Idle Load Test Results

At idle load, the Zalman CNPS9700 LED wins hands down. It manages to keep the processor at just 4.79°C above ambient temperature. That's over 2°C cooler than its nearest competitor, the HR-01 with a SUNON fan.

However, it was outperformed by the Thermalright HR-01 and XP-120 heatsinks with the fan set to 5V (low-speed). Oddly, it had the same performance as the CNPS9500 with the fan at low speed.

The Thermalright HR-01 and XP-120 heatsinks both performed well, no matter whether they were fitted with a fast fan or a slow one. It's a testimony to their focus on heatsinks that perform well even in the passive mode.

The MiniTyphoon, on the other hand, was the poorest performer. Even with the fan running at full 12V, it still could not beat the Zalman CNPS7000 LED with a 5V fan.

The MiniTyphoon's performance with the fan running at 5V was especially abysmal. It gave us CPU temperatures that were over 10°C hotter than the Zalman CNPS9700 LED cooler.