ZEROtherm BTF90: Sting like a Butterfly?
by Wesley Fink on August 13, 2007 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Conclusion
The ZEROtherm BTF90 is an interesting cooler that does well in our grueling cooler test bed despite the fact that it doesn't top our test charts. It overclocks to 3.83GHz, which places it solidly in the middle of the test results from top air coolers. However, it does this with a smaller 92mm fan that only moves 42.8 CFM, which means the base heatsink is remarkably efficient.
If you look carefully at the cooling scaling charts on page six you will see that the cooling performance of the BTF90 borders on the area of the most efficient Thermalrights and the Tuniq 120. It doesn't beat these superb coolers, but with a smaller, low output fan it does compete well in performance to 3.83GHz. When we also consider the cost is $35 to $45 - much lower than most of the other top coolers - we are forced to conclude that the ZEROtherm is a pretty good cooler for the money.
The lower weight and smaller size will make the BTF90 an easy fit on many boards. The BTF90 mounts securely to socket 775 motherboards with no twisting or tendency to torque when moved. That combined with the lower weight of 678g will be welcomed by those who are fearful of the hanging weight of the bigger coolers in a tower case. The magnetic levitation fan works as promised on the motherboard controlled 4-pin fan connection and it is relatively silent. This makes it a great choice for a quiet PC. The light weight and easy mounting also fit the butterfly image.
When we began this review, we thought the performance of the BTF90 would probably be laughable, but that was certainly not the case. While we are not fans of the cutesy butterfly design, we are left to conclude that the design does work despite being too cute for words. We might even get to like a butterfly in our case.
We would not suggest that the ZEROtherm is the best air cooler we have tested, because it isn't. The Thermalright and Tuniq 120, as well as some push-pull designs, cool better in extreme overclocking than the BTF90. However, the BTF90 does very well to just below the top, with a small, quiet, low-output fan. This fan yields very low noise levels, and the ZEROtherm would be a great choice for a low-noise PC that can still overclock well. However, the BTF90 will not fit slim cases, rack-mount system designs, or under a power supply that mounts above the motherboard. Please check the dimensions carefully if you are planning to use the ZEROtherm in a small HTPC case.
We asked in the title if the BTF90 could "Sting like a Butterfly?" Of course that is a reference to Muhammad Ali's famous "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" quote describing how he boxed. We have to conclude that this butterfly carries a pretty good punch, yet the sting is nearly silent - just the way we like it.
The ZEROtherm BTF90 is an interesting cooler that does well in our grueling cooler test bed despite the fact that it doesn't top our test charts. It overclocks to 3.83GHz, which places it solidly in the middle of the test results from top air coolers. However, it does this with a smaller 92mm fan that only moves 42.8 CFM, which means the base heatsink is remarkably efficient.
If you look carefully at the cooling scaling charts on page six you will see that the cooling performance of the BTF90 borders on the area of the most efficient Thermalrights and the Tuniq 120. It doesn't beat these superb coolers, but with a smaller, low output fan it does compete well in performance to 3.83GHz. When we also consider the cost is $35 to $45 - much lower than most of the other top coolers - we are forced to conclude that the ZEROtherm is a pretty good cooler for the money.
The lower weight and smaller size will make the BTF90 an easy fit on many boards. The BTF90 mounts securely to socket 775 motherboards with no twisting or tendency to torque when moved. That combined with the lower weight of 678g will be welcomed by those who are fearful of the hanging weight of the bigger coolers in a tower case. The magnetic levitation fan works as promised on the motherboard controlled 4-pin fan connection and it is relatively silent. This makes it a great choice for a quiet PC. The light weight and easy mounting also fit the butterfly image.
When we began this review, we thought the performance of the BTF90 would probably be laughable, but that was certainly not the case. While we are not fans of the cutesy butterfly design, we are left to conclude that the design does work despite being too cute for words. We might even get to like a butterfly in our case.
We would not suggest that the ZEROtherm is the best air cooler we have tested, because it isn't. The Thermalright and Tuniq 120, as well as some push-pull designs, cool better in extreme overclocking than the BTF90. However, the BTF90 does very well to just below the top, with a small, quiet, low-output fan. This fan yields very low noise levels, and the ZEROtherm would be a great choice for a low-noise PC that can still overclock well. However, the BTF90 will not fit slim cases, rack-mount system designs, or under a power supply that mounts above the motherboard. Please check the dimensions carefully if you are planning to use the ZEROtherm in a small HTPC case.
We asked in the title if the BTF90 could "Sting like a Butterfly?" Of course that is a reference to Muhammad Ali's famous "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" quote describing how he boxed. We have to conclude that this butterfly carries a pretty good punch, yet the sting is nearly silent - just the way we like it.
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RamarC - Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - link
you spelled ali's name wrong. it's "muhammad" not "mohammed" (the prophet).mostlyprudent - Monday, August 13, 2007 - link
Nice article. As has been mentioned, I really like the low noise/high performance combo, but could live without the butterfly (although my daughter would love a pink PC w/ a window and this cooler!).Sometime ago, you mentioned the possibility of a round-up type article of all the coolers tested. I would love to see some fan testing along with that. For example, I would love to see how some of the other coolers (like the Tuniq) perform with quieter/lower output fans). I am always looking for the best combination of low noise & high performance in my builds.
Deusfaux - Monday, August 13, 2007 - link
thanx for the review, I know I had been buggin yeah about doing one on it for sometime.Looks like a pretty decent fit for the girl's rig!
n7 - Monday, August 13, 2007 - link
How's the Coolit Freezone review coming along?Wesley Fink - Monday, August 13, 2007 - link
It is coming after a couple of reviews of some new and unique water cooling products.neogodless - Monday, August 13, 2007 - link
Wow... if I could peel my girlfriend away from her MAC, I'd be asking to build her a computer right now with this heatsink!Also, I think the work you put into your articles is great, and the writing is very good, too. However, I think this particular conclusion dragged on and felt repetitive, like you felt like it had to be long for the sake of longness. Otherwise, good article and interesting product. Sometimes you don't have to be the best... to be the best choice.
Wesley Fink - Monday, August 13, 2007 - link
I reread the conclusion after your comment and basically agree. I cut some of the repeat info paragraphs and condensed the rest. All the conclusion info is still there.neogodless - Monday, August 20, 2007 - link
Ok great - I never want to be unnecessarily critical, but glad to be constructively so. (Posting this now as the new cooler article reminded me to check back.)asliarun - Monday, August 13, 2007 - link
I agree. Nice article!One (free-fart) suggestion: Please try to cater to a wider audience in your conclusions.. as it is the most important part of the article. I get the sense that you try to target the "extreme hardware-hacker/overclocker" crowd while neglecting the "value-for-money" crowd who want to extract good stable performance at reasonable prices. My inference from this article is that this cooler is a very good buy! Cheap, lightweight, silent, middle of the pack performance.. a reasonably rare combination for someone who doesn't spend more on his cooler than his CPU!
For example, I've read most of your cooler articles but still don't know which CPU+Cooler combination would give me the best performance at a given price point.