One thing about being a reviewer is that you get lots of stuff, especially CPU Coolers, so I've got quite a few of them on hand and thought I'd compare them all together. This isn't just a comparison of results from a bunch of reviews, this is all new testing done with these coolers specifically for this article.
You might be wondering why I titled it 'CPU Cooler Roundup on C2D' well that's because I've recently got a C2Q and I am in process of re-doing all of these same tests on my Core2Quad CPU as well to see which of these 12 coolers can handle a Quad core.
Where applicable I've even tested these coolers without fans to see just how well they perform as truly silent cooling solutions. Since this isn't a 'official' review it will be broken down differently than others I've done in the past, this will be divided into sections. Inside you'll find sections with the coolers using the fan connected to a Molex, meaning running at full speed, connected to the CPU header, PWM controlled if applicable and of course a section just for coolers without their fans.
To make it all even, I've used Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound on all of the coolers, Arctic Cooling was kind enough to send me several tubes of their new MX-2 thermal compound to be used as I saw fit, and this fit the bill perfectly.
Of course you won't find every cooler out there in here, but I've got Scythe, Thermalright, JetArt, Noctua, Coolink, Zalman, GlacialTech, OCZ and even the Intel Stock Cooler included for good measure, so it's a nice sampling of various types of coolers available today. So let's jump into this now and see what's going on with these coolers…
-Edit – This is updated as of July 2nd/3rd and will be updated periodically as more coolers come in for review.
as of now, included in the charts are coolers from Thermalright, Scythe, Zalman, Kingwin, Thermolab, Coolink, Jetart, Glacialtech, Arctic Cooling, OCZ and Noctua
CPU Cooler Roundup on C2D – 20 Compared, who's the best?
Author: Kristofer Brozio
Sponsor: DragonSteelMods and Arctic Cooling
Test System Specs, Testing Procedures, and Basic Info:
All testing was done in a controlled room temperature environment that was always at approximately 20C with a +/- .3 degree variation.
All testing was done using the Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal compound, after every test the CPU/Coolers were cleaned with Arctic Silver ArctiClean to insure proper testing and good thermal conductivity.
Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound
Turbo MX-2 is a high conductive and low resistance compound for components that require the best thermal dissipation. MX-2 is ideally suited for use in CPU, GPU cooling and other applications between power semiconductor components and heat sinks where high thermal conductivity is critical.
My test setup consists of:
Intel C2D E6420 CPU running at 2.13Ghz
(-no overclocking was done for testing)
Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R LGA775 Intel G33 Bear Lake mATX Motherboard
2gigs of Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC2-8500 Ram
Connect3d X1800GTO Video Card
-With Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 VGA Cooler and Turbo Module
1x Hard drive
1x DVD/RW Drive
all housed inside of a Thermaltake Matrix VX PC Case with two 120mm cooling fans (1 intake/1 exhaust)
I used CoreTemp v.96 to get the temperature readings, I enabled the logging feature and averaged out the temperatures to get the results that you will see in the charts on the following pages.
To achieve load on the CPU I used Orthos Stress Prime, I basically turned it on and let it run for 3 hours at a time, this was done over several days to insure accurate results.
To get the idle temps I turned the system on and let it sit running nothing but the Windows XP processes for an hour, this was done over several days as well to insure accurate results.
{mospagebreak title=A Brief Look at the Coolers}
A Brief Look at the Coolers:
For the specs section of these, I'm not going to list every single coolers specifications and features, just a brief intro and a link to their full review with all the information in there if applicable. You'll also find links to the manufacturers pages as well listed for reference.
Here are various pictures of the coolers themselves:
And here's a quick look at most of them:
OCZ Vendetta
Using a distinctive, highly efficient heat pipe and fin design developed by Xigmatek, combined with a low-noise fan, the Vendetta is built to tackle heat-induced performance degradation and solves the cooling challenges of today’s enthusiast system builds.
Thermalright Ultima 90
Six-heatpipe design for extra fast heat transfer
Stepping fins to hold 92mm/120mm fans
Light and easy installation
High performance, low noise level at competitive price
*Please note this cooler does not come packaged with a fan, but for testing I used two Noctua fans:
NF-P12 120mm Fan (Review HERE)
NF-9-1600 92mm Fan that comes standard with the Noctua NH-U9F CPU Cooler
Scythe Ninja Copper Anniversary Model CPU Cooler
5th Anniversary Model for Scythe Brand!
