The 15mm thick 70mm fan with its 11 blades is considerably quieter than we had originally anticipated it would be. In most systems, the heatsink would probably drowned in with the powersupply fans and not be any problem noise wise. To hear this heatsink, click on the pair of headphones pictured below.

Synthetic Temperature Test Results: *Ranked according to 100W interface die test results.

FrostyTech Synthetic Temperature Test Platform Results
	Mfg.	Model	Ambient Temp.	27mm large copper block		27mm large copper block	Thermal pad	No. Fans	Fan Noise	Clip force
				50W		100W
1	AVC	117140	22.6	37.8		50.4	none	1	med	med
2	Arkua	8568	22.4	37.8		51.7	none	1	med	med
3	Vantec	GSN-7025	22.5	41.7		58.5	none	1	med	med
4	Chauh Choung	DTA-478	22.4	42.1		59.0	carbon	1	low	med
5	Intel	Socket 478	22.4	41.8		59.8	carbon	1	low	med
6	Dynatron	DC1206BM-S	22.4	43.2		62.0	none	1	med	med
7	AVC	117160	22.4	42.7		62.2	white pad	1	med	med
8	Vantec	GSN-7015	22.4	47.5		69.0	none	1	loud	stiff
				50W		100W

For the reasons we had mentioned earlier this particular GSN-7015 didn't fair to well against the other reference coolers, and specifically against the default standard, the Intel Socket 478 cooler. Had the base been flatter, the GSN-7015 probably would have come in quite close to the Dynatron and AVC coolers. Still, this would have left the heatsink below the default standard, so unfortunately there wouldn't be much reason to switch to this heatsink unless you were intent on dropping in a more powerful fan - something that isn't easily done with the Intel socket 478 heatsink.

Please note, that since socket 478 heatsinks are only capable of mounting to a motherboard with a HSRM, we will only be testing them on the large copper interface die.

Rise Above Ambient Temp. (c)
	Mfg.	Model	27mm large copper block		27mm large copper block
			50W		100W
1	AVC	117140	15.2		27.8
2	Arkua	8568	15.4		29.3
3	Vantec	GSN-7025	19.2		36.0
4	chauh Choung	DTA-478	19.7		36.6
5	Intel	Socket 478	19.4		37.4
6	Dynatron	DC1206BM-S	20.8		39.6
7	AVC	117160	20.3		39.8
8	Vantec	GSN-7105	25.1		46.6
			50W		100W

With a temperature 7 degrees behind that of the AVC 117160, the GSN-7015 doesn't put up the best possible fight, and not one you might have immediately anticipated.

We've said this time and time again, base finish is very important, and ideally it would be great to see manufacturers machine finish every heatsink but this isn't always possible. At the very least it would have been good to see the base of the GSN-7015 sanded to remove any slightly wavy features left from the extrusion die.

This is all moot for the most point, as the GSN-7015 has been surplanted by the newer GSN-7025. Still, a few minutes of lapping would be highly recommended if you happen to own this cooler.