Dynatron 1206BM-H Heatsink/Fan Review

In our continuing efforts to keep our CPS from frying themselves to a nice crisp while overclocking, we enter into the search for a HSF capable of handling our needs.  Enter the DC1206BM-H from Dynatron. Dynatron's DC1206BM-H, AKA: New Blue Cooler, is one of the newest additions to Dynatron's lineup of aluminum, socket-based HSF solutions, crossing platforms from Socket 370 to Socket A.  Dynatron rates the DC1206BM-H to be able to handle up to a 1.6GHz AMD Socket A based CPU and up to a 1.26GHz Socket 370 based Intel CPU.  The DC1206BM-H  is equipped with a low-profile Top Motor fan, something that is almost signature to Dynatron.

Physical Dimensions:

Fan Specs:


Taking A Closer Look:

Right off the bat, the Dynatron DC1206BM-H seems similar to many of the coolers in regards to its overall size, the heatsink even looks similar to some GlobalWins.  However, the size of the fan is noticeably smaller than many of the other popular 60mm fans (ie. Sunon, YS Tech, etc.).  The fan's height is a mere 10mm, making it less than half the height of most of the other 60mm fans out there.  How does this affect air movement and cooling?  Let's find out...

The Testbed:

Installing the DC1206BM-H was relatively simple; remove the tape covering the conducting material on the bottom of the heat sink then clip it onto the motherboard.  The DC1206BM-H's retaining clip locking mechanism is a little bit taller than most; more importantly, it has a little plastic grip at the end to making installation and removable just a little easier than some of its competition.  In testing the Dynatron DC1206BM-H, CPU temperature was taken at idle usage and at full load.  The temperature at  full load was tested by running SETI for 30 minutes, the full load temperature would be taken as the average temperature achieved.  Average fan speed was measured and recorded for the resulting fan speed.  All data was gathered using Motherboard Monitor 5.09  monitoring software.  Here are the results:

The Results:

HSF CPU Voltage Fan Speed Temperature - Idle Temperature - Full Load
Dynatron DC1206BM-H P3 700@700MHz 1.65V 5307RPM 33º C 44º C
Dynatron DC1206BM-H P3 700@933MHz 1.75V 5307RPM 33º C 45º C
Dynatron DC1206BM-H P3 700@980MHz 1.85V 4927RPM 35º C 48º C *
Dynatron DC1206BM-H P3 700@1GHz 1.85V 4927RPM 37º C 49º C *

* Windows locked up a few minutes past the 30 minute trial.

As we can see by the results, the Dynatron DC1206BM-H fared alright at best in the tests.  One thing to note the test computer locked up running SETI in the 980MHz and 1GHz trials after 30 minutes passed; it may have been more stable with the voltage tweaked up a little.  Overall, I wasn't thrilled with the performance of the DC1206BM-H.  It is a good choice for non-overclocked systems, but I can't recommend it to those looking to do some serious speed tweaking.

Final Words:

The DC1206BM-H is the little HSF that tries... hard.  It would probably work well in lower end systems that do not require a substantial amount of cooling.  Despite overall decent temperature results, the noted instability really brings the score down for the DC1206BM-H.  All in all, the DC1206BM-H would make to be good cooling choice for non-overclocked systems.  The Dynatron DC1206BM-H gets a solid 5/10 in my book.

Pros:

Cons:

 

Copyright© PCA 2001 by Dan AKA: TheManiacal1