OCPulse Heatsink Showdown! Comprehensive Air Cooling Roundup

Spawne32 · 09-08-2007, 03:15 PM

Overclockers Pulse Heatsink Showdown! Comprehensive Air Cooling Roundup
Review performed by www.overclockerspulse.com c/o Spawne32 (Owner, Founder)

Updated 10/28/2007

Introduction…

As the computer market continually grows and processor power continues to increase, we see the intense need for better cooling solutions every day that passes. Now in the year 2007, there are many manufacturers of computer cooling parts all fighting for the title of best cooling solution. This review will put the products of these manufacturers to the test and compare them side by side, giving you, the user, an accurate and realistic comparison to help you make your choice when searching for an aftermarket cooling solution.

For the newcomers to aftermarket computer cooling, there are several methods of increasing performance ranging from the utmost basic cooling solutions, to some of the most extreme solutions that only the hardest of the hardcore computer users will be running. Our focus today will be the easier of these solutions, air cooling. We will be using some of the latest equipment available on the market, as well as some older tried and true air cooling solutions and see how well they perform with newer CPU’s on the market.

That being said, I am proud to present to you the first set of results in a series of testing that will continuously provide accurate results and comparisons in an easy to read manner. These charts will give you a better understanding of just how well advertised heatsinks perform in the real world. Stripped of their fancy advertising slogans and images, we put them to the ultimate test using the latest quad core processors, and today, you get the see the results of the first round.

Credits…

Before we get started with the review I’d like to take a moment to thank the people that have provided support in getting this review accomplished. Our site (ocpulse.com) is still very small and young and requires the assistance of the very generous people (and company sponsors) you will see listed here to bring these complicated and intense reviews to your viewing pleasure. I personally thank the people listed below for providing valuable information regarding testing, as well as providing some of the actual heatsinks you will see featured in the review.

Alex Venz - Co-Owner, Petra'sTech/Petra's Tech Shop
http://www.PetrasTech.com
http://www.PetrasTechShop.com
Ace-a-Rue – Xtreme Systems Member
Vapor – Xtreme Systems Member
Sidewinder Computer Systems, http://www.sidewindercomputers.com

Testing Methodology…

Like any review, there needs to be a method to our madness. This review will be carried out using the following components.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (B3 Stepping)
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Rev.3.3 P965 Express
Arctic Silver Ceramique 22 gram tube
Core Temp Beta 0.94 (Thermal Monitor)
Prime95 Version 24.14
HSPC Standard 'Top Deck' Tech Station 1.0
Windows Xp Service Pack 2
Yate Loon D12SM-12 and D12SL-12 Case Fans

We will be using a HSPC Standard “Top Deck” Tech Station for the review to rule out the variable of provided case airflow. All computer cases have a different “airflow pattern”, so in order to keep the tests uniform and balanced we use an open air test rig so that the measurements are not skewed in favor or against one heatsink as far as case airflow is concerned.

The processor we will be using for CPU load averages is an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 quad core processor, providing performance data using one of the newest CPU types with multi-core technology. The quad core processor will provide the best results for testing a heatsinks performance at dissipating CPU heat.

Another area to note is the thermal paste we will be using in the review. We will be using the same thermal paste for all the heatsinks tested as to provide uniform measurements and rule out temperature variations created by either poor or good thermal paste. Thermal paste is the buffer between the CPU and the heatsink which helps to improve thermal transfer due to microscopic imperfections in the metals on both surfaces. The thermal paste fills these cracks and grooves to create perfect contact on both surfaces. Poorly made thermal paste can inhibit thermal transfer, thus increasing CPU temperatures, where as good thermal paste can improve performance likewise. The paste we will be using for the review will be Arctic Silver Ceramique, a community standard in thermal paste; it provides good thermal transfer at a great price.

The extra case fans you see listed in the above component list is for heatsinks that do not come retail with cooling fans, like many Thermalright heatsinks. The choice of the Yate Loon fans was due to the fact that they are one of the most widely used and recommended fans amongst the overclocking community. They provide good overall performance and low noise at a price that is usually under ten dollars at most retail locations online such as Petra’s Tech Shop.

Our CPU stress testing program will be Prime95, “a Windows-based program written by George Woltman that is used by GIMPS, a distributed computing project dedicated to finding new Mersenne prime numbers.”* This program will cause the CPU to generate its maximum heat output, giving us the ability to test our heatsinks’s ability to dissipate this heat.

