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
Thermalright (high)	SLK-900U	20.0	31.6		40.5	none	1	very loud	easy
JMC	401100	19.5	35.1		47.4	grey	1	med	easy
Zalman	CNPS7000-Cu	21.0	35.1		48.7	none	1	low	easy
Thermalright (low)	SLK-900U	21.0	35.2		48.8	none	1	med	easy
Taisol	CCP445172	20.2	37.7		50.9	none	1	med	easy
AVC	117140	22.6	37.8		50.4	none	1	med	med
Coolermaster	IHC-H71	23.0	37.0		51.1	none	1	loud	stiff
Arkua	8568	22.4	37.8		51.7	none	1	med	med
JMC	400124	19.5	36.6		52.1	none	1	med-low	easy
Thermal Integration (high)	TI-V7035TN	20.2	38.3		52.9	none	1	very loud	easy
Dynatron	DC1206BMY	19.5	38.1		53.1	none	1	med	easy
Dynatron	DC1207BMX	20.9	38.1		53.3	none	1	med	easy
NengTyi	XPC5000	23.8	38.4		53.9	none	1	med	loud
Alpha	PAL8942	27.9	42.6		54.0	none	1	med	med
CPUMate	DIA-10500	22.8	39.3		55.5	none	1	med	easy
Zalman	CNPS6500-AlCu	23.1	40.3		57.4	none	1	low	easy
Glacialtech	Igloo 3300	22.4	40.5		58.8	silver	1	low	easy
Taisol	CEP426151A	24.3	43.7		59.7	none	1	med	easy
Intel	Socket 478	22.4	41.8		59.8	carbon	1	low	med
Arkua	838T-7G	23.3	42.0		60.0	none	1	med	easy
Dynatron	DC1207BMW	23.2	42.7		61.1	none	1	med	easy
Titan	TTC-MT3AB	22.8	41.5		61.2	none	2	loud	stiff
Dynatron	DC1206BM-S	22.4	43.2		62.0	none	1	med	med
AVC	117160	22.4	42.7		62.2	white pad	1	med	med
Eumax	DW-45	22.6	44.0		62.7	none	1	med	easy
Zalman	CNPS5700D-Cu	25.7	44.6		64.0	none	1	med	easy
Vantec	CCK-7025	27.0	45.4		64.1	none	1	med	med
JMC	400094	26.1	46.6		65.0	none	1	med	easy
Globalwin	VA476	28.7	49.5		68.0	grey	1	med	easy
Dynatron	DC1206BMV	23.1	45.1		68.2	none	1	low	easy
Vantec	GSN-7015	22.4	47.5		69.0	none	1	loud	stiff
Arkua	848X-6B	27.2	54.5		80.4	none	1	low	med
Dynatron	DC1U-B02	20.9	53.8		88.3	none	1	loud	stiff
			50W		100W

Despite the huge difference in sound the two fans have brought to the table, the thermal impact they each have is much closer. The initial results seem to indicate that the Thermalright SLK900U and Zalman fan combination would make a good pair all things considered. We'll have to wait for the final rise above ambient results before we know for certain.

Rise Above Ambient Temp. (c)
Mfg.	Model	27mm large copper block		27mm large copper block
		50W		100W
Thermalright (high)	SLK-900U	11.6		20.5
Alpha	PAL8942	14.7		26.1
Zalman	CNPS7000-Cu	14.1		27.7
AVC	117140	15.2		27.8
JMC	401100	15.6		27.9
Coolermaster	IHC-H71	14.0		28.1
Thermalright (low)	SLK-900U	14.2		28.8
Arkua	8568	15.4		29.3
NengTyi	XPC5000	14.6		30.1
Taisol	CCP445172	17.5		30.7
Dynatron	DC1207BMX	17.2		32.4
JMC	400124	17.1		32.6
CPUMate	DIA-10500	16.5		32.7
Thermal Integration (high)	TI-V7035TN	18.1		32.7
Dynatron	DC1206BMY	18.6		33.6
Zalman	CNPS6500-AlCu	17.2		34.3
Taisol	CEP426151A	19.4		35.4
Arkua	838T-7G	18.7		36.7
Glacialtech	Igloo 3300	18.1		37.1
Intel	Socket 478	19.4		37.4
Dynatron	DC1207BMW	19.5		37.9
Zalman	CNPS5700D-Cu	18.9		38.3
Vantec	CCK-7025	18.4		38.4
Titan	TTC-MT3AB	18.7		38.4
JMC	400094	20.5		38.9
Globalwin	VA476	20.8		39.3
Dynatron	DC1206BM-S	20.8		39.6
AVC	117160	20.3		39.8
Eumax	DW-45	21.4		40.1
Dynatron	DC1206BMV	22.0		45.1
Vantec	GSN-7105	25.1		46.6
Arkua	848X-6B	27.3		53.2
Dynatron	DC1U-B02	32.9		67.4
		50W		100W

It isn't much of a surprise to see that the Thermalright SLK900U when coupled with the Vantec Tornado fan rises to the top of this list of reference heatsinks. Thermal performance is spectacular, but the costs on the acoustic side are too high to make this a realistic option for most desktop situations. I'd be unwilling to have a fan that loud running 24x7 in my computer even though the temperatures are pretty damn sweet.

The more realistic option appears to be in the form of the Thermalright SLK900U with the 92mm Zalman fan. This configuration is light on the decibels and still cools very well indeed - well enough to still fall in the performance catagory in fact. The later combo is the better overall option, and we're glad to see Thermalright have designed the SLK900U to be capable of supporting 92mm wide fans.

We tested this cooler with the socket 478 Pentium 4 in mind because I don't think a heatsink of this size should get mounted onto AthlonXP chips which are officially only rated to 300 grams (or thereabouts) for their cooling solutions. Still, if you want to, and have a motherboard with mounting holes in the PCB, this is a valid option to consider.

There isn't too much more to say about the Thermalright SLK900U, the thermal performance is excellent, the design is unique, and the materials are all geared towards top of the line cooling. Thermalright have a winner here; especially when we consider the SLK900U's performance when coupled with a lower noise fan.

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