- Aug 14, 2006
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Cool and Quiet. A tall order for a computer system, to be sure. Quite a few visitors to these forums come looking for help, trying to decide which CPU heatsinks to consider purchasing. Some look for the best performance, some want quiet, and some want a good balance of both. This is what this review and comparison is specifically meant to address: performance cooling that is also quiet. Often performance comes with a price, one of which is Noise. They are usually inversely proportional: the better the performance, the louder a heatsink generally is. There are exceptions: loud and hot (who wants that?) and cool and quiet. We’re hunting for the latter………
I am a bit of a performance junkie, but am also a noise nut too. In a perfect world, I want amazing performance that approaches silence, and at an affordable price to boot. Who doesn’t? But achieving it is difficult, compromises need to be made, extra money often spent, patience required, and so on. So I decided to take a look at a few popular CPU heatsinks to examine their real-world performance for Cool and Quiet.
I have limited resources (both time and money) and am currently unable to do as an exhaustive test list as I’d like. However, this review is an attempt to tackle a few products, popular ones, and hopefully help some people who struggle with achieving both performance and quiet for their computers. So, let’s review the contenders:
-Zalman 9500
-Scythe Ninja
-Noctua NH-U12F
3 popular products known for being quiet. But how about performance, not to mention mounting, quality of design, and price? Well, let’s find out…….
Before I continue, I’d like to thank Big Alcattle, a forum regular here, for graciously providing me with the Noctua and Scythe for testing purposes.
The purpose of this review is not to inundate people with countless specifications, photos, product information, etc. That is easily found on their respective company websites and product literature. Rather, the purpose here is to give a concise synopsis of the overall performance of the products under real world conditions. I wanted to approximate what would be a realistic setup for many people at home. So, no open-air test bench for this review
I’m primarily examining 3 main components to each product:
-Product Design
-Noise
-Temperatures
Let’s begin, shall we?
SETUP
With a real-world scenario in mind, the test setup was designed to approximate a fairly common setup for a higher-end computer system that strives for performance and noise reduction. Here’s the system specs: A Core2Duo CPU (stock and highly overclocked), and 8800 graphics card, and all your other standard fare. Below is the full specs:
The heatsinks were installed in the P180 case and the side panels were put on. Now, to make this a little more interesting, I placed my case close to the furnace vent (radiant heat). This accomplishes two things: first, it approximates winter conditions that many people experience in northern climates with the furnace on and ambient temperatures higher (but also approximates conditions for people that live in hotter southern climates as well); second, it amplifies the amount of heat and exchange the heatsinks have to dissipate in a closed case that experiences higher ambient temperatures…..meaning that the heatsinks will have to perform VERY well to maintain acceptable CPU temperatures.
Ambient temperatures were monitored with a digital thermometer, accurate to within 1 degree Celcius. Constant ambient temperatures were monitored during the tests to ensure consistent test setups for all products. Idle temperatures were monitored 20 minutes after computer startup, with no applications loaded other than normal Windows system processes. Load temperatures were monitored after 20 minutes of dual instances of Prime95. Highest recorded temperatures were noted for the tests.
PRODUCT DESIGN
Aesthetics
The Noctua and Scythe are considered “tower-style” heatsinks; that is, they rise above the motherboard like a tower. The Zalman’s design is a more of a “tunnel” that rises off the motherboard. All products are quite weighty, large, and imposing. Aesthetics are an individual taste, but many people seem to appreciate the look of the Zalman…..it has an LED light behind the 92mm fan, with a nice contrasting metal color that is generally well received, especially for cases with a side panel window. The Noctua is a more “crisp” tower design, very sleek and minimalist, and the 120mm Noctua fan offers a unique color combination for a case. The Scythe Ninja is the most bulky of the three, with an interesting cutout design that looks more “beefy” rising off the motherboard.
Mounting
The mounting design for the Zalman is fairly straightforward: a backplate, a pressure bar, and 2 screws that allow the heatsink to be installed facing the rear or top of the case in a Socket 775 motherboard. In fact, all 3 products can be positioned to face the rear or top, a very handy feature. The Zalman pressure bar is a bit awkward to get into proper position, but after a short bit of finicking, it sets in place. Getting the screws installed is straightforward. Overall, not very difficult, allows some minor twisting of the heatsink itself, fastens tight, and quite sturdy.
