Very good performance for low noise heatsinks — Joe
SUMMARY: Low noise heatsinks with better than average performance.
Millennium Thermal Solutions was nice enough to send over samples of the low noise versions of the Glaciator II. These units come in a low and very low noise version, the low with a 4200 rpm fan and the very low with a 3850 rpm fan. Everything about these heatsink are the same as the Glaciators with the higher rpm fans, so go HERE for specific details on the heatsink.
Noise levels on each were below my sound meter’s limits, so I’ll affirm that they are indeed low noise, with the very low noise model being almost whisper quiet.
The fans are labeled Space Fan, made by Mitachi Ltd (not Hitachi); these are model #s B602512M and L. They draw less than 2 watts, so it’s safe to use a motherboard fan header.
The Glaciators were first tested on the CPU Die Simulator which gives results that are unaffected by motherboard influences. I then tested each 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 |
| Glaciator 4200rpm, 75.4 watts | 49.1 C | 20.2 C | 28.9 C | 0.38 |
| Glaciator 3850rpm, 75.4 watts | 49.6 C | 20.3 C | 29.3 C | 0.39 |
| CPU/Motherboard | CPU Die Temp | Ambient Temp | Delta | C/W | CPU Back Temp |
| Glaciator 4200 rpm, Palomino 1200, Iwill KK266+ | 39.2 C | 22.5 C | 16.7 | 0.31 | 41.7 C |
| Glaciator 3850 rpm, Palomino 1200, Iwill KK266+ | 41.7 C | 22.7 C | 19.0 | 0.35 | 45.9 C |
¹In-socket thermistor per MBM: 4200rpm – 30C; 3850rpm – 32C
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 Glaciators in the mid rank of heatsinks (Heatsink Ranking). The performance hit for the slowest fan is not as large on the Die Simulator as on the KK266+, perhaps due to the reduced air flow impact on secondary source cooling.
Interestingly, heatsinks they compete against feature much louder fans, such as Delta 38s, so that the Glaciators are delivering more cooling power at lower noise levels than comparably performing heatsinks.
These are not performance heatsinks by any means, but for very good cooling performance at very low noise, they are among the best we’ve tested.
Thanks again to Millennium Thermal Solutions for sending this our way.
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