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
Arctic	Liquid Freezer 240	high	12.2	46.0
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
Arctic	Liquid Freezer 120	high	17.3	46.0
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
Scythe	Fuma	high	19.6	49.1
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
Gamerstorm	Lucifer K2	high	23.2	55.2
Silentium	Fera2 HE1224	high	23.4	37.6
Zalman	LQ310	high	23.8	52.7
Coolermaster	Hyper D92	high	24.1	53.4
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
Scythe	Ninja 4	high	25.5	43.2
Zalman	LQ320	high	25.5	50.2
ID-Cooling	SE-214X	high	26.5	46.3
Gelid	Antarctica (LGA1366)	high	26.6	49.8
Noctua	NH-D9DXi4 3U (front +2nd Fan)		27.7	47.4
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
Noctua	NH-L9x65	low	56.0	39.1
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 low profile Noctua NH-L9x65 heatsink is only able to yield a satisfactory temperature result of 44.8°C over ambient at stock fan speed. Reducing fan speed to 1800RPM results in a less than satisfactory result of 56.0°C over ambient.

If we filter the 200W Intel heatsink reference chart down to sub-65mm tall and sub-110mm wide coolers, the Noctua NH-L9x65 is the best cooler thus far tested for the LGA2011 platform. Although the NH-L9x65 heatsink doesn't support LGA1366 processors, a couple LGA1366 low profile heatsinks do come out ahead for the sake of argument, by up to 15.7°C.

Ultimately, where sub-65mm tall and sub-110mm wide low profile coolers are required, the Noctua NH-L9x65 doesn't exactly stand out when it comes to sheer cooling performance. However, in terms of current generation processor socket compatibility and the availability of the legacy model heatsinks we've mentioned, there really aren't many low profile alternatives.

As a final note, we can't help but think that the Noctua NH-L9x65 heatsink we tested was held back by reduced contact surface area due to its convex base plate... so there's that, too.

Manufacturer's Response:

"Like many other manufacturers, we we deliberately manufacture our heatsinks with a slightly convex base because it allows for better results on most of today's CPUs. The reason for this is that with LGA115x CPUs, the IHS is deformed by the pressure from the ILM pads, so while they are usually fairly flat as such, they become concave in one axis once you put them in the socket and close the ILM. As a result, heatsinks with a slightly convex base that matches this structure can provide significantly better results. On AMD, we usually see slightly better results with convex bases as well, mostly due to the increased pressure on the center of the IHS. On LGA2011-3, flat and convex bases generally perform the same. While there is some variance from CPU to CPU, in sum, users will see better results with slightly convex bases. We are aware that a convex base represents a drawback on synthetic test platforms such as the one used by Frostytech.com, which use flat heating elements, but since our customers demand the best possible performance on real world CPUs, this is what we optimise our designs for." (Jakob Dellinger, Noctua Press and PR)

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