FrostyTech Mk.II Synthetic Thermal Heatsink Test Results Intel Pentium D / Extreme Edition & Quad Core class heatsinks tested at 150W Intel Core 2 Duo / Pentium 4 / Celeron class heatsinks tested at 85W Results based on readings from a 30x30mm copper interface die with 150W and 85W heat loads applied on the LGA775 version of the Mk.II Test Platform. Temperature results listed for each heatsink were calculated by determining the rise over ambient temperatures at time of test. Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here. Socket 775 compatible CPU heatsinks
manufacturer:	model no.:	fan speed:	150w thermal test* (°c)	85w thermal test (°c)	noise level (dba)
Thermalright	Ultra 120		17.8	10.6	53.7
Zalman	CNPS9700 LED	high	19.0	10.4	56.5
Apack	Zerotherm BTF90		21.8	12.7	52.1
Apack	Zerotherm BTF80		22.8	13.9	51.9
Thermalfly	F1-IACSHA	high	29.0	18.3	60.4
Zalman	CNPS9500 AT		29.6	17.3	53.3
Alpha Novatech	PRE9060M92P	high	29.9	18.5	51.5
Akasa	AK-961		30.0	18.7	60.7
nPowertek	NPH-775-1		30.1	18.8	50.1
Sunon	Waturbo		30.6	18.3	57.5
Apack	CF800	high	31.4	20.7	48.4
Thermaltake	Jungle512	high	31.6	20.4	60.8
Zalman	CNPS7700-Cu	high	32.9	19.7	50.7
Apack	CF900	high	32.9	20.3	48.3
Evercool	PT02-9232CP		33.3	19.9	63.3
Zalman	CNPS7700-Cu LED	high	33.5	20.6	49.8
Intel	Stock Pentium D	high	33.8	20.7	47.5
nPowerTek	SF775-2	high	34.7	21.1	64.6
Akasa	AK-960E		36.1	21.4	56.3
Thermalfly	I75DUH		37.8	22.8	48.7
Cooljag	OAK-H	high	38.5	22.9	55.7
Cooljag	OAK-H2	high	38.6	24.1	55.6
Intel	Stock Pentium D	low	40.3	23.9	40.5
Alpha Novatech	PRE9060M92P	low	49.6	29.5	33.6
			150w thermal test (°c)	85w thermal test (°c)	noise level (dba)
*heatsinks are ranked according to the 150w 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.

Intel processors vary widely in heat output between single and multi-core processors, so we rely on two values which represent the upper limit of both existing CPU families to test thermal solutions. With a 150W heat load applied by the Intel LGA775 version of FrostyTech's synthetic thermal test platform, the Alpha PRE9060M92P heatsink yields a rise above ambient temperature of 29.9°C, with a fairly conservative 51.5dBA noise produce. That's not quite top of the LGA775 line, but still a very good result considering the Zalman CNPS9500AT runs virtually at the same levels...

When the fan speed of the supplied ORIX MD925A-12S is reduced by dropping fan voltage to 6V, temperatures rise dramatically to 49.6°C over ambient, while noise levels drop to a whisper (33.6 dBA). Clearly, when faced with a 150W heat load, the PRE9060M92P heatsink operates best at its stock fan speed of 3400 RPM.

The Alpha Novatech PRE9060M92P was also tested with an 85W heat load. In this situation, the heatsink maintains a nice 18.5°C temperature over ambient. If fan speed is reduced, the heatsink reacts predictably, with CPU die temperature rising to 29.5°C; an acceptable value but one that clearly indicates this heatsink is designed to operate within strict air speed parameters.

One of the benefits of an Alpha Novatech heatsink is the thermal design and CFD that go into its construction. Each Alpha heatsink is built to operate within certain parameters of fan size, airflow, pressure, and temperature. Alpha engineers are very good at what they do, but in this day and age of fan speed controllers and motherboards which can automatically scale a CPU fan speed to meet thermal demand, it's interesting to note how unprepared the Alpha PRE9060M92P heatsink is to operate beyond its stock settings.

To be clear, Alpha do not provide any means of reducing the fan speed of the 92mm ORIX fan that ships with the PRE9060M92P heatsink. This facet of the test is intended to give some level of comparison to other heatsinks in the Frostytech reference list that do, and so that you may know if the heatsink in question can operate as a low noise heatsink with your own fan-speed controllers.

While the temperatures for the Alpha PRE9060M92P heatsink are satisfactory when it is operating at reduced fan speed, it really is a stock fan RPM kind of cooler. If we stick to 3400RPM, the Alpha PRE9060M92P heatsink rewards us with great socket 775 processor cooling capability. Given the 51 dBA noise levels, Alpha have produced a very nice Intel Pentium 4 or Core 2 Duo heatsink; comparable to some of the best coolers in the market.

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