TTIC-NPH-201 Socket A Heatsink

Two fan heatpipe – Joe

SUMMARY: Very good performance, moderate noise.

TTIC

Weight: 580 grams ex fans

The good guys at Thermal Transtech were nice enough to send the TTIC-NPH-201 heatpipe for a test spin. This is a two fan heatpipe; the major difference from other heatpipes I’ve seen is that the heatpipe is fairly large – it measures 25.4 mm x 100 mm long. There are 34 fins arrayed along the heatpipe, with two fans for cooling (push-pull configuration).

The TTIC-NPH-201 tested had two fans – one 70 x 15 mm and one 80 x 25 mm thick; the 70 x 15mm ran at 3730 rpm while the 80 mm ran at 4092 rpm. I found them to be moderately noisy – I measured noise at 65 dBA with a Radio Shack sound meter 8″ from the fan’s intake, less than a Delta 38 (about 69 dBA). You can use motherboard fan headers for each.

The heatpipe is clearly visible through the copper fins:

Heat Pipe

The base is not particularly well finished:

Base

When I ran my nail over it, I could feel ridges; a good lapping could improve results somewhat.

THE TEST

The TTIC-NPH-201 was tested on the CPU Die Simulator which gives results that are unaffected by motherboard influences.

TEST RESULTS – CPU Simulator

Heatsink
Die Temp
Ambient Temp
Delta
C/W
TTIC-NPH-201
40.9 C
21.5 C
19.4 C
0.28

Delta = CPU temp – Ambient Temp
C/W = Delta / CPU Watts

Interpreting C/W: For every watt (CPUw) that the CPU
consumes, the HSF will limit the CPU’s temperature rise to (C/W x CPUw)
plus the temperature at the HSF’s fan inlet. For example, at an ambient temp of 25 C, a C/W of 0.25 with a CPU radiating 50 watts means that CPU temp will increase 50 x 0.25 = 12.5 C over ambient temp, or 37.5 C. The lower the C/W, the better.

Die Simulator results place the TTIC-NPH-201 in the top rank of heatsinks tested to date (Heatsink Ranking).

CONCLUSIONS

The TTIC-NPH-201 is a fine choice for Socket A cooling. The use of two different fan sizes is an interesting performance choice, leading to somewhat higher noise although not annoyingly loud.

Thanks again to Thermal Transtech for sending this our way.

¹Note that manufacturers measure fan noise usually 3 feet from the fan.

Email Joe