The mounting design for the Scythe Ninja is very simple: pushpin fasteners that twist and lock into place when installed. No backplate is required, and this can be a good thing if your motherboard is already installed in your case. The Ninja is more bulky at the base than the Zalman, and can be a tight squeeze into many mid-tower cases. It just clears the RAM sticks when installed, but overall there is adequate room available. One of the mounting pushpins can be difficult to turn and lock into place if you have a northbridge cooler that sits close to the edge of the heatsink…..not a big deal, but worthy of note. There is, however, one major design flaw of the Ninja’s mounting design: no backplate. The pushpin mounts are made of plastic, not metal, and this can pose some significant risks. The first is that a beginner may not know if they are fully installed, thus leaving the inadequate pressure between the heatsink and the CPU itself, thereby reducing thermal transfer and creating high temperature problems. The second concern is risk of breaking the plastic components. Considering the pressure required to install and hold the heatsink in place, this is a distinct possibility. Lastly, given the weight of this heatsink, I would be extremely hesistant to subject a case containing a Ninja to any sort of unsupervised or frequent transportation. Quite simply, there is too much risk of a mounting failure. In my opinion, this mounting design is a critical flaw in the Ninja’s overall design and performance.
The mounting design for the Noctua is also fairly straightforward: a backplate, 2 mounting plates and bars, and 2 spring-loaded mounting screws to hold it in place. Whereas the Zalman’s pressure bar was rather tricky to slot through the heatpipes, the Noctua is much easier.....there are, infact, 2 separate mounting plates that simply screw to the heatsink itself. The 2 mounting bars are screwed directly into the backplate and then the heatsink is screwed to the mounting bars with spring-loaded screws that stop when fully tightened…no guesswork on how hard to turn. Very clean, very simple, little effort required. The mounting design of the Noctua was the easiest of the three, and seemed the most stable and sturdy. I would have no hesitation transporting a case with the Nocua over long distances (even via courier shipment if necessary).
NOISE
I do not, unfortunately, have access to the sensitive (and expensive) measuring equipment that Tech website reviewers are able to use. However, since this is a real-world review, I will simply comment on my overall impressions of each of the heatsink fans, as compared to each other.
Both the Scythe and Noctua employ 120mm fans, whereas the Zalman uses a 92mm fan. That clearly puts the Zalman at a disadvantage, even before the computer is turned on. However, the Zalman is the only heatsink of the three that comes with a fan controller, to find a noise level that is acceptable for each person.
The Scythe Ninja’s fan runs about 900 rpm and is quiet. It doesn’t move a huge volume of air, but that’s part of the tradeoff for the noise reduction. Upon putting my ear closer to the fan, I notice a slight ticking sound and motor noise….nothing substantial, but it is definitely audible. When placed in a closed P180 case, however, the noise disappears. Overall, the Ninja’s fan is very quiet.
The Noctua’s fan runs at 1200 rpm and is virtually silent. It moves a higher volume of air than the Ninja and doesn’t exhibit any motor noise whatsoever. Putting my ear close to the fan results in the very faint “whoosh” of air movement. For all intents and purposes, the Noctua is absolutely silent, especially in a closed case. Clearly this is a superior fan in both regards, two critical criteria in trying to achieve cool and quiet.
The Zalman’s fan operates between 1300 and 2600 rpm, as it is adjustable. At low rpm’s the fan is quiet, but doesn’t move much air as the tradeoff. At its highest level, the airflow is respectable, but nowhere near the volume that is being pushed by the 120mm fans on the other two heatsinks. However, when at the highest airflow, the Zalman is very audible, even when the case is closed. It exhibits a higher-pitched “whir” and clearly does not achieve any semblance of quiet. This is a critical flaw: not only is it far louder than the other heatsinks, but it also does not have as high an airflow either. This severely cripples the Zalman.
TEMPERATURES
This is where the subjectivity ends and the facts speak for themselves. This is also where a heatsink’s true worthiness lies….if a CPU can’t be kept sufficiently cool, then beautiful and quiet simply does not matter one bit. Passing the quality and noise judgement is fine, but to be a true success, a heatsink must simply perform just as well, if not better.
As previously indicated, the closed P180 case was positioned near a furnace vent to increase ambient temperature. In all tests, the ambient temperature was maintained at 29 Celcius (85 Fahrenheit). This would reasonably approximate minimum summer indoor temperatures without adequate air conditioning, or winter temperatures near any heater/vent source. Again, to approximate real world conditions.
