2002 Fan Review: Does Size Really Matter?
This is the first part to an ongoing fan testing process. We have received over 100 fans from various manufacturers and are presently testing these and putting them into specific categories. These are the first of the batch which will be undergoing testing, please continue to check back with us to see the rest of these products reviewed! At the end we'll be having a Grand Finale which will be choosing the Top 10 from all 100 of the tested fans. These will be our top recommendations.
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Author: L.Vogt
Date: 2-06-02
Subject: Heatsink Fans
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in)
AMD
Stock Thermal Solution (Non OEM Boxed)
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Simply
put, there are no bells and whistles with this CPU cooler. This is the Stock
Solution AMD packs with the boxed release of their processor. An all aluminum
cooler, it wasn't the worst of what we tested on our rig but it could have been
a bit better if AMD had packed a slightly faster fan. The unit comes stock with
the "bubblegum" pink thermal pad. The fastening clip is a single post
type and was very tight. It took us several tries to get it on because of the
level of force needed. Taking it off was even harder. We had to fight with it
and try to keep from putting the screwdriver through the board. The dimensions*
of 60mm X 60mm X 55mm and a weight of 7.3 oz. ensures it will fit all motherboards.In
the world of quiet CPU cooling this fan ranks only as "average", but
it sets our baseline at 57.0c / 134.6F with the thermal pad and 54.3c / 129.7F
using the white thermal compound.
AOC EC-CUC-610
CA
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in)
This
was the first CPU cooler we had seen from AOC, and we were pleasantly surprised
with the quality and design of the unit. Not nearly as tall as the AMD stock
unit, it sports a quiet fan and a very impressive 50.1c / 122.18 F. The unit
comes loaded with a copper spreader recessed into the base. This increases its
efficiency quite a bit as the heat is transferred and "spread out "
over the whole of the heat sink. The clip is a single post type and was a breeze
to put on. Overall, it did better than most coolers its size of 63mm X 63mm
X 43mm. Unlike a lot of units that crossed our desk during testing, we see a
high level of quality control in its design and manufacture. Net weight: 7.0
oz.
AVC 112JB0
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in)
An
all aluminum heat sink, this unit has the pleasant design feature of a cowl
which ensures that air is forced down over all the fins. It shows that a simple
design feature and attention to detail can make a cooler super quiet and provide
a high level of efficiency. The numbers were a respectable 52.1c / 125.78 F
with the pink thermal pad and 51.0c / 123.8 F with the white thermal compound.
The clip is a single post type and a little stiff, but I was able to get it
on without issue. Overall dimensions are 78mm X 64mm X 48mm with a weight of
7.7 oz. and should fit most boards without a problem.
Dynatron
DY1206BM-1
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in)
Here
is another fan that has a quality feel about it. A solid design, it also shows
that all fans do not have to be black. The fine fins make this a good cooler
for being an all aluminum heat sink. Packed with only thermal compound, the
fine fin design seems to have a "powder coated" look about them, How
this relates to the efficiency of the heat sink has got us a bit curious. The
dimensions 64mm X 64mm X 48mm and 6.9 oz weight make it a candidate to fit all
motherboards The clip is a single post type and was fairly easy to get on. Pre-loaded
with white thermal compound, it turned in a very respectable 51.3c / 124.34
for an all aluminum heat sink.
Dynatron
DY1206BH
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in)
Our
second fan from Dynatron. Oh boy, what a difference a little copper makes; well,
a lot of copper in this case. This all copper entry at 13.1 oz. is the heaviest
and loudest of the "quiet coolers" we tested. But let there be no
doubt as to how well this unit can keep the temperature down. The 3-point style
clip and was fairly easy to put on. The heat sink dimensions 64mm X 63mm X 51mm
easily fits all motherboards. The temperature numbers are what makes this unit
shine at an impressive 45.3 / 113.54 F. Even some intermediate coolers couldn’t
achieve these levels.
Evercool
ND15-7.5
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in)
Our
second coolest CPU cooler in the quiet class is an all aluminum unit from Evercool.
But darn if it isn't the biggest CPU cooler of the bunch, the dimensions 80mm
X 74mm X 60mm make it a cooler for the few who have a motherboards that can
support it. The temperature numbers 46.3c / 115.34 are really nice, but it takes
a bit of space to mount and may not fit on all boards. The clip is a single
post style and was hard to put on, but more importantly, because of its size
it was the only one I was able to put on wrong. The size of the unit and the
design of the cutout for the socket ledge made it easy to accidentally rest
the heat sink on the socket and cause a gap between the die and the heat sink.
Personal opinion is this unit is just too big. Net weight: 10.9 oz.
Molex
Fan System
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in)
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is the first time we'd had ever seen a fan quite like this. We were sent several
versions of this fan from Molex and were expecting great things. The radial
fin design on a copper core looked fantastic and we were sure we were going
to have another low temp winner. However, looks can be deceiving. The unit came
loaded with a yellow thermal pad. We went to test it for the first time and
thought at first we may have mis-aligned the core or had improperly installed
the unit somehow. But after testing and re-testing, the unit the numbers remained
the same. Looking at the design, you can see where the trouble may have started.
The copper core is pressed into the radial fin assembly and from what it looks
like, Molex uses a thermal compound between the core and the fins. We believe
this is where they loose a lot of efficiency and it really hurts the performance
of this unit. The numbers are an average 53.6c / 128.48 F with the thermal pad
and 52.1c / 125.78F with the thermal compound. We would love to see a copper
fin version soldered to the core in the future. The dimensions are 65mm diameter
X 54mm tall. Net weight is 7.2 oz. The clip is a two-post type with the nice
feature of a plastic pushbutton to help you install it, but it is a bit tight.
Be prepared to have a few tense moments as you try and push the clip into place.
Pent Alpha
APSK 0155
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in)
 This
unit came to us along with several other offerings from Pent Alpha. Sadly this
unit did little better than the AMD stock fan. The unit had an unfinished feel
to it, rough cut from extruded aluminum. The unit numbers tell the tale 55.0c
/ 131 with the thermal pad and 53.2c / 127.76F with the thermal compound. Dimensions
are 62mm X 62mm X 54mm and weight was 8.2 oz. The spreader was unfinished and
unpolished and could've used some better quality control.
* Measurement
Definition: First measurement represents heatsink side with clip, second measurment
is the other side and third measurement is height.
Our
Testing Methods
Some
may agree or disagree with how we decided to test each of these units. However
there really is no "perfect test" for CPU cooling devices since every
case is different, every motherboard is different, and orientation of the CPU
cooler and its relation to other heat generating devices inside a machine can
cause a wide variety of issues in a CPU coolers ability to dissipate heat.
Each
unit was tested on a 1.4 GHz Athlon T-Bird processor with the thermal probe
attached directly to the CPU.
The
test rig is a MSI K7T Pro2 motherboard with 512 MB of Corsair DDR 2400 ram and
a Gainward G-force 3 video card. Onboard sound was enabled for all tests running
under Windows XP professional.
 All
CPU coolers were tested twice with an ambient temp of 24c or 75.2 F and were
tested with continuous loop of 3D Mark 2001 Demo and Quake 3 Arena time demo
for 4 hours.All thermal compound testing was done with the generic white compound.
Although other compounds such as Artic Silver and ShinEtsu do have better thermal
conductivity, Since none of the manufactures tested included anything but the
white compound we thought it best to give people the "out of the box"
results without having to spend extra cash on exotic thermal transfer compounds.
We
have gotten away from the dbA rating scheme where it concerns fan noise level
for allot of people telling someone a unit has a 29dbA or 37dbA only seemed
to confuse people for the most part. Although with all the fans tested we supply
the dbA numbers, we have opted for a 1 - 10 scale A (1) means you would have
to place your ear on it to hear it . A (10) however, Well if you like the sound
of a jet engine in your case you will get it with a 10. Check
for pricing and availability
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