AMD Budget Coolers Shootout
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Part 2. Test Results, Summary Table
Test results
We use the same procedures for evaluating thermal efficiency of coolers for Socket 754/939/AM2 as for Socket 478 coolers and LGA775 coolers. The primary data used for the consequent calculation of thermal resistance are temperature readings of the thermal diode built into a processor. Only the thermal source (now it's Athlon 64 3700+ processor), the base platform (Fujitsu-Siemens D1607 motherboard), and a set of test applications are different. Testbed configuration: - Fujitsu Siemens Computers D1607-G motherboard
- AMD Athlon 64 3700+ CPU (Clawhammer)
- OS: Microsoft Windows XP
We use the S&M utility to simulate maximum thermal load of a processor, and SystemGuard from Fujitsu-Siemens to monitor temperatures.
Diagram 1. CPU Core Temperature
Notes
Each cooler was tested with thermal paste Stars 420
The diagram contains complex results
Diagram 2. Thermal resistance, °C/W
Note
Thermal resistance θja is defined as the relation
θja = (Tj — Ta)/Ph, where Tj is the temperature of a CPU core, Ta is the environment temperature (it's 33°C in this case), Ph is the thermal capacity of a processor (in this case it's 80 Watts).
Finally, at the end of this article we publish the noise measurement results (the method of testing is described in the article Noise characteristics of coolers and the noise measurement method) as well as the efficiency/noise rating of coolers.
Diagram 3. Noise Levels, dBA
Note: Background noise level: 18 dBA
Diagram 4. Efficiency/Noise Ratio
Note
The efficiency/noise ratio (ENR) is calculated as:
ENR = DM*(Rt/P¢C)/(NL/Rn), where
Rt — reference temperature (the reference thermal resistance θja of the cooling system - 0.3°C/Watt), TC — the core temperature with the operating cooling system, Rn — reference noise (the reference noise level is 25 dBA), NL — noise level, generated by the cooling system, DM — denominate multiplier (10).
Summary table
Table 1. Summary test results of the cooling systems
| Model |
Thermal resistance,
°C/W |
Noise, dBA |
Weight, g* |
Compatibility with Socket AM2 |
| Arctic Cooling
Alpine 64 |
0.48
|
33
|
485
|
Available
|
| Cooler Master DK8-8I32A-99 |
0.55
|
35
|
410
|
Available
|
| Cooler Master CK8-8JD2B-99 |
0.46
|
39
|
485
|
Available
|
| Cooler Master X
Dream K640 |
0.541
|
321
|
445
|
Available
|
| Cooler Master X
Dream K641 |
0.55
|
34
|
430
|
Available
|
| Foxconn NBT-CMAK8-1CN |
0.481
|
451
|
360
|
Available
|
| Foxconn NBT-CMAK8-1T |
0.66
|
32
|
320
|
Limited
|
| Foxconn NBT-CMAK8-2T |
0.63
|
33
|
345
|
Limited
|
| GlacialTech Igloo
7300 Light |
0.49
|
32
|
415
|
Available
|
| GlacialTech Igloo
7300 |
0.45
|
38
|
415
|
Available
|
| GlacialTech Igloo
7300 Pro |
0.43
|
42
|
415
|
Available
|
| GlacialTech Igloo
7210 Silent |
0.58
|
30
|
310
|
Available
|
| GlacialTech Igloo
7210 Light |
0.51
|
33
|
310
|
Available
|
| GlacialTech Igloo
7210 |
0.48
|
37
|
310
|
Available
|
| GlacialTech Igloo
7220 Light (E) |
0.51
|
33
|
290
|
Available
|
| GlacialTech Igloo
7220 (E) |
0.46
|
37
|
290
|
Available
|
| GlacialTech Igloo
7220 Pro (E) |
0.44
|
44
|
290
|
Available
|
| Speeze DolphinReef
III |
0.50
|
36
|
3052
|
Available
|
| Speeze KestrelKing
I |
0.50
|
48
|
290
|
Available
|
| Speeze KestrelKing
II |
0.48
|
49
|
300
|
Available
|
| Thermaltake TR2
M6 SE |
0.58
|
33
|
425
|
Available
|
| Thermaltake TR2
M14 SE |
0.48
|
36
|
470
|
Available
|
| Thermaltake TR2
M17 SE |
0.46
|
36
|
505
|
Available
|
| Thermaltake TR2
M19 SE |
0.54
|
40
|
300
|
Available
|
| Titan Data Cooler
DC-K8A825Z |
0.54
|
40
|
395
|
Available
|
| Titan Data Cooler
DC-K8A825Z/CU35 |
0.54
|
38
|
405
|
Available
|
| Titan Data Cooler
DC-K8D925Z |
0.48
|
37
|
385
|
Available
|
| Titan TTC-K8ETB/825 |
0.54
|
42
|
405
|
Available
|
| Titan TTC-K8DTB/925 |
0.53
|
40
|
415
|
Available
|
| Titan TTC-K8ATB/825/SC |
0.533
|
503
|
560
|
Not available
|
| Titan TTC-NK32TZ |
0.41
|
41
|
550
|
Available
|
| *Full weight, including a retention module |
| 1This parameter varies depending on fan speed |
| 2Ignoring a bundle of mounting accessories |
| 3This parameter corresponds to maximum fan speed |
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