Finally, the program used to take CPU Load averages will be the Core Temp Beta program, version 0.94. As our CPU is not a G0 stepping processor, the most accurate results were obtained using this version. The Core Temp program itself has been widely known to be the most accurate program to use while monitoring CPU temperatures in Windows and you can find the program at this location http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/ as well as the downloads section of our site (ocpulse.com).

Testing Results…

The testing results you see listed below are setup in two charts, one chart will provide the maximum CPU load temperatures achieved, averaged across all 4 cores, against the ambient temperature. The second chart you will see will measure the delta (dT), a more accurate measurement which provides compensation for the fluxuations in the ambient temperatures.

The chart featured above measures the average cpu load temperature after 1 hour of Prime95, running small FFT’s.

The chart featured above measures the average “delta”, an equation that compensates for ambient temperature fluxations.

Additional Information...

The chart shown above lists individual heatsink weight in grams (metric).

The chart featured above shows the price:performance ratio of each heatsink tested.

Looking to the future…

We are constantly working to provide the BEST in cooling performance results. Over the next few weeks you can look forward to see even more heatsinks added to these charts, at this current time we have shipments from Coolink, Zalman, Thermalright, and others on the way.

As always we love to hear your feedback on both the review and the site itself, should you ever have any questions or comments, feel free to email us at admin@ocpulse.com or stop by our site www.overclockerspulse.com (www.ocpulse.com) and post on our forums!

I’d also like to personally note, we are working on a brand new version of our website, so during this construction period we are in you may notice changes or there could be disruptions in site activity.

Again, thank you for all your support and I hope you enjoy the review!

evoic · 09-08-2007, 04:42 PM

Finally here - yay ! ! !

Thank you for all of the hard work, time, and effort.
Now I need to read and absorb what's posted above.

Thanks again.

Spawne32 · 09-08-2007, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evoic

Finally here - yay ! ! !

Thank you for all of the hard work, time, and effort.
Now I need to read and absorb what's posted above.

Thanks again.

lol its alot of filler information, just concern yourself with the charts

Are they big enough for you guys? I was concerned about people with smaller monitors.

Over the next few weeks im gona have more heatsinks added to the charts, im just trying to track down all the shipments and get up money for a few other heatsinks i was unable to aquire.

Morais · 09-08-2007, 05:00 PM

excellent post spawne, looking forward for more results

xenoasd · 09-09-2007, 03:13 PM

im surpise that the scythe ninja was the highest of all...

great results tho ^^ thanks

hecktic · 09-09-2007, 05:12 PM

that would seem accurate also when compared side by side with the dozens and dozens of reviews out on the next that also will say the chillitec is a hair off better than the Thermalright Ultra 120

[cTx] Nooc · 09-09-2007, 05:18 PM

hmmm I may have to read OCpulse more now

vaio · 09-09-2007, 05:31 PM

Did noise levels get recorded/noted?
Oh sorry, this isn't SPCR

Very informative

.....would be nice to see how some more "budget" models such as Arctic Cooling would fare against these big guns.

Spawne32 · 09-09-2007, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nooc

hmmm I may have to read OCpulse more now

Im always working on improving the site

one day ill have one to rival some of the bigger sites, with enough work. Right now im currently working on version 2 of the website, which will have the features required for larger things coming up

Quote:

Originally Posted by vaiodeux

Did noise levels get recorded/noted?
Oh sorry, this isn't SPCR

Very informative

.....would be nice to see how some more "budget" models such as Arctic Cooling would fare against these big guns.

Sorry no noise recordings, i dont have any sound equipment available for use

but.... in the future.... yes

Also when you view the charts on the site (when the new version is complete) they will be animated for sexyness

Ace-a-Rue · 09-09-2007, 07:30 PM

very nice!...

i see the TRUE 120 is about neck and neck with that ultra chilltec.

Spawne32 · 09-09-2007, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ace-a-Rue

very nice!...

i see the TRUE 120 is about neck and neck with that ultra chilltec.

I was surprised the HR-01 Plus was so far behind, but then again, fin design and mounting system do play a big part in performance.

SaFrOuT · 09-10-2007, 03:32 AM

nice review

glad i replaced my BigTyphoon with the Ultra-120 X for more future proof

Ace-a-Rue · 09-10-2007, 08:17 AM

EXACTLY!

