CpuMate Heatpipe

October 2, 2003 admin Uncategorized 0

Very good heatpipe – Joe

SUMMARY: Very good performance at 5000 rpm, although somewhat noisy; lower speeds quieter but performance muted.

CPUMate

Size: 88 x 67 x 74mm; Weight: 375 grams; Fans: 5000, 3500 and 2300 rpm.

The good guys at ICEe Computers were nice enough to send a sample of the CpuMate Heatpipe, model #D130HA4. It comes in three versions: 2300, 3500 and 5000 rpm fans – the one I tested has the 5000 rpm fan.

The construction is interesting – the heatsink is actually made from two halves:

Side

The bottom half has embedded heatpipes in the base, with cooling fins; the top half serves to cool the heatpipes:

Pipes

Looking at the heatsink from the edge, it looks like the top and bottom are mirror images. Top and bottom are joined by a crimp joint on each side:

Crimp

One interesting feature (I don’t know if this is in all versions) is a hole in the base which can be used for a thermal probe:

Hole

The fan is a Bi-Sonic Model# BS701512HH – a 70 x 15 mm unit rated at 40.5 cfm @ 5000 rpm, 41 dBA¹. Other fan speeds are rated: 28 cfm @ 3500 rpm, 31 dBA, and 19 cfm @ 2300 rpm, 23 dBA. At 5000 rpm, it’s not particularly quiet – I measured its noise at 63 dBA with a Radio Shack sound meter 8″ from the fan’s intake, less than a Delta 38 (about 69 dBA), but definitely noticeable; at 3500 rpm, I measured 54 dBA (quiet) and at 2300 pm, <50 dBA (very quiet).

The base is shows some polishing marks but feels smooth to the touch:

Base

The mounting clips are very secure and easy to use – they snap into the standard P4 retention bracket without much effort.

THE TEST

I tested the Shuttle P4H on an Acorp 4S845A motherboard with a modified P4 1500 to read CPU case temps. I varied fan voltages to get results at 3461 and 2318 rpm.

TEST RESULTS – Motherboard
Motherboard

CPU Case Temp

Ambient Temp

Delta

C/W

MBM Temp

CpuMate, 5050 rpm

31.4 C

20.8 C

10.6

0.18

29 C¹

CpuMate, 3461 rpm

34.8 C

22.5 C

12.3

0.21

31 C¹

CpuMate, 2318 rpm

37.9 C

22.4 C

15.5

0.27

33 C¹

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.

Motherboard results with the 5000 rpm fan place the CpuMate in the top rank of P4 heatsinks (Heatsink Ranking) tested to date. Lower rpm fans predictably degrade performance.

CONCLUSIONS

This is a very good performing heatpipe, although not terribly quiet with the fan spinning at 5000 rpm. As usual, lower noise = lower performance; a good compromise looks like the 3500 rpm fan.

¹Note that manufacturers measure fan noise usually 3 feet from the fan; also note that fan noise is not the same as measured noise on a heatsink.

Email Joe