CPU Cooling Test Configuration

All tests use our new cooling test bed. This consists of a Rosewill R604-P-SL case sold by Newegg without a power supply. The Rosewill is typical of a moderately priced mid-tower case our readers might own. We chose this case because it is a Newegg top seller and includes a variable front intake louver and a quiet 120mm exhaust fan at the rear of the case. The case is also screw-less with components held in place by plastic holders instead of metal-to-metal connections. This appears to reduce case vibration and noise.

The power supply is a Corsair HX620W, which has proven in benchmarks to be an exceptionally quiet unit. The HX620W features a variable speed fan and a down-facing intake fan mounted just above the CPU space in the case. To eliminate the video card as a source of noise we have moved to a fanless card. Since we will move to Vista and DX10 in the very near future, the test bed runs an MSI NX8600 GTS that supports DX10 and cools with heatsinks and heatpipes. The reduced noise power supply and fanless video card help to dramatically lower system noise in the test bed.

The motherboard is an ASUS P5K Deluxe. This P35 chipset motherboard has exhibited outstanding overclocking capabilities in our testing. It can also mount the newest 1333 FSB Intel Core processors and can handle our existing high-speed DDR2 memory. The P5K3 uses heatsinks and heatpipes to cool board components so all motherboard cooling is passive. There are no active cooling fans to generate unwanted noise during testing.

The 120mm exhaust fan mounted to the rear of the case is below the system noise floor. We run that fan during performance and overclocking tests. However, system noise can be cumulative, so we turn off the exhaust fan during noise testing.

Cooling Performance Test Configuration
Processor Intel Core 2 Duo X6800
(Dual-core 2.93GHz, 4MB Unified Cache)
RAM 2x1GB Corsair Dominator PC2-8888 (DDR2-1111)
Hard Drive(s) Hitachi 250GB SATA2 enabled (16MB Buffer)
Video Card MSI NX8600GTS (fanless) - All Standard Tests
Intel TAT Version 2.05.2006.0427
CoreTemp Version 0.95
Video Drivers NVIDIA 163.71
CPU Cooling Noctua NH-U12P
Arctic Cooling Alpine 7 (with PWM)
Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV 120
Cooler Master Hyper 212
OCZ Vendetta
Scythe Kama Cross
Swiftech H2O-120 Compact
Corsair Nautilus 500
Thermalright Ultima-90
ZEROtherm BTF90
Xigmatek AIO (AIO-S800P)
Evercool Silver Knight
Enzotech Ultra-X
3RSystem iCEAGE
Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX
Thermaltake MaxOrb
Scythe Andy Samurai Master
Cooler Master Gemini II
Noctua NH-U12F
Asus Silent Square Pro
Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B
OCZ Vindicator
Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
Thermalright Ultra 120
Scythe Infinity
Zalman CNS9700
Zalman CNS9500
Cooler Master Hyper 6+
Vigor Monsoon II Lite
Thermalright MST-9775
Scythe Katana
Tuniq Tower 120
Intel Stock HSF for X6800
Power Supply Corsair HX620W
Motherboards Asus P5K Deluxe (Intel P35)
Operating System Windows XP Professional SP2
BIOS Asus AMI 0501 (06/26/2007)

We run all cooling tests with the components mounted in our standard mid-tower case. The idle and stress temperature tests are run with the case closed and standing as it would in most home setups. Room temperature is measured before beginning the cooler tests and is maintained at 21C +/-1C (68F to 72F) for all testing.

For consistency of test results, we use a standard premium silver-colored thermal compound. In our experience, the thermal compound used makes little to no difference in cooling test results. This is particularly true now that processors ship with a large manufacturer-installed heatspreader. Our current test procedure uses this standard high-quality silver-colored thermal paste for all cooler reviews.

For comparison, we first tested the stock Intel air-cooler at standard X6800 speeds and measured the CPU temperature at idle. We then stress the CPU by running continuous loops of the Far Cry River demo. We repeat the same tests at the highest stable overclock we could achieve with the stock cooler. "Stable" in this case is the ability to handle our Far Cry looping for at least 30 minutes without crashing.

The same benchmarks are then run on the review cooler(s) at stock speed, 3.33GHz (10x333) at stock voltage, highest stock cooler OC speed (3.73GHz), and the highest OC that could be achieved in the same setup with the cooler being tested. This allows measurement of the cooling efficiency of the test unit compared to stock and the improvement in overclocking capabilities, if any, from using the test cooler.

We compare results with a representative sample of air- and water-cooling results measured with CoreTemp. TAT provides a similar core measurement, but test results with CoreTemp are more consistent over a wide range of test conditions than the results reported by TAT. We retested previously reviewed coolers with CoreTemp under idle and load conditions. In benchmarks where the new test bed makes no apparent difference, like maximum overclock, we include results for all coolers tested since beginning cooling reviews in early 2007.

