Room temperature was at 79° and both heatsinks were installed with an application of Arctic Alumina®. The system was run at idle and Prime95 for thirty minutes.
On an added note the temp readings for this board have been always been about three to four degrees higher than any of my other setups. Take that into account when reading the comparisions
Comparisions were made with each cooler running the system at idle, Prime95® and 3DMark2001SE.
While the Vantec was comparable while the processor was at an idle, it seemed to have difficulty in keeping up with the demands of the heat produced during heavy CPU loads as well as the Dr. Thermal.
While the Vantec didn't perform for me quite as well as the Doctor, this doesn't mean that the Vantec isn't a good cooler. In most stock applications it should do an adequate job of cooling, but if you plan on running heavy loads or any overclocking, you may want to consider other options.
Pros:
Easy installation, and secure retention to the socket. Even with the plus 46dB noise level, the sound from the fan wasn't the high pitched scream that's heard from some other high speed fans.
It's smaller size allows it to be used in smaller systems where space is at a premium.
Cons:
While the cooler was able to handle the cooling at idle settings or with a few applications running, it seemed to fall behind the Dr. Thermal under the heavier loads. But then the Doctor can't go everywhere this cooler can.
