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
Scythe	Zipang		24.7	15.2	33.1
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
ASUS	Triton 77	high	27.7	17.6	41.2
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
Auras	CTC-868 (closed)		31.0	18.6	48.7
Akasa	Revo (horizontal)	high	31.0	20.3	44.5
Scythe	Shuriken	high	31.4	18.8	38.2
Apack	CF800	high	31.4	20.7	48.4
Auras	CTC-868 (notch 1)		31.5	18.9	48.1
Thermaltake	Jungle512	high	31.6	20.4	60.8
Auras	CTC-868 (notch 2)		32.0	19.4	46.2
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
Scythe	Orochi SCORC-1000		34.0	20.8	27.8
nPowerTek	SF775-2	high	34.7	21.1	64.6
Asus	Silent Knight 2	high	34.9	21.4	46.2
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
			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 relies on two thermal values that represent the upper limits of existing cpu families. with a 150w heat load applied by the intel lga775 version of frostytech's synthetic thermal test platform, the Auras CTC-868 heatsink maintains an test temperature of 31.0°C over ambient with both cooling wings in the closed position. Noise generated by the twin fans holds steady at 48.7dBA.

If the cooling wings are opened to the first notch, the test temperature result rises to 31.5°C over ambient while noise decreases very slightly to 48.1 dBA. As the cooling wings are brought out to notch two, the test temperature rises again to 32.0°C while noise falls once more to 46.2 dBA.

For the next round of testing the Auras CTC-868 heatsink was tested with an 85W heat load. In this case the CTC-868 heatsink maintained a 18.6°C rise in temperature in the closed configuration, 18.9°C and 19.4°C in the notch one and notch two configurations respectively.

As a low noise heatsink the Auras CTC-868 heatsink doesn't quite make it in the gate. In our books a heatsink which keeps noise down to about 40 dBA is quiet, the CTC-868 put out between 46.2-48.7 dBA, which makes it 'moderately audible.'

In terms of thermal performance on the AMD and Intel synthetic test platforms, it looks like the movable wings of the CTC-868 do little to add value to the heatsink. Noise reduction is minimal, and it comes with a slight increase in temperatures (minimal, about 1 degree). Regardless of all that, the Auras CTC-868 heatsink did post good average results on both CPU platforms - nearly dead center on both reference lists in fact.

The one aspect Frostytech cannot test is the impact the movable heatpipe-to-base joints have on thermal joint resistance. Logic would dictate that a soldered bond between the heatpipes and copper base of the heatsink would afford the lowest joint resistance, and hence conduct heat most efficiently from the processor to fins. Ultimately, for all its complexity and innovation the Auras CTC-868 manages plain old average thermal and acoustic results.

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