Acoustic Samples: Listen to this
Heatsink!
When the large 110mm
diameter fan in the Zalman CNPS9700 LED heatsink is powered up to its full speed of 2800RPM,
noise levels are moderately high and certainly audible. The real beauty of this heatsink is what happens when the
Fanmate 2 is used to decrease fan speed down to about 1250RPM... noise levels drop off
at a little over 37 dBA in our real world measurements. That is effectively silent from the
users perspective. To listen to this heatsink in operation at its high and low fan speed
settings, click on the little headphones icon below and play the sample MP3 files
for each.
| frostytech acoustic sampling chamber
- full speed |
 |
standard waveform view of a 10 second recording.
click on the headphones icon to listen to an mp3
recording of this heatsink in operation. the fan is rotating at 2800
rpm |
 |
| frostytech acoustic sampling chamber
- full speed |
| |
standard waveform view of a 10 second recording.
click on the headphones icon to listen to an mp3
recording of this heatsink in operation. the fan is rotating at 1250
rpm |
 |
Sound Level Measurements: Which Heatsink is
Quietest?
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 noise level measurements with a sound level meter.
FrostyTech Heatsink Noise
Level Measurements
Noise level Decibel measurements of each
heatsinks' fan in operation are taken with the aid of a sound level
meter and sound isolating enclosure. The values may be higher than
the mfgr's listed specs, but are directly comparable to one another.
Measurements are made on the dB (A) scale, lower values are best.
Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available
here. | |
|
| manufacturer: |
model no.: |
fan* speed: |
noise level (dba): |
cpu** platform |
|
| Arctic Cooling |
Silencer 64 Ultra TC |
low |
27.6 dB |
AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS7000B-CU |
low |
33.2 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS7700-Cu LED |
low |
34.9 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS9500 AM2 |
low |
36.0 dB |
AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS9500 LED |
low |
36.2 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Verax |
Helado |
|
36.3 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS8000 |
low |
36.4 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS9700 LED |
low |
37.5 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Thermalfly |
I75DUB |
|
38.7 dB |
Intel |
| Intel |
Stock Pentium D |
low |
40.5 dB |
Intel |
| Gigabyte |
NeonCooler 8-BL |
|
42.0 dB |
AMD |
| Coolermaster |
Hyper48 |
|
43.6 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Arctic Cooling |
Alpine64 |
|
43.9 dB |
AMD |
| Dynatron |
A22 |
|
44.5 dB |
AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS7000B-CU |
high |
44.9 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS7000A-Cu |
high |
45.2 dB |
AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS7000-Cu |
high |
45.2 dB |
AMD |
| Akasa |
AK-860SF |
|
45.2 dB |
AMD |
| Noctua |
NH-U12 |
|
45.4 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Ajigo |
MF043-044 |
|
45.4 dB |
AMD |
| Spire |
SP741B3 |
|
45.6 dB |
AMD |
| Scythe |
Shogun |
high |
45.9 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Intel |
Stock Pentium D |
high |
47.5 dB |
Intel |
| Scythe |
Kama SCKK1000 |
|
47.5 dB |
AMD |
| AVC |
Z7U7414001 (stock AM2) |
low |
48.1 dB |
AMD |
| Apack |
CF900 |
high |
48.3 dB |
Intel |
| Apack |
CF800 |
high |
48.4 dB |
Intel |
| Thermalfly |
I75DUH |
|
48.7 dB |
Intel |
| Spire |
SP601B3 |
|
48.9 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Thermaltake |
Silentboost K8 |
|
49.7 dB |
AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS7700-Cu LED |
high |
49.8 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| nPowertek |
NPH-775-1 |
|
50.1 dB |
Intel |
| Zalman |
CNPS9500 LED |
high |
50.3 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Gigabyte |
3D-Rocket |
|
50.7 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS7700-Cu |
high |
50.7 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Arctic Cooling |
Freezer 64 Pro |
|
50.9 dB |
AMD |
| Evercool |
K802-715 |
|
51.5 dB |
AMD |
| Alpha Novatech |
PRE9060M92P |
high |
51.5 db |
Intel |
| OCZ |
Tempest |
|
51.6 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Scythe |
Samurai SCSM1000 |
