The fan is somewhat loud given the acoustics of most cases. In our example the Arkua 8568 found its way into a Antec SX1030B where it caused a noticeable whine. The RPM's, in addition to the air moving over the fins can get on the nerves if the case is located to close by.

To hear this heatsink for yourself, click on the little headphones below and download the MP3 file of the cooler in operation.

FrostyTech Acoustic Sampling Chamber
Standard Waveform view of a 10 second recording. Click on the headphones to listen to an MP3 recording of this heatsink in operation.

Sound Level Measurements:

Listening to the actual noise a heatsink makes allows you to hear what pure numbers alone cannot get across. To further emphasize FrostyTech's reliance on cold hard facts when evaluating a heatsink, we also take Decibel readings with a sound level meter. These results may be higher than the manufacturer's listed specs, but then again these are real world measurements.

FrostyTech Sound Level Results
-	Manufacturer	Model	Noise Level	Scale
	Zalman	CNPS6500-AlCu	47.4/28.9 dB	quiet
	Intel	Socket 478	42.5 dB
	Cho-Liang	CL-CB0094-1A	49.8 dB
	Cho-Liang	CL-CB00881	50.2 dB
	Taisol	CEP426151A	50.7 dB
	ChoLiang	CB0307Z17	52.9 dB
	Dynatron	DC1207BMW	53.0 dB
	Swiftech	MCX4000	53.6 dB
	Arkua	8568	54.3 dB
	Dynatron	DC1206BMV	55.1 dB
	ChoLiang	CB0309Z17	55.7 dB
	AVC	117140	56.1 dB
	NengTyi	NW6700	58.0 dB
	Coolermaster	IHC-H71	64.4 dB	louder

In this test an Omega HHSL1 sound meter is used to measure the average sound levels of the heatsink in operation from about 12" away. The Arkua 8568 managed to produce about 54 dB of noise, but because of the slight whine to the fan, this can be a bit annoying. The stock Intel heatsink is substantially quieter, but performance as you are about to see, is not up to the standards of the Arkua.