gdjacobs wrote:
Heatpipe coolers usually weren't available for socket 462, although definitely go for one if that's an option and it suits your genre.
The Thermalright SI-97 is probably better. I've always disliked Thermaltake going back to the GOrb days. They're the poster boys of form over function.
The Silent Tower and the Big Typhoon / Big Typhoon VX were pretty much the best coolers available when they were released.
Yes, the golden orbs were trash, but the heatsink tech back then was pretty horrible for the most part.
The crazy Alpha coolers with the make your ears bleed fans were considered the best back when they were available, but they really were trash. The ONLY reason they cooled anything was because of those crazy fans.
Once thin-fin stuff came out, it was a lot better than the older, crappier designs. Then when heatpipe stuff came out it was game-over for everything else.
I worked at a computer store back when the Silent Tower was released. It was the bomb diggity. They also had a version with copper fins but it weighed a ton and cost a decent amount more so I never got one.
There was another cooler that Thermaltake made that was meant for Socket 939, which I also still have.. but it was meant to be able to be used without a fan. Really sucked without a fan, and was just-ok-ish with a fan.
Then I got the Big Typhoon. I used it all the way up to, and including, my first LGA 1336 build with an i7-920 (with a modified mounting system). It would only cool good enough for it to run up to about 3.6Ghz, so that is when I upgraded to a Noctua NH-D14.