Test Configuration and Procedures
Testing Hardware |
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Current Pricing |
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Case |
Primochill Wetbench |
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Motherboard |
Asus Crosshair VIII HERO WiFi |
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CPUs |
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X |
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AMD Ryzen 5 3600X |
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AMD Ryzen 5 3400G |
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Ram |
G.Skill Trident Z Royal 3600MHz 16-16-16-36 |
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Power Supply |
Corsair AX1200w |
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Thermal Paste |
Noctua NT-H2 |
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SSD |
Corsair MP600 2TB |
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OS |
Windows 10 Pro |
Testing Procedures |
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Noise Testing |
The noise testing is done with the fan manually set to 50% and 100% fan speeds. The meter is 18 inches away from the fan when testing. This is done using a Protmex PT02 Sound Meter that is rated IEC651 type 2 and ANSI S1.4 type 2. Tests are done set weighted to A and set to a slow response using the max function. The ambient noise level in the testing area is 33.3 decibels using the test settings. The under load testing is done the same, but during thermal testing using the AIDA64 Stress Test CPU setting. |
Cooling Testing |
Most of the temperature testing is all done using the stress test in AIDA64 set to FPU only for the maximum heat then again with CPU Stress for a more real world test. Onboard temperature results are typically not the most accurate, but in this case, I am comparing results directly from the exact same CPU and motherboard for each cooler. Each cooler was tested with three different CPUs (see the hardware listing). I also did every test twice, once at stock fan settings and another with the fan at 100%. Each test requiring at least 15 minutes of full load unless it gets dangerously hot. If the results are still climbing at 15 minutes the test will be extended out until an equilibrium is reached. It is also important to know that because I will be swapping CPUs out often I can’t use the stock thermal compound that is included with the coolers. For consistency, I am using Noctua NT-H2, simply because that is what I have an ample amount on hand of. All results are from the tDie sensor |
Blender Testing |
Blender testing is done similar to all of the AIDA64 Stress Tests only using the default Blender Benchmark to put load on the CPU. This is done using the full benchmark until temperatures level off and are consistent. |