Performance Results
We’re currently making some changes to our testing rigs. We’ll be testing the TRUE Copper on our Intel rig only, as we’re setting up a Phenom rig for future AMD tests. It should be noted that there have been two minor changes to our Intel rig. We have replaced the single 1GB Firestix DIMM with a Corsair XMS2 DIMM. We’ve also replaced the Corsair VX-550 with a Corsair TX-750 power supply. All system configuration settings, frequencies and other hardware components remain consistent with our previous tests. Neither of these changes should be significant enough to impact results and they can be compared to prior tests. For more information on our system configurations, please see our heatsink testing methodology.
As you can see, the TRUE Copper manages to best the TRUE Black by a considerable margin. A full four degree delta was observed during our 3.4GHz testing. This is really impressive considering how well the TRUE Black already does. The TRUE Copper now officially wears the performance crown!
We see a similar trend during more intensive “Small FFT” testing. The TRUE Copper keeps the lead, but by a slightly smaller margin.
As expected, the TRUE Copper is not a very effective motherboard cooler–neither are any of the towers we’ve tested. Interestingly it does a little better than the TRUE Black. This is probably due to a reduction in motherboard PCB temperature thanks to its high efficiency.
Copper heatsinks typically do a bit better with higher flow fans. We decided to dust off one of our old Delta 1212VHE fans and give it a go with the TRUE Copper. The 1212VHE is not for the faint of heart. It draws almost a full amp of current at 12V and is rated for around 150CFM.
As you can see, the TRUE Copper does benefit from higher levels of airflow. Six degrees is pretty significant in our eyes. If you can tolerate the noise, the TRUE Copper really shines at over 100CFM. We didn’t bother trying a dual fan configuration with the TRUE Copper. It is so heavy that we’d strongly discourage the use of anything other than a single 120x25mm fan in an upright position.