Testing

The rest of the test rig was as follows:

AMD 64 3500 + Venice Core @ 2.4ghz
1gb (2 * 512) Crucial Ballistix PC3200
XFX PCX 6600 @ Stock
Spire 530w
TT Armor Case - Only a single 90mm Exhaust fan

Other Factors

Silverstone Supplied Heatpaste
Fan @ 100%
Ambient Temperature 23 Degrees C

To test this cooler I left the PC to idle for 30 minutes and then took the CPU's temperature using Speedfan. I then ran S&M at maximum load along with Folding at Home to pick up any CPU cycles that weren't being used by S&M and left them to run for half an hour. At the end of that time I took the temperature of the CPU again, using Speedfan.

As you can see the idle temperatures are quite impressive, with the CPU only moving above the 30 degrees mark under load. The load temperatures are not as impressive, but considering they never break the 40 degree mark they are still relatively good. I imagine that the load temperatures would decrease quite substantially with some intake fans and some more exhaust fans as the air inside the case remains pretty still with just the one 90mm exhaust fan. It would also be interesting to see if lapping the core and using AS5 as apposed to the provided heatpaste would make much difference.

Noise Levels

As the specifications will tell you this fan does reach over 40db when running at full tilt. 40 decibels is around the same kind of noise as background suburban noises, or a car driving past your house when you have the windows open. While with music on the fan is completely inaudible, if you are performing quiet tasks the fan drone does become quite irritating and we would suggest having the fan running at around 1500rpm - just above half speed - as this gives a good balance of cooling performance and noise.

Cost

The Nitrogon NT06 cooler will set you back a cool £35 in most online E-Tailers. This is quite a hefty sum for a CPU Cooler. However, as you can see the performance places this cooler in the upper region of the CPU cooler market in terms of cooling effectiveness, so those with the spare change should definitely consider this cooler as an option.