Alpha Intel S478 Heatsink - S-PAL8952 Review
CPU Cooling
by jmke
@ 2004-03-16
Alpha has delivered a solid solution for the P4 with their new updated release of the PAL heatsink. A few minor adjustments to the pins (height/form) has brought the performance on par with other high end products while the mounting system could have benefited from an overhaul as the installation is still quite a time consuming process.
In the box
IntroductionToday we have the pleasure to bring you a quite exciting review, Alpha has been around from the beginning with their high quality heatsinks. Since the launch of Socket A and the AMD socket processor we have seen a massive boom in the sales of custom heatsinks. Alpha’s PAL8045 delivered excellent performance and is still regarded with respect even today, after almost 3 years! Alpha introduced their Intel P4 solution in 2002, the
PAL8942. Today we have in our test lab their latest Intel heatsink: S-PAL8952. Whether the S- stands for Super we are here to find out.
Since the release of the earlier Alpha products the world has moved on. Back then people wanted extreme performance no matter what the noise. Today however we want silence and good performance. To this end we decided to compare the new Alpha breed to a well known silent power, the Zalman CNPS7000-Cu.
On with the show:
Alpha provides 3 different version of their heatsink:
S-PAL8952T (no fan, no thermal grease) ~$44
S-PAL8952M81 (47cfm 80mm fan, thermal grease) ~$55
S-PAL8952M82 (20cfm 80mm fan, thermal grease) ~$61
The thermal grease they include comes from Microforg, Model YG6260-5 to be exact. A comparison review versus Arctic Silver 3 and others can be found here.
They also provide all the mounting hardware needed, the installation method hasn’t changed, so you’ll have to remove your motherboard in order to install this heatsink.
Let’s get it installed ->
The heatsink & Installation
Heatsink:The heatsink is machine lapped and it shows, you can feel a very fine texture on the base, no mirror finish, but far from bad either:
Did I tell you this heatsink is massive? However its size matches almost exactly that of the default P4 heatsink bracket, so you won’t have issues to install this baby!
Alpha has always been known to be on of the sole heatsink manufactures which designed their sinks to be used with the fans sucking the air away from the HS, instead of blowing it down through the fins. How this helps performance, we’ll try to find out during the testing
Here’s what Alpha has done to improve the performance of the S-PAL8952 when compared to the older PAL8942
The S-PAL8952 shares many design features with the current PAL8942. They both mount through the four holes surrounding Socket 478. We increased the fin length by 10 mm and changed the fin pattern. The new fin pattern design is based on the air flow within the heat sink. The shape of the outside pins is square and inside pins are round. The intake cover is longer to prevent any air from taking a short cut past the hottest portion of the pins. These changes have improved the airflow and thermal performance of the heat sink.
Here’s a shot from above, showing the difference of the pins’ shapeInstallation:
Remove the default bracket, and install the 4 standoffs
4 springs with screws in them secure the heatsink in its place and as you can see, a perfect fit!
Next you put over the intake cover, which is there to guide the air through the heatsinks
Then you install either a 80x15mm, 80x25mm or a monstrous 80x35mm fan onto this heatsink, all the screws needed for this installation are includedWith everything installed it is time for some testing ->
Conclusion
ConclusionAlpha has delivered a solid solution for the P4 with their new updated release of the PAL heatsink. A few minor adjustments to the pins (height/form) has brought the performance on par with other high end products while the mounting system could have benefited from an overhaul as the installation is still quite a time consuming process.
PRO
Good performance
Optional M82 fan ideally suited for silent computing
Very clear manual included
Secure installation using 4 mounting holes
CON
Optional M81 fan is too loud for daily usage, unless you can stand the added noise.
Installation requires motherboard removalIn the end I’m confident to say that the S- might very well stand for Super-PAL! Your friend in overclocking :)
I would like to thank Takashi from
Alpha for giving us the possibility to review this fine product. Keep your eyes open as we are currently testing their S-PAL version for the Socket A also. If it equals the improvements of the Intel version, then it’s safe to say that Alpha is back in business!
Questions/Comments:
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