IKIKUINTHENUTZ · 09-10-2007, 02:47 PM

Your site developing very well Spawne32
Keep up the good work

I would like to request a special test concerning those heatsinks, pm will be sent to you soon. Don't worry, it only involves 2 heatsinks from that list

ChaosMinionX · 09-10-2007, 06:19 PM

TLDR

Anyways good work on that Spawne.... I may have something for you pretty soon

Spawne32 · 09-10-2007, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaosMinionX

TLDR

Anyways good work on that Spawne.... I may have something for you pretty soon

I like surprises!

GuitarBizarre · 09-14-2007, 04:38 PM

Only thing I'm thinking is that while removing the variable of case airflow is good in some ways its bad in others since lots of coolers are designed with exhausting air towards the rear fans in mind...seems to me that taking that into account, some performance could change...

Spawne32 · 09-14-2007, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuitarBizarre

Only thing I'm thinking is that while removing the variable of case airflow is good in some ways its bad in others since lots of coolers are designed with exhausting air towards the rear fans in mind...seems to me that taking that into account, some performance could change...

I dont understand where your going with this, the orientation of all the heatsinks were tested in whatever way the instructions for the particular heatsink provided.

PhilDoc · 09-14-2007, 06:24 PM

I think what he's saying is that the relative performance of the coolers may change if they were mounted in a case, because they may be designed to take advantage of case airflow. I'm doubt this is true, but you guys are the experts

Spawne32 · 09-14-2007, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilDoc

I think what he's saying is that the relative performance of the coolers may change if they were mounted in a case, because they may be designed to take advantage of case airflow. I'm not this is true, but you guys are the experts

Well all the experts i talked to agreed that the open air would provide the best results for variables like cases, these are computers, not wind tunnels

if it was a wind tunnel then yes the concept would apply but in this case, if your case airflow is bad, you can expect higher temps, if your case airflow is good, you can expect temps similar to the results shown. Thats how that works basically.

Ace-a-Rue · 09-14-2007, 07:02 PM

outside the case for benching versus inside the case for benching is going to show an upward trend of temps.

i have a great case that provides above average ventilation...i have 120mm front input fan and two 120mm rear exhaust fans...if you count the 120 on the PSU then it is three, although that fan is a low volume fan.

here is a P95 bench outside of the case, on my open bench with an overhead ceiling fan at full speed.

the next image is inside a Gigabyte 3DAurora case...i have the unoccupied card slot plates removed so it can suck in more air plus i removed the in and out water plugs to open up more outside air to enter the case...three 120mm rear exhaust fans can gang up on one 120mm front mounted fan...so...i had to provide some additional relief.

cpu, system and PWM all increased

Spawne32 · 09-14-2007, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ace-a-Rue

outside the case for benching versus inside the case for benching is going to show an upward trend of temps.

i have a great case that provides above average ventilation...i have 120mm front input fan and two 120mm rear exhaust fans...if you count the 120 on the PSU then it is three, although that fan is a low volume fan.

here is a P95 bench outside of the case, on my open bench with an overhead ceiling fan at full speed.

the next image is inside a Gigabyte 3DAurora case...i have the unoccupied card slot plates removed so it can suck in more air plus i removed the in and out water plugs to open up more outside air to enter the case...three 120mm rear exhaust fans can gang up on one 120mm front mounted fan...so...i had to provide some additional relief.

cpu, system and PWM all increased

Well i cant say for sure that there arent other factors that may have caused that situation, but in the comparison test i ran, the CPU was hotter inside of a case, because the ambient temp inside the case was higher.

Ace-a-Rue · 09-14-2007, 07:19 PM

i agree...that is what my two images show...outside of a case is going to run cooler for obvious reasons.

you were spot on in your other post about some cases do not fair well with ventilation so the temps would most likely sky rocket in all categories.

emoners · 09-15-2007, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spawne32

I was surprised the HR-01 Plus was so far behind, but then again, fin design and mounting system do play a big part in performance.

Hmmmm interesting...thought the HR-01 Plus would do better (probably neck-to-neck with the Ultra-120 Extreme)

Just a noob question, should the Ultra ChillTEC be included? Considering it is a TEC cooler?

boatasiaus · 09-15-2007, 06:50 AM

Spawne

Excellent review. Wish this was available before I purchased 2 weeks ago...

Did you try to measure/account for, mount variability?

I assume this was based on 1 mount, as I didn't see it mentioned.