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AMD A64 Heatsink roundup Q2 2005

Cooling/CPU Cooling by jmke @ 2005-05-15

In this massive Athlon 64 heatsink roundup we compare 17 cooling solutions from different manufactures including Scythe, TTIC, Arctic Cooling, Thermaltake, Titan, Thermalright, Zalman and Coolermaster.

TTIC NPH K8-1

TTIC NPH K8-1:
Supplied by: TTIC

When TTIC first send us their P4 and AXP heatsinks we were impressed by the performance they delivered; let’s see how their A64 solutions performs. At ~$40 it falls out of the budget category.

Specifications :

Compatibility:

AMD: Athlon64/64+ Socket754/940/939

Fan included: 92x92x25mm
Fan Speed: 4200rpm
Fan Noise Level: 49dBA
Air Flow: 76CFM

Heatsink Dimensions: Tube: 25.4x100mm / 39 fins 62x76mm
Weight (without fan): 623gram

In the Box :

Our sample was shipped without an official box; the one pictured below is what you can expect. The heatsink includes a custom back plate and thermal paste, the installation manual is clear with descriptive pictures guiding you through the process of the installation.

Construction :

First thing you might notice is the oddly shaped fan, it uses the 80mm mounting holes but it’s a 92mm fan, it has a 4-pin power connector, this should come in handy when AMD one day decides to implement the same feature as Intel, when plugged in the correct motherboard the BIOS can change the fan size gradually instead of the steps like it is the case now.

The heatsink itself is made entirely out of copper except for the aluminum mounting piece which seems to fit S775 also. A large copper heat pipe in the center transfers heat from the CPU to the numerous fins.

Installation :

Motherboard removal is required to install the custom back plate, and then you simply screw the NPH K8 in tight. With the large 92mm fan it can be a challenge to get the heatsink installed, as you can see it makes the 1st DIMM on the DFI NF3 unusable.

Performance and Noise :

The 92mm fan at full speed is insanely loud, but turns the K8-1 into a true performer, reducing the fan speed to 50% only increases temperature by 4°C but drops noise by an impressive ~25dBA. Still, at 41dBA this HSF combo is far from silent. Using a silent Aerocool 80mm fan at 50% offers a very good performance/noise ratio.

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