The socket 775 Evercool PT02-9232CP heatsink is one of many bifurcated fin heatsink's based almost entirely on the reference RCBFH-3 Intel heatsink design. After developing the Radial Curved Bifurcated Fin Heatsink (RCBFH-3) thermal solution for itself, Intel likely has allowed it to be produced by other manufacturers, along with its custom plastic clips that click into the motherboard. Subsequently, almost every single heatsink manufacture has at least one heatsink based on this thermal design. And believe me, if you have never heard the word bifurcated before, you'll certainly know what bifurcated means by the end of this review!

The Intel 'Prescott FMB2' compliant Evercool PT02-9232CP heatsink is equipped with a 32x92x92mm 4-pin PWM fan that rotates at between 1300 and 4000RPM. When installed on a PWM fan compatible socket 775 motherboard, the fan will scale its speed from 4000RPM down to meet the immediate thermal needs of the processor without creating unnecessary noise. When the PT02-9232CP heatsink is connected to a standard three pin fan header however, the fan spins at its maximum speed of 4000 rpm by default.

Regrettably, that means the Evercool PT02-9232CP heatsink produces 63.3 dB noise unless there is PWM circuitry on the motherboard to rein it in. The 545g Evercool PT02-9232CP heatsink installs onto the motherboard with Intel's standard push-to-click, turn-to-release plastic retention clips. No tools required.

Evercool PT02-9232CP Heatsink
	heatsink specsheet manufacturer: evercool model no.: pt02-9232cp materials: extruded aluminum, copper insert. fan mfg: evercool ec9232sh12cp fan spec: 1300-4000rpm, 12v, 0.45a fan dim: 32x92x92mm heatsink & fan dim: 74x95x95mm weight: est. 545 grams includes: thermal compound Compatible with Sockets: LGA775 Est. Pricing: $30USD ($35CDN)

The Evercool PT02-9232CP heatsink is composed of two sections - the first is the outer extruded aluminum donut of 25mm long aluminum radially curved bifurcated cooling fins, the second is an internal 33mm diameter cylindrical copper slug. The copper slug makes direct contact with the surface of the LGA775 processor.

The copper center transfers heat energy from the CPU, and owning to the higher thermal conductivity of copper, acts as a sort of heat spreader so that the total surface area is increased before the heat energy comes in contact with the aluminum walls. When the heat passes from the copper to the aluminum, a ir from the fan passes through the bifurcated cooling fins and the heat energy is thus transferred to the surrounding environment.

Split Fins and Surface Area

As you know, surface area is key to achieving an efficient thermal solution. The more cool air you can pass over a surface of a given dimension, the more heat you can remove into the surrounding environment.

Now let's say for example that a single cooling fin has 1x the surface area. With a bifurcated fin there is instantly 1.5x the surface area without changing the geometry of the heatsink. That is the simple allure of the design

In traditional extruded heatsinks there are many different processes for increasing cooling fin surface area; cuts in multiple directions, scalloping of extruded fins, or increasing fin density are prime examples. When it comes to socket 775 heatsinks it is the "split" or "bifurcated" fin that has been implemented the most to increase overall surface area. Bifurcated simply means "to divide or fork into two branches," and that is exactly what the fins look like on profile.

FrostyTech's heatsink test methodology is outlined in detail here if you care 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 of course it performance in the thermal tests!