X-bit labs

0 Degrees Centigrade: APACK ZEROtherm CPU Coolers Roundup

Category: Coolers

by Sergey Lepilov

[ 04/03/2008 | 01:32 PM ]

We are going to introduce to you a family of processor cooling solutions from APACK Company known under ZEROtherm brand. Among 5 models participating in our today’s roundup you will meet a new ultimate performance leader!

Table of contents:

• ZEROtherm BTF80, BTF90 and BTF92 O.E.
  
• Package and Accessories
  
• Design and Functionality
  
• Installation Tips
  
• ZEROtherm BTF95 Fanless
  
• Package and Accessories
  
• Design and Functionality
  
• Installation Tips
  
• ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 Premium
  
• Package and Accessories
  
• Design and Functionality
  
• Installation Tips
  
• Technical Specifications
  
• Testbed and Methods
  
• Cooling Efficiency and Acoustic Performance
  
• Cooling Efficiency Tests
  
• Acoustic Tests
  
• Conclusion
  

In our recent review devoted to graphics card coolers we promised to introduce to you a variety of cooling solutions for CPUs from the Korean APACK Company (for details see our article called Two New Coolers for Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX or Minus 20 Degrees for the Reference). Well, it is time we kept that promise. So today we are proud to offer you a roundup of five ZEROtherm processor coolers designed for overclocked CPUs.

ZEROtherm coolers that we have already used a few times in our lab testbeds for other reviews have aroused quite some interest among overclockers. So we decided to make up for the lack of information on these solutions on our site. Let’s get started!

ZEROtherm BTF80, BTF90 and BTF92 O.E.

In this chapter of our roundup we are going to talk about three APACK ZEROtherm cooling solutions at a time, because they are all very similar to one another in terms of design. Tow models – ZEROtherm BTF80 and ZEROtherm BTF90 – are practically identical twins, differing only by the material used for heatsink plates: BTF80 has aluminum heatsink, while BTF90 – copper heatsink. So, we are going to discuss both of them using BTF80 as an example.

BTF92 O.E., however, looks similar to the other two, but is still pretty different in its design.

Package and Accessories

As usual, let’s first take a look at the coolers packaging.

The boxes are designed in silver gamma and are made of thick cardboard with plastic carry handles at the top. There are cut-out windows on the front and back of the boxes that let you pick at the cooler fan and partially heatsink:

Besides the list of cooler key features on the front of the box, there is also some info on the supported socket types. The sides and back of the cooler packages bear some technical specifications and performance diagrams comparing these cooling solutions against the competitors’ products, although there is no mention which these are:

According to the package, the coolers are made in Korea.

In the upper part of the package there is a small cardboard box with the bundled accessories:

It contains a standard accessories set for each cooler that includes the following items:

• Retention bracket for LGA 775 mainboards;
• Retention clip for Socket 754/939/940 and Socket AM2 mainboards;
• ZEROtherm ZT100 thermal compound;
• Backplate for LGA 775 mainboards;
• Retention screws;
• Multi-lingual installation guide for all supported platforms.

Besides, the BTF92 O.E. is also bundled with a fan rotation speed controller and four adhesive pads for placing it inside the system case: