FrostyTech Mk.III Synthetic Thermal Heatsink Test Results Intel Core i7, Extreme Edition class heatsinks tested at a 200W heat load. Results based on readings from a 38x38mm copper interface die with 200W heat load on the Intel version of the Mk.III 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 LGA2011-3 / 2011 /1366 compatible CPU heatsinks
manufacturer:	model no.:	*fan speed:	200w thermal test (°c)	noise level (dba)
Coolermaster	Nepton 280L	high	10.6	58.8
Coolermaster	Nepton 140XL	high	11.8	59.6
Coolermaster	Seidon 240M	high	13.4	55.6
Silverstone	Tundra TD02	high	13.6	53.0
DeepCool	Maelstrom 240	high	13.8	58.6
Coolermaster	Glacer 240L	high	14.1	52.5
NZXT	Kraken X60	high	14.5	60.7
Coolermaster	Nepton 240M	high	15.1	50.6
Noctua	NH-D15	high	15.8	49.8
Noctua	NH-U14S		17.0	47.3
Coolermaster	Seidon 120V	high	17.5	54.3
NZXT	Kraken X40	high	18.2	59.4
Reeven	Okeanos RC-1402	high	18.3	54.2
Reeven	Ouranos RC-1401	high	18.4	52.5
Silverstone	Tundra TD03	high	18.7	58.1
Silverstone	Argon AR01	high	18.8	53.0
X2 Products	Eclipse IV	high	19.1	57.4
Coolermaster	Eisberg 240L	high	19.1	50.5
BeQuiet	Dark Rock TF		19.2	44.5
Reeven	Justice RC-1204	high	19.2	48.5
BeQuiet	Dark Rock Pro 3	high	19.5	43.7
Raijintek	Themis	high	19.7	52.8
Coolermaster	V8 GTS	high	20.0	59.7
BeQuiet	Dark Rock 3	high	20.9	41.8
Corsair	Hydro H80i	high	21.1	64.0
Noctua	NH-U12S		21.1	46.2
Raijintek	Ereboss	high	21.4	49.7
Zalman	Reserator 3 Max	high	21.6	58.9
Scythe	Mugen 4	high	21.7	41.9
Zalman	LQ315	high	21.9	50.8
Silverstone	NT06-P	high	22.1	51.6
Raijintek	Pallas	high	22.2	43.2
Scythe	Ashura SCASR-1000	high	22.5	49.4
DeepCool	Gamer Storm Lucifer	high	23.0	52.5
Raijintek	Aidos	high	23.0	55.6
Reeven	Hans RC-1205	high	23.1	49.4
Silentium	Fera2 HE1224	high	23.4	37.6
Zalman	LQ310	high	23.8	52.7
Coolermaster	Hyper D92	high	24.1	53.4
Noctua	NH-D9L (front +2nd Fan)		24.2	47.8
Phanteks	PH-TC14S	high	24.2	47.4
Scythe	Ashura Shadow (SCASR-1000SE)	high	24.2	51.4
Raijintek	Tisis	high	24.6	47.8
BeQuiet	Shadow Rock Slim	high	24.7	40.4
BeQuiet	Shadow Rock 2	high	24.9	43.3
Zalman	LQ320	high	25.5	50.2
ID-Cooling	SE-214X	high	26.5	46.3
BeQuiet	Shadow Rock LP		27.9	42.6
BeQuiet	PureRock		27.9	42.9
npowertek	NPH-1366-115HC (LGA1366)	high	28.7	44.8
Dynatron	G556 (LGA1366/2U)		29.1	68.4
Noctua	NH-U9S		30.2	44.3
Dynatron	G555 (LGA1366/2U)		30.4	67.8
Dynatron	G666 (LGA1366/2U)		31.8	68.7
Noctua	NH-D9L		32.0	43.2
Scythe	Mugen Max SCMGD-1000	high	34.2	48.7
Noctua	NH-D9DXi4 3U		34.9	44.6
Silverstone	NT01-Pro	high	35.8	40.4
nPowerTek	NPH1366-140HC (LGA1366)	high	36.3	48.1
Phanteks	PH-TC12LS	high	36.4	43.4
Zalman	FX-100 (w/h ZM-F2 fan)		36.9	28.5
Noctua	NH-L9x65	high	44.8	46.1
Dynatron	G199 (LGA1366/1U)		47.6	62.6
Zalman	FX-100 (hor, ver)		63.0	0.0
			200w thermal test (°c)	noise level (dba)
*heatsinks are ranked according to the 200w 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.

Frostytech's socket LGA2011 Intel synthetic thermal test platform stresses socket LGA2011/1366 compatible heatsinks with a 200W heat load. Keep in mind that the AMD Integrated Heat Spreader and Intel LGA2011 Integrated Heat Spreader both measure ~38x38mm, so these test results can be extrapolated to AMD processor scenario's as well.

With a 200W heat load applied by the Intel LGA2011/1366 version of FrostyTech's synthetic thermal test platform, the diminutive Noctua NH-D9L heatsink is only able to yield a satisfactory temperature result of 32.0°C over ambient at stock fan speed (2000RPM / 43.2dBA).

Adding a second NF-A9 fan to the front of the NH-D9L heatsink drops the synthetic CPU interface die temperature to 24.2°C over ambient, which is good. Noise output increases to 47.8dBA with both fans.

If we filter this heatsink reference chart down to sub-115mm tall Intel LGA2011 heatsinks only, the Noctua NH-D9L is the fourth best, behind the Silverstone NT06-P (100x140x147mm), Raijintek Pallas (69x151x153mm) and BeQuiet Shadow Rock LP (75x122x136mm). Of those coolers, only the Pallas and Shadow Rock LP offer similarly quiet cooling. However, even with a second fan added to the NH-D9L (114x95x122mm), it still offers the most compact footprint of all three low profile heatsinks.

(optional second fan not included)

As anyone reading this review probably already knows, there aren't a whole lot of heatsinks compatible with 3U server chassis height restrictions in the lower noise cooling department... The Noctua NH-D9L is quite compact and offers moderately good thermal performance in it's single fan configuration - entirely fine for anything on the AMD and Intel LGA115x front. When the NH-D9L heatsink moves into Intel LGA2011 territory, the lack of cooling surface area begins to show its limitations and temperatures do rise into the satisfactory zone. Where sub-115mm tall LGA2011 heatsinks are considered, the NH-D9L is a little over 9°C warmer than coolers such as the Raijintek Pallas. Adding a second fan evens the playing field without sacrificing a compact CPU cooler footprint in the process.

Bottom line - where sub-115mm cooling is required, the previously mentioned heatsinks do offer a slight thermal advantage over the NH-D9L heatsink, but we'd still recommend it.

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