In all testing instances, the CPU was run both at stock 1.86 ghz speed and overclocked 3.20 ghz speed. Idle temperatures were recorded after booting into Windows and letting the system sit for 20 minutes. Load temperatures were recorded after running dual instances of Prime95 after 20 minutes. Highest idle and load temps were recorded with Intel’s TAT, and were cross-checked with SpeedFan’s readings. Differences of 15C Tcase and Tjunction (credit: CompuTronix’s Core2Duo Temperature Guide) of +/- 2C were considered sufficient for alternate verification. This was done for each heatsink. Note that all heatsinks were tested, then reseated on the CPU after proper cleaning and reinstallation of thermal paste, then tested again to ensure no singular anomalies skewed the results.
The results are as follows:
To be honest, the results were not what I had expected. Given the popularity of the Scythe Ninja as a “top quiet performer”, I was expecting better. As indicated, it was reseated and retested to ensure accuracy. The temperatures were the same for both test runs, within 1 degree Celcius.
The Zalman, with its 92mm fan, admirably kept pace with the Scythe, though it was far more audible at the highest airflow (I should mention these results were for the Zalman at the highest rpm to test maximum cooling ability).
Both the Zalman and Scythe flirted with unsafe temperature levels at load. However, the Noctua didn’t even cross into 60C territory, and actually managed to stay well enough below. It was clearly lower on all temperature ranges, at stock and overclocked, at idle and load.
THOUGHTS:
As most people are well aware, achieving high performance while maintaining a low-noise system that is cool is quite a feat. Many people spend a lot of hard-earned money and time, researching and building such a setup. And one area that is particularly sensitive to this fine balance is the CPU. First and foremost, it needs to stay cool....the cooler, the better. Low noise is certainly a bonus beyond that.
Of the three heatsinks tested, the Noctua is clearly the superior product in achieving cool and quiet. It has an excellent mounting system that is easy to install, occupies a smaller footprint than the other products, utilizes a near-silent fan, and clearly offers the best cooling across the temperature and speed spectrum. Build quality is top notch, and its design is both sleek and functional. It is not the least expensive heatsink on the market, but it is neither the most expensive. Given its moderate price and impressive performance, the Noctua NH-U12F is simply an exceptional product and a wise purchase towards achieving a cool and quiet computer system.
CONCLUSION:
Noctua NH-U12F is a Skyguy’s 2 Thumbs-Up Winner.
I am a bit of a performance junkie, but am also a noise nut too. In a perfect world, I want amazing performance that approaches silence, and at an affordable price to boot. Who doesn’t? But achieving it is difficult, compromises need to be made, extra money often spent, patience required, and so on. So I decided to take a look at a few popular CPU heatsinks to examine their real-world performance for Cool and Quiet.
I have limited resources (both time and money) and am currently unable to do as an exhaustive test list as I’d like. However, this review is an attempt to tackle a few products, popular ones, and hopefully help some people who struggle with achieving both performance and quiet for their computers. So, let’s review the contenders:
-Zalman 9500
-Scythe Ninja
-Noctua NH-U12F
3 popular products known for being quiet. But how about performance, not to mention mounting, quality of design, and price? Well, let’s find out…….
Before I continue, I’d like to thank Big Alcattle, a forum regular here, for graciously providing me with the Noctua and Scythe for testing purposes.
The purpose of this review is not to inundate people with countless specifications, photos, product information, etc. That is easily found on their respective company websites and product literature. Rather, the purpose here is to give a concise synopsis of the overall performance of the products under real world conditions. I wanted to approximate what would be a realistic setup for many people at home. So, no open-air test bench for this review
I’m primarily examining 3 main components to each product:
-Product Design
-Noise
-Temperatures
Let’s begin, shall we?
SETUP
With a real-world scenario in mind, the test setup was designed to approximate a fairly common setup for a higher-end computer system that strives for performance and noise reduction. Here’s the system specs: A Core2Duo CPU (stock and highly overclocked), and 8800 graphics card, and all your other standard fare. Below is the full specs:
The heatsinks were installed in the P180 case and the side panels were put on. Now, to make this a little more interesting, I placed my case close to the furnace vent (radiant heat). This accomplishes two things: first, it approximates winter conditions that many people experience in northern climates with the furnace on and ambient temperatures higher (but also approximates conditions for people that live in hotter southern climates as well); second, it amplifies the amount of heat and exchange the heatsinks have to dissipate in a closed case that experiences higher ambient temperatures…..meaning that the heatsinks will have to perform VERY well to maintain acceptable CPU temperatures.
