FrostyTech Mk.II Synthetic Thermal Heatsink Test Results Intel Pentium D / Extreme Edition & Quad Core class heatsinks tested at 150W Intel Core 2 Duo / Pentium 4 / Celeron class heatsinks tested at 85W Results based on readings from a 30x30mm copper interface die with 150W and 85W heat loads applied on the LGA775 version of the Mk.II Test Platform. Temperature results listed for each heatsink were calculated by determining the rise over ambient temperatures at time of test. Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here. Socket 775 compatible CPU heatsinks
manufacturer:	model no.:	fan speed:	150w thermal test* (°c)	85w thermal test (°c)	noise level (dba)
Thermalright	Ultra 120		17.8	10.6	53.7
Zalman	CNPS9700 LED	high	19.0	10.4	56.5
Thermalright	Ultra-90	high	19.6	13.0	56.2
Enzotech	Ultra-X	high	20.0	8.5	59.1
Apack	Zerotherm BTF90		21.8	12.7	52.1
Xigmatek	HDT-S963	high	21.9	13.7	50.2
Apack	Zerotherm BTF80		22.8	13.9	51.9
Cooljag	Falcon 92-AL	high	23.2	14.2	52.1
Rosewill	RCX-Z3	high	23.3	14.0	58.6
Scythe	Mine Rev. B		23.6	15.0	36.8
Cooljag	Falcon 92-Cu	high	23.6	14.8	52.8
Akasa	AK-920	high	24.3	14.1	52.9
Asus	Arctic Square	high	24.9	14.9	44.9
Akasa	AK-922 (EVObue)	high	25.5	15.4	60.3
Xigmatek	HDT-S963	low	27.2	16.4	32.8
Thermalfly	F1-IACSHA	high	29.0	18.3	60.4
Thermalfly	I75DUB	high	29.5	16.8	68.5
Zalman	CNPS9500 AT		29.6	17.3	53.3
Alpha Novatech	PRE9060M92P	high	29.9	18.5	51.5
Scythe	Kama Cross		30.0	18.8	40.0
Akasa	AK-961		30.0	18.7	60.7
Rosewill	RCX-Z2-EX	high	30.1	18.7	45.9
nPowertek	NPH-775-1		30.1	18.8	50.1
Sunon	Waturbo		30.6	18.3	57.5
Apack	CF800	high	31.4	20.7	48.4
Thermaltake	Jungle512	high	31.6	20.4	60.8
Xigmatek	AIO-S80DP	high	32.4	21.4	55.0
Scythe	Katana II		32.5	18.6	37.9
Rosewill	RCX-Z2		32.6	19.3	59.9
Zalman	CNPS7700-Cu	high	32.9	19.7	50.7
Apack	CF900	high	32.9	20.3	48.3
Evercool	PT02-9232CP		33.3	19.9	63.3
Zalman	CNPS7700-Cu LED	high	33.5	20.6	49.8
Intel	Stock Pentium D	high	33.8	20.7	47.5
nPowerTek	SF775-2	high	34.7	21.1	64.6
Akasa	AK-960E		36.1	21.4	56.3
Thermalfly	I75DUH		37.8	22.8	48.7
Cooljag	OAK-H	high	38.5	22.9	55.7
Cooljag	OAK-H2	high	38.6	24.1	55.6
LS Cable	SHS-T700		38.7	22.8	48.5
Intel	Stock Pentium D	low	40.3	23.9	40.5
Intel	Stock Core 2 Duo		49.2	29.0	36.7
Cooljag	OAK-H	low	95.3	54.5	29.5
			150w thermal test (°c)	85w thermal test (°c)	noise level (dba)
*heatsinks are ranked according to the 150w thermal test results column (rise over ambient temp.). low temperatures with low noise levels are considered best. for reference heatsinks with variable-speed fans, only the high speed (12v) fan test result is included in the comparison sheet; more detailed results reside in each specific heatsink review.

the heat output from intel processors varies widely between single and multi-core processors, so frostytech tests heatsinks with two thermal values that represent the upper limits of both existing cpu families; 150w and 85w. with a 150w heat load applied by the intel lga775 version of frostytech's synthetic thermal test platform, the Xigmatek HDT-S963 heatsink yielded a rise above ambient temperature of just 21.9°C (50.2dBA) at the fans' stock speed of 2800RPM. The CPU equivalent of this test would be an Intel Core 2 Quad, Pentium D/Extreme Edition class processor.

The speed of the 92mm PWM fan on the Xigmatek HDT-S963 was then reduced to 1200RPM, and this time around the the test temperature held steady at 27.2°C over ambient. Noise levels fell to a very quiet 32.8dBA. When faced with a 150W heat load and a slow 92mm fan, Xigmatek's HDT-S963 heatsink managed to perform better than the stock Intel LGA775 heatsinks.

Next, the Xigmatek HDT-S963 heatsink was tested on the Frostytech Mrk.II synthetic thermal test platform with an 85W heat load; akin to a Core 2 Duo processor. This resulted in a very nice 13.7°C over ambient at default fan speed, and 13.7°C at a reduced fan speed as previously outlined. Once again, the Xigmatek HDT-S963 heatsink posts excellent thermal results... not quite top of the line but certainly within the top 10 Intel heatsinks in this reference list!

On the whole the Xigmatek HDT-S963 heatsink runs a little warmer than the the stock AMD Athlon64 AVC Z7U7414001 (AM2) heatsink, but much quieter. On the Intel platform the HDT-S963 is dramatically better than the stock Intel Core 2 Duo bifurcated-fin heatsink.

This has been a fun review for us at Frostytech to put together; it's not often we test a heatsink with a collection of useful features all aimed at improving the users experience thermally and acoustically. Those are aspects we really like to see, and from the thermal and acoustic test results its pretty clear that Xigmatek's HDT-S963 is a great heatsink... even if it didn't rise to the number 1 spot in our reference charts. Recommended, particularly for Intel processors.

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