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Cooling Results
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Zereotherm Zen FZ120 w/ stock fan
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Fan Voltage
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Noise @1m
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Temp
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°C Rise
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°C/W
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12V
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36 dBA
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33°C
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12
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0.15
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9V
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25 dBA
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36°C
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15
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0.19
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8V
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19 dBA
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41°C
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20
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0.26
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7V
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17 dBA
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46°C
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25
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0.32
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Zereotherm Zen FZ120 w/ reference Nexus fan
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12V
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21 dBA
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36°C
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15
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0.19
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9V
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18 dBA
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37°C
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16
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0.21
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7V
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16 dBA
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40°C
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19
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0.24
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5V
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<15 dBA
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45°C
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24
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0.31
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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. |
Zen performed extremely well with the stock fan, especially at higher speeds
— the rise above ambient was only 12°C and 15°C with the fan at 12V and
9V respectively. Performance dropped off significantly when the fan voltage
was lowered most likely due to tight fin spacing.
Switching to our reference Nexus fan dramatically improved the performance-to-noise
ratio. It managed to deliver approximately the same level of cooling at each voltage setting, but with
much less noise. For example, when both fans were set to 7V, the Nexus fan registered
1 dBA lower, yet still managed to deliver a 6°C improvement in CPU temperature.
Comparables
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Comparison: Zen vs. Top Heatsinks w/ Reference Nexus Fan
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Fan Voltage
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Noise @1m
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°C Rise
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HR-01 Plus
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Ultra-120 eXtreme
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HDT-S1283
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Zen FZ120
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Ninja Copper
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12V
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21 dBA
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13
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12
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13
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15
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17
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9V
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18 dBA
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15
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14
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15
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16
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18
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7V
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16 dBA
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16
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17
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18
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19
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20
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5V
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<15 dBA
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20
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24
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24
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24
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23
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Against the competition, the Zerotherm Zen performed well enough to take
the number four spot, slightly edging out the Scythe
Ninja Copper. While it is only about two degrees off our new favorite,
the Thermalright HR-01 Plus,
its tight fin spacing becomes an issue when the airflow is lowered to extreme
levels. Like the Xigmatek
HDT-S1283 and Ultra-120
eXtreme, the Zen takes a sizable performance hit when the Nexus fan
is slowed from 7V to 5V.
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