Thermaltake Silent Tower...an alternative to the AF7

[gurusan]

So I picked one of these up off a certain auction site for 11 quid shipped new...searching google it seems the average price is around 9-14 quid inc. VAT before shipping. So I suppose this makes this HSF cheaper than the AF7.

So, is it any good? We'll see. (Click photos to enlarge, then click again if you want an even higher resolution pic)

Specs:

Application: AMD Athlon 64/Athlon 64 FX, AMD XP, Intel P4 478 (pin) and Intel Socket T
Observed dimensions (with fan): 92 (W) x 142 (H) x 110mm (D)
Observed weight (with fan): 723gms
Construction: Aluminum fins with copper heatpipes
Fan: 90 x 90 x 25mm
Fan speed: 2500 RPM
Air flow: 52 CFM
Sound level: 21 dBA
Connector: three-pin

Here it is as it arrives in the package:


Take it out of the packaging and these are all the things you find....not lacking in anything and even comes with 2 grams of Thermaltake thermal grease which is enough for several applications at least.


Here are some shots of the HSF alone...Appears to be 3 copper heatpipes (6 effective) brazed to aluminum fins and the copper block. Can't say I'm a fan of the color scheme but I've seen worse, it's not a bad looking cooler. Seems to have a decent number of fins on it as well.

 

[gurusan]

Here it is with the cover off, actually looks pretty good now...and the overall quality of construction seems to be better than that of the AF7.


The base of the copper block is flat, but certainly not lapped to a mirror finish! However....again, I've seen worse.


Installation is pretty straight forward....secure the backplate on then screw the nuts over the retention bracket and thats it.


How does it perform?

Well my e6300 is at 3.185ghz with a 1.375 vcore and according to TAT temps are between 59-63 under 100% load dual orthos

In conclusion I'd say this is definitely a good alternative and a rival to the AF7 Pro.

 

[Nick]

it looks quite good IMO, good buy 11 quid! obviosluly notas good as a zalman or a tuniq but we'll find out

 

[gurusan]

it looks quite good IMO, good buy 11 quid! obviosluly notas good as a zalman or a tuniq but we'll find out

Yeah of course not, but it seems to perform very well for a budget cooler...its cheaper than the Arctic Freezer 7 here, not sure about in the states.

 

[Nick]

in the states the arctic freezer is $20 over here i think its about £25 so that is half the price that thermaltake one

 

[Invisible]

Arctic freezer remains the best budget cooler