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
3Rsystem	Iceage 120	high	18.2	12.1	47.9
Coolermaster	Hyper 212		19.0	11.8	45.9
Apack	Zerotherm BTF92 OC Ed	high	19.0	11.2	53.6
Zalman	CNPS9700 LED	high	19.0	10.4	56.5
Xigmatek	HDT-S983	high	19.5	11.8	52.7
Scythe	Mugen		19.5	11.4	46.0
Tuniq	Tower 120	high	19.6	12.2	51.6
Thermalright	Ultra-90	high	19.6	13.0	56.2
Apack	Zerotherm Nirvana 120	high	19.8	12.3	49.2
Enzotech	Ultra-X	high	20.0	8.5	59.1
Zalman	CNPS9700NT	high	20.3	12.4	52.2
Scythe	Infinity SCINF-1000		20.3	12.6	37.8
OCZ	Vendetta	high	21.3	13.5	52.8
Noctua	NH-U12P	high	21.3	13.4	40.7
Apack	Zerotherm BTF90		21.8	12.7	52.1
Xigmatek	HDT-S963	high	21.9	13.7	50.2
Akasa	AK-965	high	22.2	13.8	48.1
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
Coolink	Silentator	high	23.5	16.4	41.2
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
Glacialtech	Igloo 5750 PWM	high	24.9	14.6	52.3
Asus	Arctic Square	high	24.9	14.9	44.9
Akasa	AK-922 (EVObue)	high	25.5	15.4	60.3
Coolermaster	Aquagate Mini R80	high	25.7	16.2	59.2
Asus	Silent Square EVO	high	25.8	15.6	42.8
Glacialtech	Igloo 5610 PWM	high	25.9	15.9	59.5
Thermalright	SI-128SE		26.5	15.2	44.5
Scythe	Andy Samuri Master SCASM-1000		26.7	14.2	38.4
Auras	SLC-747	high	27.9	25.7	52.2
Auras	LPT-700		28.3	16.9	52.2
Thermalfly	F1-IACSHA	high	29.0	18.3	60.4
nPowertek	TTIC NPH1000		29.3	16.8	47.5
Glacialtech	Igloo 5710 Silent		29.4	18.0	43.4
Thermalfly	I75DUB	high	29.5	16.8	68.5
Zalman	CNPS9500 AT		29.6	17.3	53.3
Glacialtech	Igloo 5750 Silent		29.8	18.5	35.5
Coolermaster	Hyper TX2		29.9	18.8	53.7
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
Auras	LPT-709		30.1	18.6	43.9
Rosewill	RCX-Z2-EX	high	30.1	18.7	45.9
nPowertek	NPH-775-1		30.1	18.8	50.1
Apack	Zerotherm Nirvana 120	low	30.3	19.8	38.2
Glacialtech	Igloo 5610 Silent		30.4	17.1	44.7
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
Coolage	Frozen Orb F0-Z924AL	high	32.0	19.9	48.9
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
Scythe	Ninja Mini		33.7	19.9	41.7
Thermalright	MST-977SLE		33.8	20.0	46.5
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
Zalman	CNPS7500-Cu LED	high	36.4	22.9	50.9
Thermalfly	I75DUH		37.8	22.8	48.7
Akasa	AK-975CU	high	38.4	23.0	47.7
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 Core 2 Duo		49.2	29.0	36.7
Glacialtech	Igloo 5062 Cu Light		50.6	29.7	45.2
Glacialtech	Igloo 5057 E		58.5	36.1	53.4
Spire	Fourier IV SP607B3-C		63.6	18.7	60.2
			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 relies on two thermal values that represent the upper limits of existing cpu families. with a 150w heat load applied by the intel lga775 version of frostytech's synthetic thermal test platform, the Apack Zerotherm Nirvana 120 heatsink maintains an excellent test temperature of 19.8°C over ambient. Noise levels hold steady at 49.2dBA.

If we drop fan speed from 2600RPM to 700RPM with the included manual fan speed controller, the Nirvana 120 heatsink yields a 30.3°C rise over ambient for 38.2 dBA noise.

For the next round of testing the Apack Zerotherm Nirvana 120 heatsink was tested with an 85W heat load; akin to an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. In this case the Nirvana 120 heatsink maintained a low 12.3°C rise in temperature at full fan speed. At the reduced fan speed of 700RPM, the Nirvana 120 was capable of 19.8°C over ambient temperature.

In both test scenarios, with its 120mm fan rotating at full speed the Apack Zerotherm Nirvana 120 heatsink excels. As fan speed is decreased until whisper quiet, the heatsink slips into the average thermal performance range.

There is no getting around the fact that Apack's Zerotherm Nirvana 120 heatsink is big. This heatsink stands 150mm tall, and is 128mm at its widest. It's broad nickel plated aluminum fins allow the Nirvana 120 heatsink to accommodate an embedded 120mm fan, so it qualifies as a lower-noise heatsink. A fan speed controller allows manual adjustments, and a further reduction in noise levels that would be welcome in any home theatre media PC environment.

While the reduction in noise is certainly commendable, any decrease in fan speed sees a direct rise in temperature that shifts the Nirvana 120 heatsink to a position behind a handful of reference heatsinks with similar noise outputs, but significantly lower test temperatures. Thus, the Apack Zerotherm Nirvana 120 is in its best form as a high performance heatsink in the 50dBA range, below that and it starts to loose its footing.

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