high |
51.6 dB |
AMD |
| Apack |
Zerotherm BTF80 |
|
51.9 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Apack |
Zerotherm BTF90 |
|
52.1 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| nPowertek |
NPH K8-1 |
|
52.2 dB |
AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS9500 AM2 |
high |
53.2 dB |
AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS9500 AT |
|
53.3 dB |
Intel |
| Jetart |
JAX801 |
|
53.5 dB |
AMD |
| Thermalright |
Ultra 120 |
|
53.7 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| nPowerTek |
NPH-Big K8 |
|
54.0 dB |
AMD |
| Coolermaster |
Hyper6 |
high |
54.7 dB |
AMD |
| Verax |
Quattro 1 |
high |
55.4 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Arctic Cooling |
Silencer 64 Ultra TC |
high |
55.5 dB |
AMD |
| Evercool |
Magic Cooler |
|
55.5 dB |
AMD |
| Akasa |
AK-960E |
|
56.3 dB |
Intel |
| Dynatron |
SK-V24 |
|
56.4 dB |
AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS9700 LED |
high |
56.5 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Zalman |
FS-C77 |
|
56.5 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Gigabyte |
3D Rocket-Pro |
high |
56.7 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Vantec |
Mach1 |
high |
56.9 dB |
AMD |
| Zalman |
CNPS8000 |
high |
57.4 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| EKL |
V8 |
high |
57.5 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Sunon |
Watrubo |
|
57.5 dB |
Intel |
| Antazone |
AS-C1000 |
|
57.6 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Noctua |
NH-U9 |
|
58.4 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Alpha |
PAL-8150 |
|
58.9 dB |
AMD |
| Akasa |
AK-873 |
high |
59.2 dB |
AMD |
| Coolermaster |
Aquagate Mini |
high |
59.2 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| AVC |
Z7U3301001 |
high |
59.9 dB |
AMD |
| Ajigo |
MF064-074 |
high |
60.3 dB |
AMD |
| Thermalfly |
F1-IACSHA |
high |
60.4 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Cooljag |
SFO-Q |
high |
60.6 dB |
AMD |
| Cooljag |
SFO-H |
high |
60.6 dB |
AMD |
| Akasa |
AK-961 |
|
60.7 dB |
Intel |
| Thermaltake |
Jungle512 |
high |
60.8 dB |
Intel |
| Gigabyte |
3D Cooler-Pro |
high |
62.5 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Gigabyte |
3D Cooler-Ultra |
high |
63.0 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| AVC |
Z7U7414001 (stock AM2) |
high |
63.0 dB |
AMD |
| Titan |
TTC-K8ATB/825/SC |
|
63.1 dB |
AMD |
| Evercool |
PT02-9232CP |
|
63.3 dB |
Intel |
| CoolJag |
SFO-D(18SC) |
|
64.0 dB |
AMD |
| Gigabyte |
GH-PCU23-VE |
high |
65.6 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| ASUS |
Starice |
high |
67.4 dB |
Intel/AMD |
| Thermaltake |
Polo 735 |
high |
68.0 dB |
AMD |
| Thermaltake |
Venus 12 |
high |
68.1 dB |
AMD |
| Thermalfly |
I75DUB |
high |
68.5 db |
Intel |
| Gigabyte |
G-Power Pro |
high |
71.9 dB |
Intel/AMD |
|
|
|
noise level (dba) |
|
|
*unless noted, for reference heatsinks with
variable-speed fans only the 'high speed' (12V) fan noise measurement is
included in the comparison sheet; more detailed results for the low fan
speed (~5V) tests reside in each specific heatsink review. ** 'AMD'
denotes compatibility with socket 754/939/940 & AM2 processors where
applicable. 'Intel' denotes compatibility with socket 775
platform. |
With its 110mm fan spinning at 2800RPM, the Zalman CNPS9700 LED produces about
56.5 dBA noise. When the Fanmate 2 is used to reduce
fan speed down to 1250RPM, noise levels are reduced to 37.5 dBA. By
way of comparison, Zalman's smaller CNPS9500-class heatsinks generally make as little as 36 dBA
when running at 1300RPM. The stock Intel Pentium D heatsink produces as little as
40 dBA, the stock socket AM2 heatsink as little as 48.1 dBA.
Surface Finish and Flatness
Surface finish is an important factor that we all
look for when holding a new heatsink. Flipping a cooler over to see how well the
base has been machined is a quick way to judge the attention to detail that was
put into making it. The following test involves the use of a Surface Roughness
Comparator, which offers a concise cross section common machine surface
finishes.
The Zalman CNPS9700 LED heatsink has a
surface roughness of approximately 8 microinches, which is considered excellent. Next,
let's see how this heatsink handles the heat compared to a selection of other
heatsinks!
