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Thermaltake Silent Boost RX K8 CPU Cooler

If you have upgraded your CPU cooler from the stock heatsink and fan it came with, chances are you have bought or at least heard of Thermaltake. For many years now Thermaltake has provided enthusiast with some of the best cooling options on the market. Today we take a look at the Silent Boost RX K8 CPU cooler.

Company:

Thermaltake, www.thermaltakeusa.com

Price:

$32.99 US at NewEgg.com

Ratings

Price:
Install/Setup:
Usability:
Support:
Average Rating:

Getting Started

Thermaltake fans always have a solid feel to them. Typically that is because they use all copper heatsinks on their CPU coolers. To see how this new model performs, we are replacing an older Thermaltake Volcano 12 with this one and we will see how they compare. The RX K8 works with all existing socket 754/939/940 AMD Athlon64 processors. The real differentiating factor on this new model is the reverse fan design. By reversing the fan you get a much quieter noise level. To put it into perspective, the older Thermaltake Volcano 12 was a variable speed fan that ran from between 2000 to 6000 RMPs. At 2000 RPM it put out 21 dBA and 48 dBA at 5500 RPM. At the time this model came out it was relatively quiet at the lower speeds and cooled well. But under a heavy load with older CPUs you need to run at the higher speeds to keep things cool. But as you can see this was a very loud fan. In contrast, the new Silent Boost RX K8 runs just under 2600 RPM on our test system. Thermaltake shows that it puts out 18 dBA at these speeds.

To help keep your system looking nice, Thermaltake puts a cable sleeve on the power cable for the fan. This is always a nice gesture from a manufacturer. The sleeve helps keep your system looking clean for showing it off at your next LAN.

Test System

• CPU: AMD Althon 64 3400+ Socket 754
• Motherboard: Chaintech VNF3-250 nForce3
• Memory 2x512 MB Corsair TWINX1024-3200XLPRO (2-2-2-5 timing)
• Video Card: ATI X800 Pro 256MB 8x AGP
• Hard Drive: 2 Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000 RPM SATA Drive (RAID 1)
• Mounted on a HighSpeed PC TechStation

Click on picture to enlarge image

Usability

Mounting the CPU cooler to the motherboard and CPU is relatively simple. First I add a little dab of Artic Silver 5 Thermal Compound. Then each side must clip onto the stock mounting plate and the tension clips must also be secured. Next connect the power cable and you are ready to fire up your PC.

With the Volcano 12 we saw idle CPU temperatures ranging from 45 C at 2200 RPM, 41 C at 5400 RPM, and a similar 41 C at 5800 RPM. The RX K8 gave us 39 C at 2596 RPM. So not only do we get a much quieter set up with this new model, but we also experience cooler CPU temperatures. With a load the Volcano 12 would jump up between 5 C and 7 C from its idle temperatures. The RX K8 jumped about 5 C to maintain a temperature at 44 C while at the same time keeping the noise level down compared to the older Volcano 12. With a 120MM fan next to the CPU fan I could hear the fan spinning. The only way to tell it was running was to visually check.

Features and Specifications

Pros:

• Very quiet and smooth running fan
• Large copper heatsink helps dissipate heat
• Cable sleeve on power cable

Cons:

• Hoped for just a little cooler CPU temperatures

Adding It All Up

Thermaltake has done a great job bringing us a solid CPU cooler that performs well while keeping sound to a minimum. You don't have to sacrifice noise levels to achieve cool CPU temperatures. The Silent Boost RX K8 will perform well in your system. The large copper heatsink and reversed fan do a good job a moving damaging heat away from your processor.

Because of its good cooling power and quiet operation we are awarding the Thermaltake Silent Boost RX K8 CPU cooler the UpgradAdvisor.com Recommended Upgrade Seal of Approval!!!

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