All Copper Material!
Silent Fan Included!
GlacialTech Igloo 5750 Silent
IGLOO 5750 PWM CPU cooler and IGLOO 5750 Silent CPU Cooler for both Intel LGA775 Socket CPU’s and AMD 754, 939, 940, AM2 & F Socket CPU’s. The unique design for the enthusiast incorporates a specially aligned aluminum heatpipe combination of four pipes that dissipate the heat from the CPU directly into the heatsink fins. From there, the Silent version’s double fan quietly and efficiently brings the temperature down. The low decibel (19dB), high volume (30.8 CFM) fans are 92mmx92mmx25mm and run at an ultra-quiet speed of 1800 RPM. The dual fan is a unique concept that not only cools down the radiator, but the added blow down effect also cools down the heatsink directly above the CPU.
Noctua NH-U12P
The NH-U12P continues the legacy of Noctua's classic NH-U coolers, which won over 150 awards and recommendations from leading international websites and magazines. While retaining the successful design and the well-proven SecuFirm mounting system, the newest revision has been reworked for enhanced main board compatibility and now comes with Noctua's NT-H1 pro-grade thermal compound. Fitted with the new NF-P12 premium fan, the NH-U12P brings its predecessors' much-acclaimed quiet cooling performance to a whole new level!
GlacialTech IGLOO 5610 Silent
The unique design incorporates a specially aligned aluminum heatpipe combination of two pipes that dissipate the heat from the CPU directly into the heatsink fins. From there, the Silent version's fan quietly and efficiently brings the temperature down. The low decibel (19dB), high volume (30.8 CFM) fan is 80mmx80mmx25mm and runs at an ultra-quiet speed of 1800 RPM.
Coolink Silentator
The Silentator's mission is simple: to cool – and to do it silently! Employing 3 high-performance dual
heat-pipes, an optimised fin-design and a SWiF-1202 quality fan, the Silentator achieves first-class cooling performance at a minimum noise of only 14dB(A)!
Noctua NH-U9F CPU Cooler
The NH-U9F is the newest version of the NH-U9, which won over 50 awards and recommendations from leading international web sites and magazines. The NH-U9F can be rotated by 90° on all sockets, boasts full compatibility with AMD's new AM2 socket and comes equipped with a Noctua 92mm fan, which has a minimum noise rating of only 7dB(A)*. Thanks to the 4 Dual-Heat-Pipes, 37 aluminum cooling fins with a total surface area of more than 3800cm² and soldered joints for optimal heat-transfer, the Noctua NH-U9F achieves superior cooling performance at minimum noise levels
JetArt SL1800 Slim CPU Cooler
LGA 775 CPU Cooler (Low profile)
Cooler Dimensions: 82.0 x 80.8 x 36.0 mm
Jetart SL1600 Slim CPU Cooler
LGA 775 CPU Cooler (Low profile)
Cooler Dimensions 82.0 x 80.8 x 25.5 mm
Zalman CNPS7700-AlCu
Silent CPU cooler with maximized dissipation area with pure copper and aluminum
.JPG)
Intel Stock Cooler for C2D
Manufacturer: Intel
Model No.: Stock Core 2 Duo
Materials: Extruded aluminum, copper insert.
