Athlon 64 Cooler Roundup (English version)

[spresv]

Reviewer: spresv

Supplier: HacShop

The new generation of 64bit capable cpus by AMD has proven to be significantly cooler than the previous one as well as the competition. Complimentary to that, these cpus are great performers making them extremely popular among overclockers.

Today we are taking a look at 5 coolers for the 939 socket.

All the coolers in this review have a common ground. They are all based on the heatpipe technology. Heatpipes are copper tubes that contain a liquid. This liquid passes from the hot base of the cooler, absorbs the heat, evaporates, and reaches the other end of the heatpipe. There, it is cooled down, liquidized and finally returns to the base of the cooler.

The following picture explains the heatpipe operating principle

TEST SYSTEM

First let’s take a look at the system used for the test, as well as the test conditions.

Temperatures were measured using the Aerocool Gatewatch sensors in a fairly hot environment where the temperature stayed between 27-29 Celcius. All the measurements were conducted with good case airflow provided by 2χ120mm, 1x80mm Fans and the cpu was overclocked at 2550MHz@1.6Vcore. Temps when idle were taken after 30 mins of surfing the net and the “load” temperatures were taken after running Prime95 (Large FFT’s) for an hour.

Here is the testbed

• CPU: AMD Athlon64 3200+
  
• Motherboard: Gigabyte K8NS Ultra 939
  
• Memory: Single stick 512 Kingston CL 2.5
  
• VGA: Gigabyte 9600XT w/ Ati Silencer 2
  
• Case: Coolermaster Stacker
  
• PSU: Antec TruePower 480 Modded
  

It is worth noting that the motherboard is somewhat peculiar as far as the cpu cooler support is concerned. We’ll see how each of the coolers straps on the motherboard later on in this review.

Before we begin, let’s take a look at the fans used.

Panaflo 120mm fan, FBA12G12L

· 1700 RPM fan speed

· 68.9 CFM air flow

· 30 dBA noise level

· 120x120x35mm

YS-Tech FD9325 92mm Fan

· 2400 RPM fan speed

· 50 CFM Airflow

· 31dBA noise level

· 92x92x25mm

Papst 3412NLE

· 36CFM Airflow

· 23dBA noise level

· 92x92x25

Enermax UC-9FAB

· 2550RPM

· 47.61CFM Airflow

· 35.60dBA noise level

· 92x92x25

Papst 4412 F/2GLL

· 55 CFM Airflow

· 26dBA noise level

· 120x120x25

On to the cooler review.

ARCTIC COOLING

Our first cooler comes from Arctic Cooling. It aims at the “value for money” target group rather than the extreme overclockers. Here are the specifications:

• Heat Sink: 92 x 72 x 120 mm
  
• Fan: 77 x 77 x 42 mm
  
• Overall Dimensions: 92 x 114 x 120 mm
  
• Rated Fan Speed: 2200 RPM
  
• Power Consumption: 0.13 Amp.
  
• Air Flow: 32 CFM / 55 m3/h
  
• Weight: 460 g
  
• Noise Level: 1.0 Sone
  
• Thermal Resistance: 0.20°C/Watt
  
• Warranty: 6 Years
  

The cooler comes in a thin carton box with the company logo and some basic instructions.

As mentioned, the box contains the cooler, the support base, some thermal conductive grease and a sticker with the company logo.

What is missing is a detailed manual for the installation procedure, as the only instructions provided are printed at the side of the cooler’s package.

The cooler itself comprises of the copper base, heatpipes and aluminum fins. A drawback is the fact that the provided fan cannot be replaced. On the top, the logo of the company is printed along with the cooler model.

Two copper heatpipes pass through the base and reach all the way to the top of the cooler forming a “U” shape.

The copper base is good without any scratches or marks. However there is room for improvement.

The support mechanism is exactly the same as the stock and the cooler attaches the same way as a normal stock 939 cooler. It is worth noting that the copper base is fairly small, even smaller that the cpu heatspreader.

Results

Pros

- Price

- Easy installation

- Low noise

Cons

- Performance

- No fan replacement option

Big Typhoon

Although Thermaltake is known to manufacture big coolers, the Big Typhoon impressed us with the size and design. Let’s take a look at the specifications

The cooler is packed in a “classic” plastic thermaltake box which is transparent in order for the fan to show.

