel P4
Dimensions: Top 87(L) x 56.4(W) x 48(H) mm
Bottom 67(L) x 81(W) x 45(H) mm

See, I told you that this thing was the SLK-700's big brother. A whopping 550g of solid copper which is 40g more than the SLK-700. If you're wondering why there is a weight difference between the P4 and AMD specs, it's because to mount it to a P4 requires a few extras be added to the heatsink itself. Let' get in to that right now.

What you get

We've got to give a kudos to Thermalright for being able to fit so much stuff in one little box. In addition to the sink itself, we have the requisite fan clips, mounting hardware for P4 and AMD as well as a tube of goo! Sadly, there are no instructions, nor was I able to find any on Thermalright's website. I know it's just a heatsink, but believe me, I was wishing for some instructions about halfway through the installation.

The Heatsink

Taking a look at the heatsink first, we once again see what I have come to think of as Thermalright's standard AMD design. While the cooling fins do flare out just a little more, it's basically the same as the SLK-700, with a few small exceptions. The first one that is noticeable is that there is no socket clip in the center of the sink, instead it has a black shroud (for want of a better term) around the base.

From the top you can see the 35 very thin cooling fins. The fins are soldered to the base of the sink and folded over at the edges to help prevent bending. Using their stepped ridge design along the fins, Thermalright designed this heatsink to be able to accept 60, 70 and 80 mm fans via the included fan retention clips.