Performance

The system being used to test the heatsink is as follows:

CPU:	Intel E6850 Core2 Duo
Clock speed:	9 x 333 MHz = 3.0 GHz, Memory at DDR2-667
Motherboard:	Asus P5W DH Deluxe
Memory:	2 x 1GB G.Skill F2-6400PHU1-2GBHZ
Video Card:	Sapphire HD 2900XT PCI-e
Harddisk:	4 x 250 GB Seagate 7200.10 in Matrix Raid 0/5
Power Supply:	ThermalTake ToughPower 850W
Case:	Lian Li PC-A10B
Software:	Windows XP Pro SP2, Catalyst 7.12

Ambient temperature was kept to 22º Celsius (+/- 1 degree) and was measured by a standard mercury thermometer. CPU temperature was measured by Core Temp 0.96, and chipset temperature was measured with a Craftsman non-contact infrared thermometer. All idle temperatures were recorded after 30 minutes of resting at the desktop, and load temperatures were taken after 30 minutes of Orthos StressPrime.


Testing on the CPU was done with the new Danger Den MC-TDX waterblock, and the NT-H1 was compared with Arctic Silver 5. At stock speeds, both compounds performed identically. When the CPU speed and voltage were raised, performance stays nearly identical, with the NT-H1 edging out the AS5 by one degree under load. The best part is that the NT-H1 was ready to test immediately, whereas the AS5 had to settle for nearly two weeks.


To test the NT-H1 on the 975X chipset, Arctic Silver Ceramique was used for comparison. At stock speeds and voltages, the NT-H1 beat the Ceramique by 5 degrees. When the voltage and speeds were increased, the NT-H1's effectiveness increased to a margin of 11 degrees. Again, the NT-H1 was ready for testing immediately, while the Ceramique needed a few weeks to settle.