Opening the box reveals the cooler with the foam protective that covers the base and the heatpipes, as well as a box containing all the necessary equipment for the cooler installation.

Big Typhoon consists of 2 pairs of 3 heatpipes each passing through the base and ending up on the aluminum fins.

The fan provided is a 12cm one. On it there is a stylish fan grill with the Thermaltake logo. The noise level is also are very impressive, and according to Thermaltake, it’s only 16db.

The base of the cooler is larger than the arctic freezer’s, has no marks, is somewhat smooth, but also has room for improvement.

Etched in the metal shroud of the fan is the company name.

The box contains all the necessary screws for the cooler installation as well as 2 installation manuals.

We first install the spacers and the metal base on the back of the motherboard and we secure it in place using the washers to protect the motherboard.

Using the 2nd metal H provided, we screw the cooler in place.

As we said earlier the cooler impresses with its size and particularly with its height. Even in the CoolerMaster Stacker, which is considered one of the biggest cases in the market, the cooler comes very close to the side window

Results

Pros

- Quiet

- Performance

- Looks

Cons

- Price

- Height (for some cases)

Thermalright XP90

Our next cooler is the XP90 from the well known Thermalright which has a good name when it comes to performance coolers. The Xp90 is no exeption.

Here are the specifications:

Dimension:

L116 x W96 x H75 (mm) Fin only, without fan

L116 x W96 x H96 (mm) Fin only, with 25mm thick fan

Weight: 360g (heat sink only)

The cooler comes packed in a classic box with foam protective, which insures that the cooler is in good condition when we purchase it.

In the box are included the cooler, the installation base for sockets 754,939,940, screws, metal clips to support the fan, a thermoconducting paste tube, a manual and a sticker.

The heatpipes follow the same route along the aluminum fins.

The extending clips are used for the cooler installation on the motherboard.

Here we must note our motherboard’s peculiarity. All the motherboards have a metal plate attached to the back on to which the Thermalright cooler was designed to be attached by simply removing the cpu fan socket and replace it with the Thermalright base. However in our motherboard a little improvisation was needed in order to make it work.

The base is slightly better lapped than the 2 previous coolers.

We attach the clippers on the holes with respect to the size of the fan that we intend to use. This cooler accepts both 8cm and 9cm fans

Results

Pros

- Performance

- Size

Cons

-No fan included

Thermalright XP90c

Same company, same family model with the Xp90 but with a small, and very significant change. While the Xp90 had aluminum fins, the XP90c is entirely made of copper. The weight difference is rather obvious:

Dimension:

L116 x W96 x H75 (mm) Fin only, without fan

L116 x W96 x H96 (mm) Fin only, with 25mm thick fan

Weight: 690g (heat sink only)

Thicker foam parts to protect it the packaging but mo major differentiations than the XP90.

Same parts are included in the XP90c with one alteration. The XP90c is compatible with sockets 754, 939, 940 and 478. The XP90c includes a separate installation base for LGA775.

As mentioned earlier the 2 coolers are visually identical apart from the material used. Here are some shots at different angles.

The base is well lapped, with no spots.

After installation on the motherboard and with the fan strapped on.

Results

Pros

- Performance

- Size

Cons

- Price

- Weight

- No fan included

Thermalright XP120

The biggest model of the “XP” family and the last cooler in this review. Same philosophy as the XP90, with the exception that a 120mm fan can be installed. This means same cfm (performance) as the 90mm fan, with lower noise levels

·Dimension: L110 x W125 x H63 (mm) Fin only, without fan

·Weight: 370g (heat sink only)

Same packaging philosophy as the 2 previous coolers

Included are a support base, screws, thermal grease, manual and a sticker.

Similar cooler design as the XP90 and XP90c, with the exception of the “wavy” surface and the 5th heatpipe, running through the center of the cooler.

The base had some minor spots. Rubbing with petrol or acetone would not remove these. However we do not think these will influence the performance of the cooler.

With the huge Panaflo fan attached, installed on the motherboard

Results

Pros

- Performance

Cons

- Price

- No fan included

RESULTS

In the following table, all the results are listed for easy comparison

Finally I would like to thank Hacshop for the coolers provided in this review.