Fan Mfg: Nidec F09A-12B1S2
Fan Spec: 1500PM (est.), 12V, 0.20A
Fan Dim: 25x84x84mm
Heatsink & Fan Dim: 61x90x90mm
Weight: est. 380 grams
{mospagebreak title=A Brief Look at the Coolers Continued}
A Brief Look at the Coolers Continued:
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Kingwin Revolution RVT-12025D CPU Cooler
Specs:
Fan speed: 800~1500 RPM
Fan size: 4.72" x 4.72 x 1" / 120 x 120 x 25 mm PWM Fan
Bearing type: Rifle bearing
Noise level: 19.6~32.4 dBA
Max air flow: 65.1~81.3 CFM
Heatsink dimension: 5.7" (L)x 5.9"(H) x5.07"(W) / 145(L) x 150(H) x 129(W) mm
Heatsink material: Aluminum w/ copper base
Weight: 1.4 Lbs / 663 g (w/fan)
Rated voltage: 12 VDC
Thermal resistance: 0.15 C/W
Life expectancy: 50,000 hrs
Connector: 4 Pin with PWM
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Kingwin Revolution RVT-12025 CPU Cooler
Specs:
Fan speed: 800~1500 RPM
Fan size: 4.73"(L) x 4.73(L) x 0.98"(W)/120(L) x 120(H) x 25(W) mm PWM Fan
Bearing type: Rifle bearing
Noise level: 20~32 dBA
Max air flow: 72.1~99.6 CFM
Heatsink dimension: 120 x 50 x 159 mm
Heatsink material: Aluminum w/ copper base
Weight: 1.32Lbs / 600 g (w/fan)
Rated voltage: 12 VDC
Thermal resistance: 0.16 C/W
Life expectancy: 50,000 hrs
Connector: 4 Pin with PWM
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Kingwin Revolution RVT-9225 CPU Cooler
Specs:
Fan speed: 1200~2800 RPM
Fan size: 3.63" x 3.63" x 0.98 / 92 x 92 x 25 mm PWM Fan
Bearing type: Rifle bearing
Noise level: 23~35 dBA
Max air flow: 39~54.6 CFM
Heatsink dimension: 3.63" x 5.27 x 1.97" /92(L) x 134(H) x 50(W) mm
Heatsink material: Aluminum w/ copper base
Weight: 0.91Lbs / 410 g (w/fan)
Rated voltage: 12 VDC
Thermal resistance: 0.18 C/W
Life expectancy: 50,000 hrs
Connector: 4 Pin with PWM
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Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 LP
Specs:
Dimension: 109 L x 108 W x 42 H (to air intake level) / 53 H (with fan holder) mm
Weight : 263 g
Fan: 80 mm x 1
Fan Speed: 600 ?V 2000 RPM (controlled by PWM)
Air Flow: 28 CFM / 47.6 m3/h
Maximum Cooling Capacity: 90 Watt
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Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler
Specifications:
Socket compatibility Intel Socket LGA 775, AMD AM2 & AM2+, Intel Xeon on re-
quest, AMD K8 (754, 939, 940) & Socket F on request
Height: (without fan) 91mm
Width: (without fan) 126mm
Depth: (without fan) 152mm
Height: (with fan) 114mm
Width: (with fan) 126mm
Depth: (with fan) 152mm
Weight: (without fan) 550g
Weight: (with fan) 730g
Material: Copper (base and heat-pipes), aluminum (cooling fins), soldered joints, nickel plated
Application: Intel: all frequencies, AMD: all frequencies
Fan compatibility: 120 x 120 x 25 mm / 120 x 120 x 38 mm
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Thermolab Nano Silencer CPU Cooler
Specs:
Product Name: Nano Silencer
Dimension: 99.5 x 88.2 x 39 (L x W x H)mm
Weight: 214g (Heat sink and Fan)
Heatsink Material:
Pure copper (Heat Pipe),
Aluminum(Base Block, Fins)
Dissipation Area: 1,250 cm²
Fan
Dimension: 80 x 80 x 15mm
Speed: Less than 3,000rpm ± 10%
Noise Level(1): 30.5dB(A) at 3,000rpm
Bearing Type: Rifle Bearing
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Thermolab Micro Silencer CPU Cooler
Specs:
Product Name: Micro Silencer
Dimension: 103.5 x 99 x 59 (L x W x H)mm
Weight: 276g (Heat sink and Fan)
Heatsink Material:
-Pure copper (Heat Pipe),
-Aluminum(Base Block, Fins)
Dissipation Area: 1,740 cm²
Fan:
Dimension: F95*25T
Speed: Less than 2,600rpm ± 10%
Noise Level: 34.6dB(A) at 2,650rpm
Bearing Type: Rifle Bearing
Control Method: PWM, Auto Restart,Locked Current protection
Fan Life Expectancy:70,000hr continuous at 40°C ,15~65% relative humidity
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Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme CPU Cooler
Technical Specs:
* Dimension : L63.44 x W132 x H160.5 mm (heatsink only)
* Weight :790g (Heatsink Only)
* Recommended Fan :All 120mm Fan
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{mospagebreak title=Testing and Comparison -Fan Connected to CPU Header}
Testing and Comparison -Fan Connected to CPU Header:
Before we get into the testing results, here's an assortment of pictures of most of these CPU coolers installed:
All the pictures were taken of course with the side of the case removed, but the side was in place during the testing to simulate real life situations with case airflow etc.
