some cooling tests

[spixelspixel]

I was a bit suspicious of reviews online showing 20 degrees or more difference between air coolers so I did some of my own tests on a couple ( a budget 92mm, a standard 120mm, a high end dual 140mm and watercooling with 240 60mm rad. Not in depth at all, results composted in text document over a couple of days .


I don't have ambient but it was +/- 1 or 2 degrees at the most. Thermal paste used was mx-2.

Core voltage taken from cpu-z during load. Drops a small bit lower sometimes during the tests. Temps are the highest core reading with coretemp.






Stock(1.17v)/4.6ghz(1.33v)/4.6ghz(1.4v) - my 2500k doesn't need this kind of voltage for this overclock but for the sake of science.


2500k prime 95 blend (approx 20 min).
---------------------------------
cost
(200ish)watercooling - 40/51/57 (1.17v/1.33v/1.4v)
(14.99)tx3 - 50/65/74
(34.99)xigmatech dark knight - 49/64/72
(72.99)noctua ndh14 - 47/61/68







Intelburntest ( 1 standard run )
----------------------------------
watercooling - 44/57/65
tx3 - 55/73/84
xigmatech dark knight - 54/72/80
noctua ndh14 - 52/68/76








Gaming for 30min @ stock - counter strike source
----------------------------------
watercooling - 36
tx3 - 40
dark knight - 40
ndh14 - 39




Idle temps 28-30, hardly any difference between them.


Conclusion - difference between air coolers not as massive as I thought. Difference between highest end air cooler and watercooling is much more prominent.
Want the best? Watercooling is for you.
Best air cooler? The bigger the better
On a budget but still want to overclock? Something like the tx-3 will be perfect.
Not on a budget but don't like wasting money/don't plan super high overclocks? Any midrange air cooler around 30-40 is perfect.

 

[shadowscotland]

Good work - spixelspixed.
Really like the temp data for the different overclocks/volts.
(as mount/ambient temp can be ignored)

And how little differance a cpu cooler makes when gaming is really telling.

Watercooling just a cpu nowdays is sooooo pointless (unless you fold or render 24/7)
cpu/gpu or gpu only loops still have practical applications, but we all know it's a bling market now

 

[andybird123]

cooler (and/or paste) tests without ambient reference make the baby jesus cry

 

[spixelspixel]

coming soon... power consumption differences between 80 plus bronze and 80 plus gold psu

 

[Uncle Petey]

Nice, apart from ambients (as mentioned), knowing the fan speeds on each cooler would be interesting.

I totally agree with shadowscotland. Almost any half decent cooler will take care of gaming temps.
It's too easy to get caught up in review bar charts running prime or ibt.
It's good to know how a cooler performs at maximum cpu stress, but it usually doesn't reflect real world usage.

With the higher end models, you can usually get away with lower fan speeds and thus lower noise however.