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Spire DiamondCool II SP741B3 AMD Athlon64 Heatsink Review
Spire DiamondCool II SP741B3 AMD Athlon64 Heatsink Review
  69%   
Abstract: The DiamondCool II SP741B3 is one of those heatsinks that's just hard to peg at first glance. It's a hefty AMD Athlon64 heatsink made of copper for sure, and copper means it has to be good right?

 Manufacturer  Category  Published  Author 
Spire    Cooling / Heatsinks   Apr 25, 2006   Max Page  

Home > Reviews > Page: Acoustic Comparisons and Base Surface Quality

Acoustic Samples: Listen to this Heatsink!

Nothing quite compares to listening to the actual noise created by a heatsink in operation. The Spire DiamondCool II is pretty quiet out of the box, but be sure to give it a listen anyway. To listen to this heatsink in operation, be sure to click on the little headphones icon below and play the sample MP3 file.

frostytech acoustic sampling chamber
standard waveform view of a 10 second recording. click on the headphones icon to listen to an mp3 recording of this heatsink in operation.

Sound Level Measurements: Which Heatsink is Quietest?

Listening to the actual noise a heatsink makes allows you to hear what pure numbers alone cannot get across. To further emphasize FrostyTech's reliance on cold hard facts when evaluating a heatsink, we also take noise level measurements with a sound level meter.

FrostyTech.com Heatsink Noise Level Measurements
Noise level Decibel measurements of each heatsinks' fan in operation are taken with the aid of a sound level meter and sound isolating enclosure. The values may be higher than the mfgr's listed specs, but are directly comparable to one another. Measurements are made on the dB (A) scale. Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here.
manufacturer: model no.: *fan speed: noise level (dba):

Arctic Cooling Silencer 64 Ultra TC low 27.6 dB Quiet
Verax Quattro 1 30.9 dB
Gigabyte NeonCooler 8-BL 42.0 dB
Coolermaster Hyper48 43.6 dB
Arctic Cooling Alpine64 43.9 dB
Dynatron A22 44.5 dB
Zalman CNPS7000B-CU high 44.9 dB
Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu high 45.2 dB
Zalman CNPS7000-Cu high 45.2 dB
Noctua NH-U12 45.4 dB
Ajigo MF043-044 45.4 dB
Spire SP741B3 45.6 dB
Scythe Shogun high 45.9 dB
Scythe Kama SCKK1000 47.5 dB
Spire SP601B3 48.9 dB
Thermaltake Silentboost K8 49.7 dB
Zalman CNPS9500LED (clip parallel) high 50.3 dB
Gigabyte 3D-Rocket 50.7 dB
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro 50.9 dB
Evercool K802-715 51.5 dB
ScytheSamurai SCSM1000high 51.6 dB
nPowertek NPH K8-1 52.2 dB
Jetart JAX801 53.5 dB
Coolermaster Hyper6 high 54.7 dB
Arctic Cooling Silencer 64 Ultra TC high 55.5 dB
Evercool Magic Cooler 55.5 dB
DynatronSK-V24 56.4 dB
Gigabyte 3D Rocket-Pro high 56.7 dB
Vantec Mach1 high 56.9 dB
EKL V8 high 57.5 dB
Noctua NH-U9 58.4 dB
AlphaPAL-8150 58.9 dB
Coolermaster Aquagate Mini high 59.2 dB
AVC Z7U3301001 high 59.9 dB
AjigoMF064-074 high60.3 dB
CooljagSFO-H high 60.6 dB
Gigabyte 3D Cooler-Pro high 62.5 dB
Gigabyte3D Cooler-Ultra high 63.0 dB
TitanTTC-K8ATB/825/SC 63.1 dB
CoolJag SFO-D(18SC) 64.0 dB
ASUS Starice high 67.4 dB
Thermaltake Polo 735 high 68.0 dB
Thermaltake Venus 12 high 68.1 dB
Gigabyte G-Power Pro high71.9 dB Loud
noise level (dba)
*unless noted, for reference heatsinks with variable-speed fans only the 'high speed' (12V) fan noise measurement is included in the comparison sheet; more detailed results for the low fan speed (~5V) tests reside in each specific heatsink review.

Measuring the noise output from the Spire DiamondCool II SP741B3 with its fan spinning at 2400RPM produces a real world operating noise in the region of 45 dBA. From outside the case this heatsink is pretty quiet.

Surface Finish and Flatness

Surface finish is an important factor that we all look for when holding a new heatsink. Flipping a cooler over to see how well the base has been machined is a quick way to judge the attention to detail that was put into making it. The following test involves the use of a Surface Roughness Comparator, which offers a concise cross section common machine surface finishes.

The Spire DiamondCool II heatsink has a surface roughness of approximately 63 microinches, which is considered satisfactory. Next, let's see how this heatsink handles the heat compared to a selection of other heatsinks!

 Previous Page ° ° Next Page 

Table of Contents:

 1:  Spire DiamondCool II SP741B3 AMD Athlon64 Heatsink Review
 2:  360° View - Spire DiamondCool II Heatsink
 3: — Acoustic Comparisons and Base Surface Quality
 4:  Final Heatsink Temperature Comparisons

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