Noise Levels

In addition to cooling efficiency and overclocking abilities, users shopping for CPU cooling solutions may also be interested in the noise levels of the cooling devices they are considering. We measure noise levels with the case on its side using a C.E.M. DT-8850 Sound Level meter. This meter allows accurate sound level measurements from 35b dB to 130 dB with a resolution of 0.1 dB and an accuracy of 1.5 dB. This is sufficient for our needs in these tests, as measurement starts at the level of a relatively quiet room. Our own test room, with all computers and fans turned off, has a room noise level that has been reduced slightly to 35.0 dB(A) compared to the previous 36.4 dB(A). With the new test bed, the system noise at idle is 36.5 dB(A) at 24" and 37.8 dB(A) at 6". This is better than our previous system noise floor of 38.3 dB(A) at 24". The noise reduction at the 6" distance is dramatically lower than the previous test bed floor of 47 dB(A).

Installation Cooling at Stock Speed
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  • n7 - Friday, March 21, 2008 - link

    I can't believe no one here knows Thermaltake sells additional clips for fans for their coolers.

    You don't have to do any ghetto zip tie mods either.

    Simply purchase an extra set of clips, install two Noctuas, & you have what i run:
    http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9930/img2383cop...">http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9930/img2383cop...

    I am a huge Noctua fanboi too.
    I own over 15 of their fans, as they just exude quality with their lovely sleeved cables, nice design & color, & low RPM adaptors, nevermind the packaging.

    But as much as i like Noctua, they don't make the best CPU heatsinks. Not yet anyway.

    So i use a TRUE + their fans.
  • Syzygies - Friday, March 21, 2008 - link

    It's Thermalright, not Thermaltake. What isn't clear is that buying additional clips also buys you additional gel strips. That's the only part one can actually use, as the Thermalright clip holes are sized for one fan clip, not two. Been there. Zip ties are wonderful, they're my universal modeling clay.
  • Sargon - Monday, March 24, 2008 - link

    Yes, buying the additional clips will get you additional gel strips. You do not use the same holes but the ones next two it. In other words you just place the second clips over one cooling fin.

    The reason I actually posted is that I just replaced a Scythe Ultra Kaze (3000rpm) with two of these Noctura fans om my Thermalright 120 Extreme (push/pull). Not only is the setup very quite it works very well due to the air pressure these fans produce.
  • n7 - Friday, March 21, 2008 - link

    Sorry, i'm asleep :(

    I have a TT case...but run a TRUE.

    FWIW, i'd rate the Noctua cooler + fan as a better overall package.

    But for those wanting the best, a TRUE + a couple P12 fans is a bit better...though you might have the lap the TRUE (poor TR QC IMO vs. excellence from Noctua in that regard).

    And yes, i know the holes are technically designed for just one set of clips, but i didn't find it impossible to clip in a second set by any means.
  • KainAT - Friday, March 21, 2008 - link

    I think many users know that they sold that separately.
    But if you dont buy the clips when you buy your heatsink or any other hardware you may need to pay extra for the shipping and just for a par of clips.

    Thermalright could give 1 USD on price for the cooler including 2 pairs if they want, but this is the important part of the noctua service as I see.

    Also, gheto is not really difficult.
    On the other hand, Thermalright has 2 holes for thwe clips and the other ones even they can be used for clips are not really meant for it as you can see.

    Anyway. Im not defending Noctua or anything here. Im big Thermalright user so I have no problems there.



    Finally, for the reviewer: When you said about the Noctua inluding the fan which is another cost, you may also want to say that thay also include the NT-H1 Thermalpaste and also has a value for the user.

    Regards.
    Kain.
  • Ytterbium - Friday, March 21, 2008 - link

    Could you test the Thermalright IFX-14, this looks like an interesting design
  • Wesley Fink - Friday, March 21, 2008 - link

    The early versions of the IFX-14 were not competitive with the other top coolers from Thermalright. Thermalright has promised us a revised version for months now but we have yet to receive it.

    In our converstaions with Thermalright we have been clear that we can't recommend the IFX-14 unless it actaully outperforms the U120 eXtreme since the IFX-14 costs a good deal more. Perhaps your question will light a fire.

  • KainAT - Friday, March 21, 2008 - link

    Im in this with you.
    For the ones who really want to know the performance, I already did the tests,. and yes, the TRUE wins by 2-3 degrees depending on wattage created when OCing. The more heat you create, the more difference (which ios ionly 1 degree or 2 aprox).

    What you can do to have 2 fans on TRUE is simple. One clip for one side and one clip to another.

    I have some photos for you here:
    http://bandwidth.se/view/6253">http://bandwidth.se/view/6253
    http://bandwidth.se/view/6254">http://bandwidth.se/view/6254

    I think the analisys on this working on TRUE is not the most properly because the article is from Noctua, not thermalright.
    Anyway, the analysys later would be very good :)
  • varneraa - Friday, March 21, 2008 - link

    Given how close the 120-Extreme is in performance to the stock noctua unit, I wonder how a 120-Extreme with push-pull fans would do?
  • poohbear - Friday, March 21, 2008 - link

    i know, i hate it when reviewers just omit these questions that they KNOW everybody will be asking. c'mon anandtech, why give us a review of a TRUE without a push/pull config and test the other heatsink with it?

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