Coolers For The Athlon XP: Those Declared Dead Live Longer
CPU cooling solution suppliers obviously agree. What else could explain the fact that many a manufacturer is presenting "new" cooling solutions for the "old" platform only days/weeks before the launch of the new platform? Totally unprecedented in the practice of presenting a cooler is the way Coolermaster has attached an NDA to any reporting on its latest model, the Jet 7. In other words: only after the embargo ends (as of September 17) can the Jet 7 be reported on.
Reason enough, then, to test a few of the latest cooling models and compare them to the boxed cooler of the latest Athlon XP (3200+/ 200 MHz FSB).
Before we deal more closely with the test candidates, we should take a look at the maximum thermal power of the top models of the various Athlon XP variations with Thoroughbred A, B and Barton cores (Source: AMD Processor Model 8 and Model 10 data sheets):
| Model | Core-Frequency | FSB | L2-Cache | Core | Max Thermal Power | DIE-Size | Max specific Thermal Power | Max DIE-Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2200+ | 1800 MHz | 266 MHz | 256 kB | TB-A | 67.9 W | 0.80cm² | 84.88W/cm² | 85 °C |
| 2600+ | 2133 MHz | 266 MHz | 256 kB | TB-B | 68.3 W | 0.84cm² | 81.31W/cm² | 85 °C |
| 2700+ | 2167 MHz | 333 MHz | 256 kB | TB-B | 68.3 W | 0.84cm² | 81.31W/cm² | 85 °C |
| 3000+ | 2167 MHz | 333 MHz | 512 kB | Barton | 74.3 W | 1.01cm² | 73.56W/cm² | 85 °C |
| 3200+ | 2200 MHz | 400 MHz | 512 kB | Barton | 76,8 W | 1,01 cm² | 76 W/cm³ | 85°C |
| 2400+ | 2000 MHz | 266 MHz | 256 kB | TB-B | 68.3 W | 0.84cm² | 81.31W/cm² | 85 °C |