FrostyTech.com Heatsink Reviews and Analysis
   
  

TOP 5 Heat Sinks     TOP 5 Low Profile Heat Sinks     TOP 5 Liquid Coolers    
 Heatsinks by Brand / Mfgr      Reviews + Articless     Advanced Search    

Apack Zerotherm CF800 Socket 775 Heatsink Review
Apack Zerotherm CF800 Socket 775 Heatsink Review
  80%   
Abstract: It has been designed to operate quietly, with the ability to scale the speed of its translucent fan automatically and tackle heat loads as high as 130W.

 Manufacturer  Category  Published  Author 
Apack   Cooling / Heatsinks   Nov 20, 2006   Max Page  

The Apack Zerotherm CF800 heatsink is a compact aluminum finned socket 775 cooler. It has been designed to operate quietly, with the ability to scale the speed of its translucent fan automatically and tackle heat loads as high as 130W. That makes this 357 gram lightweight heatsink an ideal candidate for socket 775 Intel Pentium D/Core 2 Duo processors. The CF800 heatsink has a thermally responsive fan that adjusts its speed between 800-2300RPM, blowing upwards of 42CFM over over 2300mm2 of cooling surface area.

The units' four nickel plated copper heatpipes connect the copper base plate to the aluminum heat exchanger above. The Zerotherm CF800 is generally quiet under power, and performs fairly compared to the stock Intel Pentium D heatsink.

The heatsink installs with a set of spring tensioned screws onto a supplied metal back plate, so the motherboard will need to be removed prior to its use. The Apack Zerotherm CF800 ships with a pre-applied patch of Shin-etsu thermal compound, and comes with a small tube of extra thermal compound for any subsequent installation.

Apack Zerotherm CF800 Heatsink
heatsink specsheet
manufacturer: apack
model no.: zerotherm cf800
materials: aluminum fins, nickel plated copper heat pipes, copper base
fan mfg: protechnic mgt9212hs-s25
fan spec: 800-2300rpm, 12v, 0.25a
fan dim: 25x95x95mm
heatsink & fan dim: 79x106x95mm
weight: 357 grams
includes: pre-applied thermal compound

Compatible with Sockets: LGA775
Est. Pricing: $38USD ($44CDN)

The Zerotherm CF800's Protechnic MGT9212HS-S25 fan has a thermistor attached to a short length of wire coming out of the motor hub, and this plays a crucial role in how the heatsink performs. The thermistor is cleverly located inside a well formed within in the array of aluminum fins, so it can accurately respond to the temperature of the metal, not the internal case air temperature. This enables the CF800 to scale the speed of the impeller as necessary, and cuts down on unnecessary noise.

At its slowest speed (800RPM), the 95mm diameter Protechnic fan barely produces 35 dBA noise. At its full speed of 2300RPM, the fan rumbles away with a moderately audible 48 dBA. A 3-pin power connector means this heatsink is not PWM compatible, but that doesn't really matter. The thermistor placement does a good job of allowing the fan to respond to the temperature load at any given moment.

A set of four copper heatpipes connect the aluminum fins to the base of the heatsink, which is made up of a large die cast aluminum mounting frame and a small 32x32mm small copper plate that makes direct contact with the processor IHS for optimal heat transfer.

The only really curious aspect about this heatsink is that the aluminum fins aren't nickel plated, and thus the heatpipe-to-aluminum fin joints are not soldered. If the joints are too loose thermal transmission may suffer.

Another bit which has us scratching our heads slightly is the die cast aluminum mounting base. It's big for starters. It's also directly attached to the nickel plated copper heatpipes and copper base, and yet it's completely flat on the opposite side for some reason. Given that this aluminum component is absorbing as much heat at the processor is putting out, it's hard to understand why Apack chose not to integrate some sort of low profile cooling fins on the rear of it. The large aluminum die cast mounting plate sits directly under the aluminum cooling fins, so it gets a full blast of air already... some cooling ridges would have only enhanced the heatsinks' thermal performance.

The Apack Zerotherm CF800 heatsink will be tested on FrostyTech's Intel LGA775 version of the Mk.II synthetic thermal temperature test platform, and compared against several reference LGA775 heatsinks. The whole test methodology is outlined in detail here if you care to know what equipment is used, and the parameters under which the tests are conducted. Now let's move forward and take a closer look at this heatsink, its acoustic characteristics, and of course it performance in the thermal tests!

° Next Page 

Table of Contents:

 1: — Apack Zerotherm CF800 Socket 775 Heatsink Review
 2:  360° View - Apack Zerotherm CF800 Heatsink
 3:  Acoustic Comparisons and Base Surface Quality
 4:  Intel LGA775 Heatsink Temperature Comparisons

List all Apack heat sinks that Frostytech tested?

Facebook RSS Feed Twitter
Resources
° Got Feedback?
° Mk.II Test Platform
° Where To Buy?
° Manufacturer Index
° Industry Dir.
° Cooling Projects
Recently Tested

Scythe Mugen 5 Rev B SCMG-5100 Heatsink Review

Gelid Tranquillo 4 Air Cooled Heatsink Review

Coolermaster Ergostand III Laptop Cooling Stand Review

Noctua NH-D9DXi4-3U LGA2011 Xeon Server/Workstation Heatsink Review

Noctua NH-L9x65 Low Profile Heatsink Review

Scythe Fuma SCFM-1000 Heatsink
...More Articles >>


Websites you may also like:
PCSTATS


FrostyTech.com
Since June 1999


Find a Heatsink
Latest Heatsink Reviews
Top 5 Heatsinks Tested
Top 5 Low Profile Heatsinks
Top 5 Liquid Coolers
Heatsinks by Mfgr / Brand


Social Media
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest


FrostyTech.com Info
Feedback
Contact Us / Heatsink Submissions
Submit News
Privacy Policy
Suite 66

© Copyright 1999-2023 www.frostytech.com All Rights Reserved. Privacy policy and Terms of Use
Images © FrostyTech.com and may not be reproduced without express written permission. Current students and faculty of accredited Universities may use Frostytech images in research papers and thesis, provided each image is attributed.