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TESTING
Testing was done according to our
unique heatsink testing methodology, and the reference fan was profiled
using our standard fan testing
methodology. A quick summary of the components, tools, and procedures
follows below.
Key Components in Heatsink Test Platform:
- Intel
Pentium D 950 Presler core. TDP of 130W; under our test load, it measures
78W including efficiency losses in the VRMs.
- ASUS
P5LD2-VM motherboard. A basic microATX board with integrated graphics
and plenty of room around the CPU socket.
- Samsung
MP0402H 40GB 2.5" notebook drive
- 1
GB stick of Corsair XMS2 DDR2 memory.
- FSP
Zen 300W fanless power supply.
- Arctic
Silver Lumière: Special fast-curing thermal interface
material, designed specifically for test labs.
Test Tools
- Seasonic
Power Angel for measuring AC power at the wall to ensure that the
heat output remains consistent.
- Custom-built, four-channel variable DC power supply,
used to regulate the fan speed during the test.
- Bruel & Kjaer (B&K) model 2203 Sound Level
Meter. Used to accurately measure noise down to 20 dBA and below.
- Various other tools for testing fans, as documented
in our standard fan testing
methodology.
Software Tools
- SpeedFan
4.32, used to monitor the on-chip thermal sensor. This sensor is not
calibrated, so results are not universally applicable
- CPUBurn
P6, used to stress the CPU heavily, generating more heat than most
real applications. Two instances are used to ensure that both cores are stressed.
- Throttlewatch
2.01, used to monitor the throttling feature of the CPU to determine
when overheating occurs.
Noise measurements were made with the fan powered from the lab's variable DC
power supply while the rest of the system was off to ensure that system noise
did not skew the measurements.
Load testing was accomplished using CPUBurn to stress
the processor, and the graph function in SpeedFan was used to make sure that
the load temperature was stable for at least ten minutes. The stock fan was
tested at various voltages to represent a good cross-section of its airflow
and noise performance.
The ambient conditions during testing were 18 dBA and
21°C.
HDT-S1283 TEST RESULTS
Stock HDT-S1283 Fan
The stock fan was tested for acoustics. We didn't do a full range of airflow
/ noise tests, but SPL and RPM measurements were taken at 9V, 10V, 11V, and
12V. Normally we test at 5V, 7V, 9V, and 12V, but at 7V the stock fan barely
spun at all (less than 100 RPM). Also, the fan would not start up with less
than 8.7V, so 9V seemed like a good starting point. The non-linear relationship between voltage and RPM reflects this fan's PWM design. A PWM fan controller would
probably be better for this fan. Most of the fan controllers built into motherboards these days are PWM, so they may work well. However, implementation of PWM fan control varies widely from board to board.
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HDT-S1283 Stock Fan Measurements
|
|
Fan Voltage
|
Fan Speed
|
Noise Level
|
|
12V
|
1400 RPM
|
28 dBA@1m
|
|
11V
|
1230 RPM
|
25 dBA@1m
|
|
10V
|
960 RPM
|
21 dBA@1m
|
|
9V
|
670 RPM
|
19 dBA@1m
|
At 12V, there was a lot of turbulence. Not suitable for a silent PC, but
much better than most stock fans that pass through the lab. At 11V it was
bearable, but still not good enough by our standards. At 10V it really ramped
down quite a bit and became fairly quiet. 9V was barely audible above the
ambient noise level. Inside a typical, enclosed system, it would probably
be indiscernable from the rest of the system noise.
The noise characteristics were fairly benign. At 1m there is a slight buzz
and a sound reminiscent of something brushing up against a polyester sleeve.
At higher fan speeds (higher than 10V), the extra turbulence dominates the
noise profile. Overall, it's very similar to a typical high/medium speed sleeve
bearing fan.
Cooling Results
| HDT-S1283
w/ stock fan |
|
Fan Voltage
|
Noise @1m
|
Temp
|
°C Rise
|
°C/W
|
|
12V
|
28 dBA
|
34°C
|
13
|
0.17
|
|
11V
|
25 dBA
|
35°C
|
14
|
0.18
|
|
10V
|
21 dBA
|
37°C
|
16
|
0.21
|
|
9V
|
19 dBA
|
40°C
|
19
|
0.24
|
|
HDT-S1283 w/ reference fan
|
|
12V
|
22 dBA
|
34°C
|
13
|
0.17
|
|
9V
|
~19 dBA
|
36°C
|
15
|
0.19
|
|
7V
|
<19 dBA
|
39°C
|
18
|
0.23
|
|
5V
|
<19 dBA
|
43°C
|
22
|
0.28
|
Load Temp: CPUBurn for ~10 mins.
°C Rise: Temperature rise above ambient (21°C) at load.
°C/W: based on the amount of heat dissipated by the CPU (measured
78W); lower is better. |
The heatsink in conjunction with the stock fan provided excellent cooling at
each fan voltage we tested. At 12V and 11V the increase in temperature was superb, among the lowest we've ever encountered. Performance did not suffer significantly
at 10V or 9V. We never would've expected such great results from such a light-weight
heatsink.
Already impressed, we put on the reference fan and re-tested the heatsink.
Amazingly at 12V, our reference Nexus 120mm fan achieved the same result as
the stock fan but with a 6 dBA improvement in noise level. High airflow does
not seem to affect performance drastically. As the fan voltage was lowered,
the increase in cooling efficiency tapered off, however at 5V, the rise in
temperature was only 22°C over ambient — the best result we've ever
seen.
|
HDT-S1283 vs. Top Competitors w/ reference fan
|
|
Noise @1m
|
Thermal Performance (°C
Rise)
|
|
Ultra-120 Extreme
|
HDT-S1283
|
Ultra-120
|
Ninja Copper
|
|
22 dBA
|
12
|
13
|
15
|
17
|
|
~19 dBA
|
14
|
15
|
17
|
18
|
|
<19 dBA
|
17
|
18
|
21
|
20
|
|
<19 dBA
|
24
|
22
|
26
|
23
|
Compared to the other elite CPU coolers we've tested in the past, the HDT-S1283
comes in a close second to the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme. A measured
difference of one degree is not enough to call one heatsink better than the
other however. It was also the best performing heatsink we've tested with
the Nexus fan at 5V (along with the Scythe Ninja Copper), though the tight
fin spacing makes it a poor choice for completely passive operation.
| Help support this site, buy the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 CPU Cooler from one of our affiliate retailers! |
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