Below are the system specifications that will be used for testing. Also listed are the comparison coolers. All coolers are tested using Shin Etsu thermal grease and load temperatures are achieved by running Folding@Home at 100% for a minimum of 2 hours. Temperature results were read using Motherboard Monitor 5.

CPU: Athlon64 3700+
MB: DFI LP NF4 Ultra-D
RAM: G.Skill 2x1GB PC-4000
GPU: XFX 7800GT
PSU: Ultra X3 1000W
HD: Western Digital 40GB IDE, Seagate 80GB IDE
DVD-Rom: Lite-On 18x DVD Burner - SATA
Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos 1000
Comparison Coolers: Stock Opteron HSF, Thermalright SI-128 w/ Panaflo M1BX 120mm and Zalman CNPS8700 LED.
Ambient Temperature: 24-25C

Fan Specs:
CoolerMaster 120x120x25 (16.4 dBa, 42.9 cfm, 1200 RPM)
Panaflo 120mm M1BX 120x120x38 (35.5 dBa, 86.5 cfm, 2100 RPM)

One last note before we get to the testing. The Panaflo M1BX fan is a 38mm fan which the Ultima-90 does not accomodate using the included clips. I worked up a temporary placement of the fan to get a straight performance comparison to the SI-128.

The first test is with the processor at stock settings.



I think we can definitely see the difference the two extra heatpipes make over the SI-128. I was very impressed with the performance of the Ultima-90 with the quiet CoolerMaster fan, as it beats all of the other coolers and remains silent. I was somewhat surprised that there was no difference in temps between when between the high cfm (and loud) Panaflo M1BX and the lower CFM CoolerMaster fan.

Some impressive results already at stock settings, but overclocking is where an enthusiast heatsink such as the Ultima-90 earns its stripes.



Once again the Ultima-90 leads the way among all of the coolers. Here we can see the difference of the increased air of the Panaflo has on the Ultima-90. Even using a quieter fan the Ultima-90 handily outperforms the equally quiet Zalman cooler.