Ambient temperatures were monitored with a digital thermometer, accurate to within 1 degree Celcius. Constant ambient temperatures were monitored during the tests to ensure consistent test setups for all products. Idle temperatures were monitored 20 minutes after computer startup, with no applications loaded other than normal Windows system processes. Load temperatures were monitored after 20 minutes of dual instances of Prime95. Highest recorded temperatures were noted for the tests.
PRODUCT DESIGN
Aesthetics
The Noctua and Scythe are considered “tower-style” heatsinks; that is, they rise above the motherboard like a tower. The Zalman’s design is a more of a “tunnel” that rises off the motherboard. All products are quite weighty, large, and imposing. Aesthetics are an individual taste, but many people seem to appreciate the look of the Zalman…..it has an LED light behind the 92mm fan, with a nice contrasting metal color that is generally well received, especially for cases with a side panel window. The Noctua is a more “crisp” tower design, very sleek and minimalist, and the 120mm Noctua fan offers a unique color combination for a case. The Scythe Ninja is the most bulky of the three, with an interesting cutout design that looks more “beefy” rising off the motherboard.
Mounting
The mounting design for the Zalman is fairly straightforward: a backplate, a pressure bar, and 2 screws that allow the heatsink to be installed facing the rear or top of the case in a Socket 775 motherboard. In fact, all 3 products can be positioned to face the rear or top, a very handy feature. The Zalman pressure bar is a bit awkward to get into proper position, but after a short bit of finicking, it sets in place. Getting the screws installed is straightforward. Overall, not very difficult, allows some minor twisting of the heatsink itself, fastens tight, and quite sturdy.
The mounting design for the Scythe Ninja is very simple: pushpin fasteners that twist and lock into place when installed. No backplate is required, and this can be a good thing if your motherboard is already installed in your case. The Ninja is more bulky at the base than the Zalman, and can be a tight squeeze into many mid-tower cases. It just clears the RAM sticks when installed, but overall there is adequate room available. One of the mounting pushpins can be difficult to turn and lock into place if you have a northbridge cooler that sits close to the edge of the heatsink…..not a big deal, but worthy of note. There is, however, one major design flaw of the Ninja’s mounting design: no backplate. The pushpin mounts are made of plastic, not metal, and this can pose some significant risks. The first is that a beginner may not know if they are fully installed, thus leaving the inadequate pressure between the heatsink and the CPU itself, thereby reducing thermal transfer and creating high temperature problems. The second concern is risk of breaking the plastic components. Considering the pressure required to install and hold the heatsink in place, this is a distinct possibility. Lastly, given the weight of this heatsink, I would be extremely hesistant to subject a case containing a Ninja to any sort of unsupervised or frequent transportation. Quite simply, there is too much risk of a mounting failure. In my opinion, this mounting design is a critical flaw in the Ninja’s overall design and performance.
The mounting design for the Noctua is also fairly straightforward: a backplate, 2 mounting plates and bars, and 2 spring-loaded mounting screws to hold it in place. Whereas the Zalman’s pressure bar was rather tricky to slot through the heatpipes, the Noctua is much easier.....there are, infact, 2 separate mounting plates that simply screw to the heatsink itself. The 2 mounting bars are screwed directly into the backplate and then the heatsink is screwed to the mounting bars with spring-loaded screws that stop when fully tightened…no guesswork on how hard to turn. Very clean, very simple, little effort required. The mounting design of the Noctua was the easiest of the three, and seemed the most stable and sturdy. I would have no hesitation transporting a case with the Nocua over long distances (even via courier shipment if necessary).
NOISE
I do not, unfortunately, have access to the sensitive (and expensive) measuring equipment that Tech website reviewers are able to use. However, since this is a real-world review, I will simply comment on my overall impressions of each of the heatsink fans, as compared to each other.
Both the Scythe and Noctua employ 120mm fans, whereas the Zalman uses a 92mm fan. That clearly puts the Zalman at a disadvantage, even before the computer is turned on. However, the Zalman is the only heatsink of the three that comes with a fan controller, to find a noise level that is acceptable for each person.
