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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 19 dBA and 20°C.
TEST RESULTS
Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX
The VX's stock fan, made by Everflow, looks similar to the one used by the
original Big Typhoon, of course it would since they are both painted orange.
It pulls slightly less wattage yet spins significantly faster. Coincidentally,
the original Hong Sheng fan's maximum speed of 1300 RPM is the Everflow's
fan's rated minimum speed.
|
The VX stock fan.
|
|
Big Typhoon VX: Stock Fan Measurements
|
|
Fan Voltage
|
Fan Speed
|
SPL@1m
|
|
12V
|
~2110 RPM
|
40 dBA
|
|
9V
|
??
|
33 dBA
|
|
7V
|
??
|
26 dBA
|
|
6V
|
??
|
23 dBA
|
|
5V
|
??
|
~19 dBA
|
Measuring the stock fan's rotational speed proved difficult. For some unknown reason, our tachometer
could not get a proper reading as the fan was spinning. As we use a variable
DC fan controller to adjust the fan voltage, we could not attach the 3-pin
header to a motherboard for a proper reading. If we did, we would not
be able to control the voltage with any degree of accuracy. We tried to get
around this by rewiring the RPM sensing wire to its own 3-pin plug, and tried
it with two different motherboards, but neither could pick up the fan's actual
speed. With the fan connected via 3-pin header on the motherboard, the strock fan speed controller
could control it from 1500 (29 dBA) to 2110 RPM (40 dBA). We estimate the
lower limit of the controller to be about 8V.
|
Big Typhoon VX
with stock fan |
|
Fan Voltage
|
Noise @1m
|
Temp
|
°C Rise
|
°C/W
|
|
12V
|
40 dBA
|
38°C
|
18
|
0.23
|
|
9V
|
33 dBA
|
39°C
|
19
|
0.24
|
|
7V
|
25 dBA
|
42°C
|
22
|
0.28
|
|
6V
|
23 dBA
|
48°C
|
28
|
0.36
|
|
5V
|
~19 dBA
|
50°C
|
30
|
0.38
|
|
Big Typhoon VX with reference fan
|
|
12V
|
22 dBA
|
41°C
|
21
|
0.27
|
|
9V
|
~19 dBA
|
44°C
|
24
|
0.31
|
|
7V
|
<19 dBA
|
51°C
|
31
|
0.40
|
|
5V
|
<19 dBA
|
60°C
|
40
|
0.51
|
Load Temp: CPUBurn for ~10 mins.
°C Rise: Temperature rise above ambient (20°C) at load.
°C/W: based on the amount of heat dissipated by the CPU (measured
78W); lower is better. |
Fan @ 12V: The stock fan was producing an unbearable 40 dBA — it was
just plain loud. Cooling was good, as one would expect, but couldn't match
the performance of the better tower heatsinks, despite the high airflow and
accompanying noise level.
Fan @ 9V: At 33 dBA, it was still far too loud for our liking. The higher
airflow at 12V was masking a fair amount of buzzing, which became more noticeable
at 9V. Performance was more or less the same — it's obvious the
fan does not need to be anywhere near 2000 RPM.
Fan @ 7V: The fan was fairly smooth sounding, but there was some undesirable,
underlying tonality. Still too loud for our liking. The CPU temperature raised
an extra 3°C.
Fan @ 6V: There was a low-pitch buzz coming from the motor. The overall noise
level is okay, but the type of noise is distracting. At this level the temperature
finally increased a significant amount: 6°C.
Fan @ 5V: The overall acoustics remained the same, just at a lower level.
At one foot it sounds similar to the fan at 6V from one meter away.
Our reference Nexus 120mm fan seemed to work much better, possibly due to
higher static pressure. At 12V and only 22 dBA, it performed better than the
stock fan at 7V and 25 dBA. That's the difference between annoying and just
noticeable. But like the stock fan, performance suffered greatly at lower
fan speeds. At 7V and below, °C Rise was greater than 30. At 5V, it was
40 — abysmal for a heatsink of the VX's size, weight, and price.
|
Big Typhoon VX vs. Big Typhoon
|
|
Stock Fan |
|
Fan Voltage
|
Big Typhoon VX
|
Big Typhoon
|
|
SPL@1m
|
°C Rise
|
SPL@1m
|
°C Rise
|
|
12V
|
40 dBA
|
18
|
25 dBA
|
24
|
|
9V
|
33 dBA
|
19
|
21 dBA
|
27
|
|
7V
|
25 dBA
|
22
|
~19 dBA
|
32
|
|
5V
|
~19 dBA
|
30
|
<19 dBA
|
44
|
|
Reference Fan
|
|
12V
|
22 dBA
|
21
|
22 dBA
|
24
|
|
9V
|
~19 dBA
|
24
|
~19 dBA
|
27
|
|
7V
|
<19 dBA
|
31
|
<19 dBA
|
35
|
|
5V
|
<19 dBA
|
40
|
<19 dBA
|
45
|
Compared to the original Big Typhoon, the VX's fan gives it a broader range
of airflow and SPL. When turned downed to more or less equivalent sound levels,
the VX pulls ahead of its predecessor by a couple of degrees. The results
when using the reference fan showed more improvement, suggesting the change
in mounting system should take most of the credit.
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