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)
Xigmatek	HDT-S1283	high	16.8	10.7	50.7
Thermalright	Ultra 120		17.8	10.6	53.7
3Rsystem	Iceage 120	high	18.2	12.1	47.9
Thermalright	Ultra 120 Extreme		18.4	11.4	44.5
Coolermaster	Hyper 212		19.0	11.8	45.9
Apack	Zerotherm BTF92 OC Ed	high	19.0	11.2	53.6
Zalman	CNPS9700 LED	high	19.0	10.4	56.5
Xigmatek	HDT-S983	high	19.5	11.8	52.7
Scythe	Mugen		19.5	11.4	46.0
Tuniq	Tower 120	high	19.6	12.2	51.6
Thermalright	Ultra-90	high	19.6	13.0	56.2
Apack	Zerotherm Nirvana 120	high	19.8	12.3	49.2
Enzotech	Ultra-X	high	20.0	8.5	59.1
Zalman	CNPS9700NT	high	20.3	12.4	52.2
Scythe	Infinity SCINF-1000		20.3	12.6	37.8
OCZ	Vendetta	high	21.3	13.5	52.8
Noctua	NH-U12P	high	21.3	13.4	40.7
Apack	Zerotherm BTF90		21.8	12.7	52.1
Xigmatek	HDT-S963	high	21.9	13.7	50.2
Akasa	AK-965	high	22.2	13.8	48.1
Apack	Zerotherm BTF80		22.8	13.9	51.9
Zalman	CNPS8700 LED	high	23.2	14.1	48.1
Cooljag	Falcon 92-AL	high	23.2	14.2	52.1
Rosewill	RCX-Z3	high	23.3	14.0	58.6
Coolink	Silentator	high	23.5	16.4	41.2
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
Glacialtech	Igloo 5750 PWM	high	24.9	14.6	52.3
Asus	Arctic Square	high	24.9	14.9	44.9
Akasa	AK-922 (EVObue)	high	25.5	15.4	60.3
Coolermaster	Aquagate Mini R80	high	25.7	16.2	59.2
Asus	Silent Square EVO	high	25.8	15.6	42.8
Glacialtech	Igloo 5610 PWM	high	25.9	15.9	59.5
Thermalright	SI-128SE		26.5	15.2	44.5
Scythe	Andy Samuri Master SCASM-1000		26.7	14.2	38.4
Auras	SLC-747	high	27.9	25.7	52.2
Auras	LPT-700		28.3	16.9	52.2
Thermalfly	F1-IACSHA	high	29.0	18.3	60.4
nPowertek	TTIC NPH1000		29.3	16.8	47.5
Glacialtech	Igloo 5710 Silent		29.4	18.0	43.4
Thermalfly	I75DUB	high	29.5	16.8	68.5
Zalman	CNPS9500 AT		29.6	17.3	53.3
Glacialtech	Igloo 5750 Silent		29.8	18.5	35.5
Coolermaster	Hyper TX2		29.9	18.8	53.7
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
Auras	LPT-709		30.1	18.6	43.9
Rosewill	RCX-Z2-EX	high	30.1	18.7	45.9
nPowertek	NPH-775-1		30.1	18.8	50.1
Glacialtech	Igloo 5610 Silent		30.4	17.1	44.7
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
Coolage	Frozen Orb F0-Z924AL	high	32.0	19.9	48.9
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
Scythe	Ninja Mini		33.7	19.9	41.7
Thermalright	MST-977SLE		33.8	20.0	46.5
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
Gigabyte	Volar GH-PSV21-FB	high	36.3	22.1	56.1
Auras	SMF-660		36.4	23.0	43.4
Zalman	CNPS7500-Cu LED	high	36.4	22.9	50.9
Thermalfly	I75DUH		37.8	22.8	48.7
Akasa	AK-975CU	high	38.4	23.0	47.7
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
Arctic Cooling	Alpine 7 Pro	high	40.5	23.8	44.1
Intel	Stock Core 2 Duo		49.2	29.0	36.7
Glacialtech	Igloo 5062 Cu Light		50.6	29.7	45.2
Glacialtech	Igloo 5057 E		58.5	36.1	53.4
Asus	Triton 75		58.6	16.1	49.6
Spire	Fourier IV SP607B3-C		63.6	18.7	60.2
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.

the heat output from intel processors varies widely between single and multi-core processors, so frostytech tests heatsinks with two thermal values that represent the upper limits of both existing cpu families. with a 150w heat load applied by the intel lga775 version of frostytech's synthetic thermal test platform, the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme heatsink maintains a very low temperature of 18.4°C over ambient (44.5dBA noise).

With a 85W heat load next applied by the Frostytech synthetic test platform, the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme heatsink was able to maintain an excellent 11.4°C rise over ambient temperature. Once again, the Ultra-120 Extreme posts results that place it within the Top 5 best heatsinks tested to date on either Intel or AMD synthetic temperature test platforms!

Thermalright has not failed to demonstrate it can produce a winning heatsink. The Ultra-120 Extreme heatsink retails for $57USD from CrazyPC.com, and for an extra $19 CrazyPC will even lap the base flat for you.

You'll no doubt have noticed that the Ultra-120 Extreme fails to unseat the Ultra-120 from it's lofty spot, so we should reiterate that different 120mm fans were used in the testing of each model. Putting that aside, we thought the rounded base of the Ultra-120 Extreme might be handicapping it somewhat. The image at right shows the Ultra-120 Extreme after it was removed from the Frostytech Synthetic Intel test die. Approximately 25% of the CPU test die made no contact with the base of the Ultra-120 Extreme.... the heatsink still managed to post otherwise impressive thermal results however.

The next step was to lap the base of the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme. This helped flatten the convex copper plate significantly, but regrettably the heatsink fell from the lapping table and was sightly damaged before we could retest it. The thermal results can't be considered reliable after such a fall, so they were not included in the above chart. It was observed that temperatures decreased by an average 0.8°C post-lapping though.

As to which Ultra-120 version is better than the other, we can't say. Each heatsink was tested with a different 120mm fan, and the results under those conditions were within 0.5°C - 3°C of one another. It could be the fan, it could be the heatsink.

In any case, that level of geek comparison making is irrelevant. The Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme is an excellent lower noise heatsink for performance cooling Intel or AMD processors, no matter how you look at it.

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