The Scythe Ninja’s fan runs about 900 rpm and is quiet. It doesn’t move a huge volume of air, but that’s part of the tradeoff for the noise reduction. Upon putting my ear closer to the fan, I notice a slight ticking sound and motor noise….nothing substantial, but it is definitely audible. When placed in a closed P180 case, however, the noise disappears. Overall, the Ninja’s fan is very quiet.
The Noctua’s fan runs at 1200 rpm and is virtually silent. It moves a higher volume of air than the Ninja and doesn’t exhibit any motor noise whatsoever. Putting my ear close to the fan results in the very faint “whoosh” of air movement. For all intents and purposes, the Noctua is absolutely silent, especially in a closed case. Clearly this is a superior fan in both regards, two critical criteria in trying to achieve cool and quiet.
The Zalman’s fan operates between 1300 and 2600 rpm, as it is adjustable. At low rpm’s the fan is quiet, but doesn’t move much air as the tradeoff. At its highest level, the airflow is respectable, but nowhere near the volume that is being pushed by the 120mm fans on the other two heatsinks. However, when at the highest airflow, the Zalman is very audible, even when the case is closed. It exhibits a higher-pitched “whir” and clearly does not achieve any semblance of quiet. This is a critical flaw: not only is it far louder than the other heatsinks, but it also does not have as high an airflow either. This severely cripples the Zalman.
TEMPERATURES
This is where the subjectivity ends and the facts speak for themselves. This is also where a heatsink’s true worthiness lies….if a CPU can’t be kept sufficiently cool, then beautiful and quiet simply does not matter one bit. Passing the quality and noise judgement is fine, but to be a true success, a heatsink must simply perform just as well, if not better.
As previously indicated, the closed P180 case was positioned near a furnace vent to increase ambient temperature. In all tests, the ambient temperature was maintained at 29 Celcius (85 Fahrenheit). This would reasonably approximate minimum summer indoor temperatures without adequate air conditioning, or winter temperatures near any heater/vent source. Again, to approximate real world conditions.
In all testing instances, the CPU was run both at stock 1.86 ghz speed and overclocked 3.20 ghz speed. Idle temperatures were recorded after booting into Windows and letting the system sit for 20 minutes. Load temperatures were recorded after running dual instances of Prime95 after 20 minutes. Highest idle and load temps were recorded with Intel’s TAT, and were cross-checked with SpeedFan’s readings. Differences of 15C Tcase and Tjunction (credit: CompuTronix’s Core2Duo Temperature Guide) of +/- 2C were considered sufficient for alternate verification. This was done for each heatsink. Note that all heatsinks were tested, then reseated on the CPU after proper cleaning and reinstallation of thermal paste, then tested again to ensure no singular anomalies skewed the results.
The results are as follows:
To be honest, the results were not what I had expected. Given the popularity of the Scythe Ninja as a “top quiet performer”, I was expecting better. As indicated, it was reseated and retested to ensure accuracy. The temperatures were the same for both test runs, within 1 degree Celcius.
The Zalman, with its 92mm fan, admirably kept pace with the Scythe, though it was far more audible at the highest airflow (I should mention these results were for the Zalman at the highest rpm to test maximum cooling ability).
Both the Zalman and Scythe flirted with unsafe temperature levels at load. However, the Noctua didn’t even cross into 60C territory, and actually managed to stay well enough below. It was clearly lower on all temperature ranges, at stock and overclocked, at idle and load.
THOUGHTS:
As most people are well aware, achieving high performance while maintaining a low-noise system that is cool is quite a feat. Many people spend a lot of hard-earned money and time, researching and building such a setup. And one area that is particularly sensitive to this fine balance is the CPU. First and foremost, it needs to stay cool....the cooler, the better. Low noise is certainly a bonus beyond that.
Of the three heatsinks tested, the Noctua is clearly the superior product in achieving cool and quiet. It has an excellent mounting system that is easy to install, occupies a smaller footprint than the other products, utilizes a near-silent fan, and clearly offers the best cooling across the temperature and speed spectrum. Build quality is top notch, and its design is both sleek and functional. It is not the least expensive heatsink on the market, but it is neither the most expensive. Given its moderate price and impressive performance, the Noctua NH-U12F is simply an exceptional product and a wise purchase towards achieving a cool and quiet computer system.
CONCLUSION:
Noctua NH-U12F is a Skyguy’s 2 Thumbs-Up Winner.
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