An OK heatsink for “normal” cooling – Joe
SUMMARY: An OK cooler for non-aggressive cooling.
The kind folks at AVC were nice enough to send a sample of their latest heatsink, the AVC Tundra 2. This is a copper skived unit with a 70 mm AVC fan featuring transparent hub and blades. The fan blades (9) feature an angled tip:
It’s an effort to prevent the formation of tip vortex as a means to reduce noise.
The fan is an AVC Model #F7015R12UY – a 70 x 15mm unit rated at 34 cfm @ 3800 rpm. I found it to be tolerably quiet – I measured its noise at 63 dBA (4348 rpm) with a Radio Shack sound meter 8″ from the fan’s intake, substantially less than a Delta 38 (about 69 dBA). It’s also safe to use a motherboard fan header.
The fan sits on four legs and is raised above the heatsink – another effort to reduce noise.
The base is well finished but not highly polished:
The clip is a good one – it engages one lug on each side of the socket and can be mounted by hand – no screwdriver required.
In summary, a copper skived heatsink with a very easy to use, secure clip.
PS: Included with the Tundra 2 is this magnet:
You can use it to hang something on your refrigerator; under NO circumstances use it around your PC – the magnet is a good one and can probably wipe a drive if it gets close enough.
The Tundra 2 was first tested on the CPU Die Simulator which gives results that are unaffected by motherboard influences. I then tested it on an Iwill KK266+, modified to read AMD’s on-die diode, as an example of what users might see on their systems.
| Heatsink | Die Temp | Ambient Temp | Delta | C/W |
| Tundra 2 | 53.9 C | 24.5 C | 29.4 C | 0.39 |
| CPU/Motherboard | CPU Die Temp | Ambient Temp | Delta | C/W | CPU Back Temp |
| Palomino 1200, Iwill KK266+ | 40.2 C | 25.9 C | 14.3 | 0.26 | 41.6 C |
In-socket thermistor per MBM: 33 C
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 Tundra 2 in the mid rank of heatsinks (Heatsink Ranking). With the more tolerable YS Tech, the Tundra 2 ranks among the best of heatsinks tested.
The AVC Tundra 2 is an OK cooler for non-aggressive cooling. The magnet is a good one, but keep it away from your PC.
Thanks again to AVC for sending this our way.
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