I'm
always slightly amused when two manufacturers release the exact same heatsink,
although one is obviously the producer and the other has just licensed the
design. Somehow the exact same model can be manufactured in exact same factory
in China, yet the two heatsinks will retail for slightly different price
points... This is the case with the Akasa AK-922 heatsink. Or more exactly
another not very well known company by the name of Rosewill that have released
what they called the 'RCX-Z3,' which is exactly same cooler as the Akasa AK-922 Frostytech tested previously.
If you've read the Ak-922 review, you'll find this one
is virtually identical. The thermal test report and acoustic sound
level measurements are bit different between the two heatsinks, but not out of
range considering the minor variances that occur in manufacturing. The Rosewill RCX-Z3 is a hefty heatsink designed for all current AMD and Intel processor families so it should
appeal to all users. The RCX-Z3 features no less than six copper heat pipes, a
very thick copper base, 52 thin aluminum fins, a small extruded aluminum
heatsink, and four strategically placed blue LEDs for internal
illumination. Three interchangeable base plates allow the Rosewill RCX-Z3
heatsink to be installed on a variety of motherboards, while its' 92mm PWM fan spins
at speeds of 600 to 3000RPM. According to our real world sound measurements
that translates into noise levels of approximately 58.6 dBA to 45.6 dBA.
Standing in at just over 138mm tall, the Rosewill RCX-Z3 heatsink
weighs just over 850 grams. The
unit heatsink is compatible with socket 754/939/940/AM2 AMD Athlon64 and
socket 775 Intel Pentium 4/D, Core 2 Duo/Quad processors. It retails for about
$65 USD
through online stores.
Rosewill RCX-Z3 Heatsink
|
 | |
 |
| HEATSINK
SPECSHEET |
|
Manufacturer: Rosewill |
| Model No.: RCX-Z3 |
| Materials: aluminum fins, copper
heatpipes, copper/extruded aluminum base |
| Fan Mfg: MH9225H12B |
| Fan Spec: 600-3000RPM, 12V, 0.26A |
| Fan Dim: 25x92x92mm |
| Heatsink & Fan Dim: 138x112x75mm |
| Weight: 850 grams |
|
Includes: multi-socket mounting hardware, screws, thermal compound, fan speed controller, printed instructions. |
Compatible with Sockets: 754/939/940/AM2, 775 |
| Est. Pricing: $65USD ($70CDN / £36
GBP) | |
Rosewill ship this cooler with a
fan speed controller that adapts to the PWM fan, allowing the user to manually
dial in the fan RPM best suited to their situation. Unfortunately an impeller
speed of 600 RPM is wholly unrealistic, so for purposes of Frostytech's thermal
testing we will limit ourselves to 1200RPM to 1500 RPM.
An ultra
low fan speed does ensure the RCX-Z3 operates quietly, in this particular case
it doesn't generate enough air pressure to move enough air through the
body of the heatsink to remove heat effectively. We don't recommend letting the fan
spin that slowly.
The
4-pin PWM fan can be plugged directly into the motherboard fan header on
PWM compliant boards, or used with the fan speed controller.
The Rosewill RCX-Z3 heatsink will be tested
on FrostyTech's Intel LGA775 and K8 version of the Mk.II synthetic thermal temperature
test platform, and compared against several reference LGA775 and K8
heatsinks. The whole test methodology is outlined in detail
here if you'd like 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
thermal performance!
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