Swiftech MCX6400-V Heatsink Review

When AMD announced their K8 CPUs, everyone, including myself, searched long and hard for better thermal solutions. Swiftech was quick with their release of the MCX64-V and MCX6400-V. The MCX64-V was aimed for the mainstream enthusiast. It met AMD’s thermal and weight specifications and provided great cooling over the stock cooler. The MCX6400-V was released for the enthusiasts. It features much more pins and a thicker copper base. It has been quite some time since the release of the MCX6400-V. Today, we see whether it is still a viable choice for enthusiasts.

…Swiftech has done it again and continues to do so with their MCX6400-V. The performance of the heatsink is outstanding. The heatsink looks great, installs easily, and keeps my overclocked CPU operating at low temperatures. It is true that the heatpipe induced Thermalright heatsinks will perform better and most likely cost less, but those are much harder to install. It really comes down to the enthusiast preference of whether they want good performance with easy installation or excellent performance with rigid installation. I’ve always been a fan of Swiftech and you should know what my choice would be. If heatpipes were not used, the Swiftech MCX6400-V could have been the best performing aircooling heatsink available. And because of that, the Swiftech earns my recommendation for it’s great looks, ease of installation, and great performance.

InsaneTek Recommended Award

Pros:
Copper aluminum combination
Thick copper base
Angled aluminum pins for maximum airflow
Easy fan installation
No compatibility issues with motherboards
Great cooling performance
Secure and easy installation
Cons:
Expensive, when compared to solutions from leading competitors
Heavy, even when installation provides security

Swiftech MCX6400-V @ InsaneTek