Testing Time

We followed our standard case testing methodology, as detailed in our previous heatsink and case testing article, and fitted the usual set of hardware into the Cooler Master ACTS 840, doing our best to hide and tidy cables to ensure as few airflow restrictions as possible. Here's a reminder of the hardware we use.

CPU: Lapped Intel Pentium XE 955 (dual-core, 3.46GHz)
Graphics Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 3850 Ultimate passive cooled
Motherboard: MSI P6N SLI Platinum
RAM: 2x 512MB Corsair XMS2-667
Hard Drive: 1x 250GB Western Digital WD2500 7,200RPM
Heatsink: Asus Silent Square Pro
Power Supply: Xilence XP700 700W PSU

While this isn't representative of current ultra high end hardware, the equipment we use is specifically selected to kick out the maximum amount of heat inside the case, with a passively cooled graphics card and 130W TDP processor at its core to really heat things up and push the case's ability to cope with toasty components to the limit.

With a cooling setup similar to the Cooler Master HAF 932's, we were expecting some impressive performance results, although were a little concerned that the move of the second 230mm exhaust from the side panel to the roof of the case could compromise cooling.