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COMPARISONS
We would not recommend running the stock fan above 5V, so it makes sense to
compare the BTF80 / BTF90 at this noise level. Due to the extreme limitations
on airflow that this noise level imposes, many heatsinks do not do well at this
level, as can be seen in the table below. Please note that the comparison is
approximate; data is collected from past reviews, which may have been performed
under slightly different thermal or acoustic conditions. For this reason, not
all of the noise levels are identical, but they are close enough for comparison.
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Heatsinks Compared at ~20 dBA@1m
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Heatsink/Fan
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Noise
(SPL - dBA@1m)
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Fan Voltage
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°C Rise
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°C/W MP
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APack ZeroTherm BTF80
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19
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5
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28
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0.28
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APack ZeroTherm BTF90
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19
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5
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26
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0.26
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Arctic Cooling Alpine 64
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19
|
7
|
40
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0.40
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Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro*
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20
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9
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32
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0.32
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Spire Verticool II SP601B3
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20
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5
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48
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0.48
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Scythe Ninja, Nexus 120
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20
|
9
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22
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0.22
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Thermalright XP-120, Nexus 120
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20
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9
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27
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0.27
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The ZeroTherm heatsinks are outperformed only by the Scythe Ninja, and they
come in at roughly the same level as the Thermalright XP-120. That's not bad
considering that these heatsinks achieved the 20 dBA@1m noise level using our
reference Nexus 120mm fan, which is both bigger and quieter than the stock fans
on the ZeroTherm heatsinks. Every other heatsink that we've tested on our Socket
775 test bed is beaten decisively at this noise level.
NOISE RECORDINGS IN MP3 FORMAT
APack ZeroTherm BTF80 & BTF90: 5V-7V-9V-12V, 5s Ambient between levels: One
Meter, One Foot
Comparatives:
Zalman CNPS8000: 5V-7V-9V-12V, 5s Ambient between levels: One
Meter, One Foot
Arctic Cooling Alpine 64: 5V-7V-9V-12V, 5s Ambient between levels: One Meter,
One Foot
Scythe Mine w/ stock fan: 5V-7V-9V-12V, 5s Ambient between levels: One
Meter, One Foot
Nexus 92mm fan: 5V-7V-9V-12V, 5s Ambient between levels: One Meter,
One Foot
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HOW TO LISTEN & COMPARE
These recordings were made
with a high resolution, studio quality, digital recording system and are
intended to represent a quick snapshot of what we heard during the review.
Two recordings of each noise level were made, one from a distance of one
meter, and another from one foot away.
The one meter recording is
intended to give you an idea of how the subject of this review sound in
actual use — one meter is a reasonable typical distance between a
computer or computer component and your ear. The recording contains stretches
of ambient noise that you can use to judge the relative loudness of the
subject. For best results, set your volume control so that the ambient
noise is just barely audible. Be aware that very quiet subjects may not
be audible — if we couldn't hear it from one meter, chances are we
couldn't record it either!
The one foot recording is
designed to bring out the fine details of the noise. Use this recording
with caution! Although more detailed, it may not represent how the subject
sounds in actual use. It is best to listen to this recording after you
have listened to the one meter recording.
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FINAL CONCLUSIONS
Call my manhood into question if you must, but I can't help but be charmed
by these butterflies. I'm not usually one to fall for looks (at least, not where
computer hardware is concerned), but the fact that the butterfly profile appears
to work with the design instead of hindering them is impressive. The excellent
performance shows that, even if the butterfly design doesn't contribute to performance,
at the very least it doesn't seem to hurt.
Either of these ZeroTherm BTF heatsinks is capable
of adequately cooling almost any processor with the fan at 5 volts. The "almost"
in that sentence can be eliminated if you're willing to deal with more
fan noise than we are. We are confident that they can handle even Intel's hot Prescott processors
with under 30 dBA@1m of noise. Only heavy overclockers need look for more.
Unfortunately, the proprietary fan is not good enough for use in a system that
is silent — and it will not be easy to replace it with one that is. Good
as the heatsinks are, they are better suited to a quiet gaming system that is
likely to have some residual noise, not a no-holds-barred silent machine.
However, noise and performance are only relevant if you can manage to get your
hands on one of these — which could be a problem at the moment. They do not
seem to be available for purchase anywhere just yet. We
hope that APack manages to get wide distribution of these heatsinks, since they deserve a strong recommendation.
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Pros
* Excellent performance
* Do you like butterflies?
* Simple installation procedure
* Good low airflow characteristics
* Performs well enough to use fan at 5V
* Uses stock K8 retention bracket
* Fan can be easily "aimed"
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Cons
* Irritating fan noise
* Fan difficult to replace
* Fan must be removed for socket 775 mounting
* Poor / nonexistent distribution
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Much thanks to Apack
for the ZeroTherm BTF80 and BTF90 samples.
* * *
Articles of Related Interest
Recommended Heatsinks
Arctic Cooling Freezer
7 Pro
Scythe SCNJ-1000 Ninja
Heatsink
Thermalright XP-120:
1st 120mm fan CPU Heatsink
* * *
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POSTSCRIPT, Aug 7, 2006: The fan just slides out.
It turns out that removal of the fan is much simpler than we originally thought. The fan is actually mounted on a sub-assembly that is plastic parts are tongue and grooved to fit into the main red plastic piece that's the anchor for the fan. Just push up from the bottom or pull up, and it slides out easily as shown in the photos below. It slides and clicks back in securely. There's no need to undo screws and remove the whole fan assembly. Our thanks to Max Page, editor of www.frostytech.com, for pointing this out.
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