Onto the results…
You can click on the graph to open in new window at approximately 1200×800 Resolution to get a better view.
The temperatures here vary quite a bit because the fans are running fairly slow when connected to the CPU header, I actually noticed that some of them didn't even start spinning until Windows XP was fully loaded and at the desktop.
Also I noticed that some of the fans never really hit their full rated speeds even when being under load for hours at a time.
If we look at the load temps we can see the Thermalright Ultima90 and the Noctua NH-U12P are most evenly matched, with the Scythe Ninja Copper coming in a very close second.
EDIT JULY 2nd:
As you can see things have changed since I added more coolers to the charts, the Scythe Ninja Copper has been bumped down to 5th place in the charts with the TRUE coming in first, and then the two Noctua Coolers coming closely behind.
{mospagebreak title=Testing and Comparison -Fan Connected to Molex}
Testing and Comparison -Fan Connected to Molex:
You can click on the graph to open in new window at approximately 1200×800 Resolution to get a better view.
Connected to the Molex means that all of these coolers have their fans running at their full rated speeds and of course that's going to vary by the fan itself. I could have used the same fan for all testing, but I wanted an 'out-of-the-box' comparison really.
For the most part the C2D runs cool at Idle, and most of the temps for all these coolers are very close, with some exceptions of course. The GlacialTech 5750 has a slight advantage that it runs two 92mm fans compared to all the others where they only run one fan, so the idle temps are on average lower.
…but then again idle temps don't mean much at all do they?
The Load temperatures are of course what we want to focus on and Thermalright, Scythe and Noctua are the top performers with OCZ and Coolink coming in a very close second.
EDIT JULY 2nd:
Here's a surprise entry/winner, the Kingwin 12025 tops the charts when the fan is running at full speed, with Noctua and Thermalright coming up behind.
{mospagebreak title=Testing and Comparison -No Fan}
Testing and Comparison -No Fan:
Obviously I didn't take the fans off of all of these CPU coolers, only the ones that really are specifically made to have the ability to be used without a fan, mainly the heatpipe coolers, but it gives a good idea of performance for comparison.
You can click on the graph to open in new window at approximately 1200×800 Resolution to get a better view.
Obviously the Scythe Ninja Copper is the best performer when using no fan at all, after all it is specifically advertised and manufactured that way. The Noctua NH-U12P and Coolink Silentator both have very decent temperatures as well for running with no fan.
EDIT JULY 2nd:
We see the Scythe Ninja Copper is still the top performer when it comes to running with no fan at all, it is a beast of a cooler. The rankings for the top colers have not changed with the update, the top three are still the top three
Summary:
Well as you can see, and it's no big surprise, Thermalright, Noctua and Scythe are the top performing heatsinks.
From the results here, in sheer performance it would be a choice between the three, Scythe Ninja Copper, Thermalright Ultima90 and the Noctua NH-U12P, it depends on your needs and preferences.
Though they all have their pros and cons, like the Scythe Ninja Copper is very large and heavy, while the Thermalright does not come with a fan, but it's small and lightweight, the Noctua NH-U12P I think offers the best overall choice of performance, size and weight.
If I had to choose which I would purchase personally from these results and knowing the specifications of each one I would have to choose the Noctua NH-U12P as the best choice overall. It has a nice balance of size, cooling efficiency, and overall silence even when the fan is running at full speed.
If you're aiming towards a fully silent computer, then of course you'd choose the Scythe Ninja Copper which you can run with no fan at all and have decent temperatures, the included fan is also very quiet even running at full speed.
The Thermalright Ultima 90 is more geared towards overclockers I would think, since it does not come with a fan, one could purchase a high CFM fan which would lower the temperatures a bit more I would think.
Personally I prefer my system to be as quiet as possible so that's partially where my preferences lie, it all really depends on what you prefer and what you're going to be doing with your system.
Of course I didn't overclock my CPU during any of these tests, so the results could change drastically when applying more voltage etc, but I believe that the top performers will remain the same even when overclocking.
EDIT JULY 2nd:
What I've said originally still goes basically, I would still choose a Noctua cooler but this time I would have to change the choice to be the NH-C12P cooler instead of the NH-U12P
Digg the Share!I would like to thank Arctic Cooling for the thermal compound and for their continued support of DSM.
-and remember to check back for my C2Q roundup to follow in a few weeks.