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Heatsink Roundup Q4 2005 Holiday Edition

Cooling/CPU Cooling by jmke @ 2005-12-24

We are proud to present you with our last heatsink roundup of 2005. Featuring the latest offerings from Arctic, Scythe, Silverstone, Sharkoon and newcomer Noctua. We compare them to the best out there in 3 different test setups.

Noise/Performance

Noise/Performance

Now how does each heatsink rank when I take the noise production into account? The PWM area should not run too hot either, so I’ve added this result, but since the PWM temperature is less important than the CPU temperature here’s the “formula” for this chart: CPUtemp+(PWMtemp/2)+Noise

For easiness of reference I’ll include the test system full specs, and details on each test setup. I won’t comment much on these results as the numbers speak for themselves. Do take into account inaccuracies of 1-2°C (and that’s thinking positive) in these results due to mounting differences and overall accuracy of my test material.

Results Test Setup 1

Antec Sonata II + Silverstone Passive PSU

AcoustiFan DustPROOF 120mm @ 5v in the rear as outtake (mounted with Acousti Fan Gasket)

Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2400 – 1.7v vcore

nVidia TNT2 Passive cooled video card

Noise produced with system running without HSF fan: 34dBA @ 50cm

Madshrimps (c)

Results Test Setup 2

Antec Sonata II + Antec SmartBlue PSU

AcoustiFan DustPROOF 120mm @ 7.5v in the rear as outtake (mounted with Acousti Fan Gasket)

Antec Sonata II’s 120mm fan in front @ 7v (mounted with Acousti Fan-Mounts)

Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2400 – 1.7v vcore

Chaintech FX5900XT with Arctic Cooling Silencer

Noise produced with system running without HSF fan: 50dBA @ 50cm

Madshrimps (c)

Results Test Setup 3

Antec Sonata II + Antec SmartBlue PSU

AcoustiFan DustPROOF 120mm @ 7.5v in the rear as outtake (mounted with Acousti Fan Gasket)

Antec Sonata II’s 120mm fan in front @ 7v (mounted with Acousti Fan-Mounts)

Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2200 – 1.5v vcore

Chaintech FX5900XT with Arctic Cooling Silencer

Noise produced with system running without HSF fan: 50dBA @ 50cm

Madshrimps (c)

Now I know what you are thinking, those results in test setup 2 and 3 are mostly rendered useless because of the overly noisy Antec PSU, at 50dBA a lot of heatsinks fall well below this threshold. But don’t worry I have the solution ->

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