The 15mm thick 70mm fan used here is pretty quiet all things considered. Given the 70mm width, the fan can spin at a lower RPM, and still produce a good mass of airflow to cool the heatsink. To listen to this heatsink click on the pair of headphones pictured below.

Synthetic Temperature Test Results: *Ranked according to 100W interface die test results.

FrostyTech Synthetic Temperature Test Platform Results
	Mfg.	Model	Ambient Temp.	27mm large copper block		27mm large copper block	Thermal pad	No. Fans	Fan Noise	Clip force
				50W		100W
1	AVC	117140	22.6	37.8		50.4	none	1	med	med
2	Arkua	8568	22.4	37.8		51.7	none	1	med	med
3	Vantec	GSN-7025	22.5	41.7		58.5	none	1	med	med
4	Chauh Choung	DTA-478	22.4	42.1		59.0	carbon	1	low	med
5	Intel	Socket 478	22.4	41.8		59.8	carbon	1	low	med
6	Dynatron	DC1206BM-S	22.4	43.2		62.0	none	1	med	med
7	AVC	117160	22.4	42.7		62.2	white pad	1	med	med
8	Vantec	GSN-7015	22.4	47.5		69.0	none	1	loud	stiff
				50W		100W

Okay, we had little expectation the DTA-478 would come near to that of the Intel socket 478 cooler, let alone match its performance level. The Intel heatsink is a bit longer and the DTA-478 is more of a cube than anything else. Anyhow, out of the eight reference coolers we have used here, the DTA-478 comes in at the middle, and is nothing really to get excited about, but nor does it represent a drop in performance from that of the mean average... so far anyway, lets look at the rise above ambient temperatures.

Conclusions:

Rise Above Ambient Temp. (c)
	Mfg.	Model	27mm large copper block		27mm large copper block
			50W		100W
1	AVC	117140	15.2		27.8
2	Arkua	8568	15.4		29.3
3	Vantec	GSN-7025	19.2		36.0
4	Chauh Choung	DTA-478	19.7		36.6
5	Intel	Socket 478	19.4		37.4
6	Dynatron	DC1206BM-S	20.8		39.6
7	AVC	117160	20.3		39.8
8	Vantec	GSN-7105	25.1		46.6
			50W		100W

Unless you are in the industry of selling OEM computers and need a whack of socket 478 coolers for less than what it would cost to use the official Intel ones, there really is no need to 'upgrade' to the DTA-478. The differences are so slight that the only real benefit is the ability to drop on a more powerful 70mm fan should you want to.

The Intel cooler lacks in that regard, as it is basically impossible to easily add a larger or more powerful fan without some forethought and modification. So while the DTA-478 proves its worth, it is so close to the default standard that you might as well go for something with bit more kick like the AVC sunflower or Arkua 8568.