Passive vs. Active CPU Cooling

Three Silent CPU Cooling Solutions - Comparison

by Yaroslav Lyssenko

[ 08/31/2006 | 10:00 PM ]

Building a powerful yet silent personal computer is always a challenge. High performance CPU demands powerful and in many cases, noisy cooling solutions, capable of spreading immense heat from the CPU core. For such demands Thermalright has developed a number of passive CPU coolers.

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PC Perspective has compared three of Thermalright’s top-of-the-line CPU heatsinks. Three contenders included the Thermalright HR-01, the XP-120, and the Ultra-120 microprocessor passive cooling solutions. All three Thermalright coolers are constructed with solid copper bases, multiple heatpipes, and large cooling fin arrays. The HR-01 and Ultra-120 are tower-style coolers while the XP-120 has a lower profile.

The author tried to find out how the HR-01, which is designed for passive cooling, compares to the XP-120 and Ultra-120, which rely on active cooling with a fan. All testing was performed on dual core Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 955 CPU inside a closed mid-tower case.

“We have now confirmed what was suspected all along – a little airflow can make a big difference when it comes to keeping components cool. In passive mode the HR-01’s relatively large surface area makes up for minimal convection airflow and produces good cooling results. Increasing airflow thru the HR-01 with the Thermalright 120mm Fan Duct dramatically improves performance. Using a fan to force air thru the much smaller surface area of the XP-120 produces similar results to the HR-01. And the Ultra-120 demonstrates what can be done when both surface area and airflow are increased for outstanding cooling performance. Each of the three Thermalright heatsinks offers certain advantages for specific cooling configurations,” concluders PC Perspective.

• PC Perspective: Passive vs. Active CPU Cooling with Thermalright Coolers.