Let's move on to the actual tests with the Tuniq Propeller 120. It's unique design heatsink with top fan placement makes it more interesting and we are eager to see how efficient this design is.

We start with our Intel Core i7-920 processor running at stock voltage and speed. The Tuniq Propeller 120 did it well here and kept the CPU's temperature at 46 degrees Celsius. That's a good score that matches the performance of some other heatsinks, such as the Prolimatech Megahalems (2-fan) and the Titan Fenrin. It seems that the small size and the aircraft carrier design of the heatsink is an efficient combination, at least with the CPU running at stock speed:

Let's make things a little bit harder for the heatsink. We overclocked the Intel Core-i7 920 to 3.60GHz. The Tuniq Propeller 120 kept the temperature of the CPU down to 66 degrees Celsius. We expected more from this heatsink but it seems that using a single fan on the top side of the heatsink offers a more compact footprint but makes things more difficult for the heatsink to handle excessive temperatures. Also have in mind that we use an open box test bed for testing the heatsinks. These temperatures would be even higher inside a closed PC box:

Spinning at full speed, the fan of the Tuniq Propeller 120 heatsink makes a lot of noise. We measured about 52dB of noise coming out from the Tuniq Propeller 120, which is really annoying. Tuniq is offering a PCI cpu fan controller with the heatsink to make things more quiet:

Below you can a price comparison among the heatsinks we have tested so far. The Tuniq Propeller 120 costs around $50. The price would be easily acceptable if we had seen a better performance from the specific cooler. However, there are many other solutions out there that would cost you less and offer probably the same or even more, at least in terms of cooling efficiency: