FrostyTech.com Mk.II Synthetic Thermal Heatsink Test Results Results based on readings from a 38x38mm copper interface die with 125W heat load on the Mk.II Test Platform. Thermal Test values for each heatsink were calculated by determining the rise over ambient temperature at time of test. Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here. Socket 939/940/754 compatible CPU heatsinks
manufacturer:	model no.:	*fan speed:	125w thermal test (°c)	noise level (dba)
Gigabyte	G-Power Pro	high	18.6	71.9
Coolermaster	Hyper6	high	20.5	54.7
Thermaltake	Venus 12	high	21.7	68.1
ASUS	Starice	high	22.8	67.4
Coolermaster	Aquagate Mini	high	23.2	59.2
Thermaltake	Polo 735	high	23.4	68.0
Gigabyte	G-Power Pro	low	23.5	50.9
Cooljag	SFO-H	high	23.6	60.6
Alpha	PAL-8150		23.7	58.9
Zalman	CNPS9500LED (clip parallel)	high	23.8	50.3
AVC	Z7U3301001 (stock 939)	high	24.6	59.9
Gigabyte	3D Cooler-Ultra	high	24.8	63.0
Scythe	Shogun	high	26.0	45.9
EKL	V8	high	26.3	57.5
Gigabyte	3D Rocket-Pro	high	26.9	56.7
Gigabyte	3D Cooler-Pro	high	27.0	62.5
Gigabyte	3D-Rocket		28.9	50.7
Vantec	Mach1	high	29.2	56.9
CoolJag	SFO-D(18SC)		29.6	64.0
Zalman	CNPS7000A-Cu	high	30.3	45.2
Dynatron	SK-V24		30.3	56.4
Zalman	CNPS7000-Cu	high	31.0	45.2
Coolermaster	Hyper48		31.7	43.6
Scythe	Kama SCKK1000		31.9	47.5
Scythe	Samurai SCSM1000	high	32.1	51.6
Zalman	CNPS7000B-CU	high	32.3	44.9
Thermaltake	Silentboost K8		32.3	49.7
Jetart	JAX801		33.2	53.5
Dynatron	A22		34.5	44.5
nPowertek	NPH K8-1		34.6	52.2
Ajigo	MF043-044 (stock 754)		35.0	45.4
Gigabyte	3D Cooler-Ultra	low	35.2	42.8
Gigabyte	3D Rocket-Pro	low	36.6	43.8
Verax	Quattro 1		36.9	30.9
Gigabyte	NeonCooler 8-BL		37.7	42.0
Titan	TTC-K8ATB/825/SC		38.7	63.1
Evercool	K802-715		42.1	51.5
Gigabyte	3D Cooler-Pro	low	42.4	38.8
Evercool	Magic Cooler		46.6	55.5
ASUS	Starice	low	92.4+	34.4
			125w thermal test (°c)	noise level (dba)
*heatsinks are ranked according to the 125w thermal test results column (rise over ambient temp.). low temperatures with low noise levels are considered best. for reference heatsinks with variable-speed fans, only the high speed (12v) fan test result is included in the comparison sheet; more detailed results reside in each specific heatsink review.

bearing in mind the 71.9 dba noise level from the gigabyte g-power pro with its fan operating at full speed (3200rpm), the heatsink performs extremely well. the frostytech synthetic temperature test platform applies a 125w heat load that has pushed many a heatsink past acceptable levels. the gigabyte g-power pro heatsink on the other hand has generated the lowest result to date in the k8 category; a rise above ambient temperature of just 18.6°c.

While the sight of a high performance heatsink that weighs only 430 grams is certainly something to be impressed with, it is unreasonable to expect users will accept noise levels that substantial. A more realistic operating mode for the Gigabyte G-Power Pro heatsink is with its fan speed dialed down to 1700RPM. In that circumstance the heatsink still performs remarkably well, and in our tests generated a rise above ambient temperature of 23.5°C. That thermal result is still very good, and a lot quieter than any of the adjacent heatsinks in that range. The nearest, next highest-performing heatsink with a similar noise signature being the Scythe Shogun.

We've also included the high and low fan speed (12V-5V) temperature results for all of Gigabyte's current heatsink models so you can see where those units stand in relation to the G-Power Pro. By way of comparison, also note the performance of ASUS' Star Ice heatsink (the only other motherboard Mfgr. producing a line of heatsinks). With a high fan speed it performs very well, but at lower and quieter fan setting the rise above ambient temperature result is over 92.4°C. And no, that's not a typo.

Ultimately, the Gigabyte G-Power Pro (GH-PDU21-MF) heatsink is an excellent cooler when used with its fan speed controller. A noise level of 50 dBA pushes it out of the lower noise heatsink category, but only just. At its full fan speed, it's just too loud even though thermal performance is among the best we have seen from any AMD Athlon64 heatsink. With a lower fan speed it offers a very compelling mix of excellent thermal performance and good noise levels.

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