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
Thermalright	Ultra-90	high	19.6	13.0	56.2
Enzotech	Ultra-X	high	20.0	8.5	59.1
Apack	Zerotherm BTF90		21.8	12.7	52.1
Apack	Zerotherm BTF80		22.8	13.9	51.9
Cooljag	Falcon 92-AL	high	23.2	14.2	52.1
Rosewill	RCX-Z3	high	23.3	14.0	58.6
Scythe	Mine Rev. B		23.6	15.0	36.8
Cooljag	Falcon 92-Cu	high	23.6	14.8	52.8
Akasa	AK-920	high	24.3	14.1	52.9
Thermalright	Ultra-90	low	24.8	15.7	40.0
Asus	Arctic Square	high	24.9	14.9	44.9
Akasa	AK-922 (EVObue)	high	25.5	15.4	60.3
Thermalfly	F1-IACSHA	high	29.0	18.3	60.4
Thermalfly	I75DUB	high	29.5	16.8	68.5
Zalman	CNPS9500 AT		29.6	17.3	53.3
Alpha Novatech	PRE9060M92P	high	29.9	18.5	51.5
Scythe	Kama Cross		30.0	18.8	40.0
Akasa	AK-961		30.0	18.7	60.7
Rosewill	RCX-Z2-EX	high	30.1	18.7	45.9
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
Xigmatek	AIO-S80DP	high	32.4	21.4	55.0
Scythe	Katana II		32.5	18.6	37.9
Rosewill	RCX-Z2		32.6	19.3	59.9
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
LS Cable	SHS-T700		38.7	22.8	48.5
Cooljag	OAK-H	low	95.3	54.5	29.5
			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 frostytech relies upon on two different thermal values to represent the upper limits of existing intel single and multi-core cpu families; 150w and 85w. in the first round of testing a 150w heat load is applied by the intel lga775 version of frostytech's synthetic thermal test platform to the Thermalright Ultra-90 heatsink.

The reference list above illustrates very well how most Intel heatsinks react to 150W of heat from the CPU test die... In this case though, the Thermalright Ultra-90 proved itself exceptionally!

Thermalright's Ultra-90 heatsink maintained a rise above ambient temperature of just 19.6°C, with 56.2dBA noise. That is the third best result Frostytech has seen to date! The noise level is a little higher than I would typically run, but the 92mm Zalman PS92252H fan is so common it just makes a great reference point.

When the 92mm PWM fan speed was dropped down to the lowest the Zalman FanMate2 fan speed controller would allow, temperatures rose to 24.8°C over ambient, while noise levels fell to a very quiet 40.0dBA. When faced with a 150W heat load and a slowly rotating 92mm fan, Thermalright's Ultra-90 still managed to perform better than at least 28 other Intel heatsinks operating at full fan speed!

The Thermalright Ultra-90 heatsink was next tested with an 85W heat load. In this case the heatsink maintained a good 13.0°C over ambient at full fan speed. As fan speed was reduced to low noise mode once again, the heatsink reacted in a predictable manner. This time the temperatures rose to 15.7°C, just a 2.7°C change.

The thermal performance of the Thermalright Ultra-90 heatsink is slightly less than the stock AMD Athlon64 AVC Z7U7414001 (AM2) heatsink and dramatically better than the stock AMD socket 939 AVC Z7U3301001 heatsink. On the Intel platforms the Ultra-90 is dramatically better than the stock Pentium D bifurcated-fin heatsink. Next to the Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink, the Ultra-90 runs a couple of degrees warmer at full fan speed. The open framework of the Thermalright Ultra-90 heatsink allows users to endlessly try different combinations of 92 mm fans with the cooler, so if you want quieter just choose the right kind of fan.

So where does that leave us; is the Thermalright Ultra-90 worth your $40 bucks? Hell ya! This is an excellent low noise capable heatsink, and as Frostytech has shown you on both Intel LGA775 and AMD 939/AM2 synthetic test platforms, the Ultra-90 deals with heat very efficiently. Highly recommended.

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