Now comes the fun part, testing the performance of this new puppy. As always, temps will vary setup to setup. A lot depends on your system components, case airflow and room temp. Yes, room temp. Many fail to take room temp into consideration. If you are in a very cool room then naturally your temps should be cooler. If in a hot room (around 80 degrees or more) then your temps will be higher.

Test systems components. Parts that matter:

• Chieftec aluminum case
• Asus A7N8X v2.0
• AMD XP 2500+ overclocked to 3200+ (11x200fsb)
• Arctic Silver Ceramique thermal compound used
• 2 x 512MB Mushkin PC3200 DDR
• ATI 8500 128MB
• 2 7200rpm hard drives
• Fortissimo III sound
• Coolmax 550W PSU

Room temp was maintained at 75 degrees fahrenheit. Idle temp was checked after a fresh boot and waiting 25 minutes. To get full load temps I ran the Prime95 CPU torture test for 2 hours. First graph below is using a YS Tech 92MM fan on the SLK900A. The YS Tech fan is rated at 66.3CFM and on top speed it is tolerable. Compared against the SLK900A combo will be the Aero 7+ on top speed, the best from the closest competition. I did test a Volcano 7+ and Volcano 9, but not only were they not serious competition, they were too annoyingly loud on their top speed.

Below is testing with the Vantec 92MM Tornado. This IS the most powerful 92MM fan on the market. It is rated at 119CFM on it's top speed of 4800RPM. On full speed it is unbearably loud. In fact, when I did test it on full speed I noticed my neighbors kept looking in the air for a jumbo jet! However, I connected the Tornado to a sunbeam fan controller (*see note below about fan controllers) and found that below 3000RPM, it is tolerable. At 2600, I couldn't hear it. So below are results from testing the SLK900A with the 92MM Tornado fan on full speed, and at 2600RPM, the lowest speed I could not hear it.

Not too shabby eh. Finally, we have a heatsink that we can use a 92MM fan with and one that should fit most motherboards. Thanks to a little redesign by Thermalright and using a 3-prong clip instead of bolting to a mobo as the SLK900U does, the SLK900A will fit on an Asus A7N8X, easily.

As I learned when reviewing the SLK800, you can fit a 92x25MM fan on it also. But, you cannot fit a 92x38MM fan like the Tornado on the SLK800. This is a major plus. Using the 92MM Tornado connected to a fan controller is a combo I will stick to. When needed, the power is there. But as you can see from the results above, even when the Tornado is on a silent speed, it still performs extremely well.

Once again, Thermalright has a winner. They were already the undesputed "Kings" of cpu cooling with heatsinks like their SK-7, SLK800 and SLK900U, so was the SLK900-A really necessary? Yes, it was. Those of us who want the very best cooling for our cpu usually want the top performer. Owners of the Asus A7N8X mobo could not use the SLK900U, the current top performer. Though the SLK800 isn't far behind the SLK900U in cooling, Thermalright knew many who's mobo couldn't fit a SLK900U still wanted the top beast and one that easily fits a 92MM fan like the Tornado.

• Great cpu cooling
• Fits fans up to 92x38MM
• All copper
• 3-prong clip
• Easy to install
• Fan overhangs the heatsink helping to cool surrounding components

• No fan included

Awesome! Is the first word I can think of to describe the SLK900A. It isn't in the way of any capasitors and it does fit the 92MM Tornado. If you are considering a new heatsink and if you want the best and one that should fit all mobos, then the SLK900A is for you. I do suggest using the 92MM tornado, but only with a good dependable fan controller to quiet that beast down. Otherwise a fan like the YS tech 92MM is a good choice also. For that matter, your favorite quiet fan would still work well with the SLK900A.

Unlike some competitors, Thermalright prefers to concentrate on actual design and performance rather than "cool" looks. And because of this, Thermalright has no serious competition for cooling supremacy.

Many thanks goes out to those friendly and innovative guys at Thermalright for making this review possible. Direct Link to the SLK900-A. No doubt about it, Thermalright has once again earned our highest honor:

*Important Note About Fan Controllers:
If using a fan connected to a sunbeam fan controller (or any fan controller) on your cpu then there is one important thing you need to know. Under 7v, like when the led turns red on the sunbeam, the tornado is underpowered. While running or restarting, all is ok. But if you have the fan running too low, cut your computer off, then restart it later. The fan may not be spinning.

That happened to me. I had the fan at around 2200 and when I turned my system back on, the fan wasn't moving. I quickly adjusted the speed faster and all was ok.

So, when you turn your system off, be sure to adjust the fan speed faster, or so the led is blue on the sunbeam. Or make sure the fan is turned up to about full speed on other fan controllers. You can safely adjust the fan speed once your system has fully booted.