We measure the CPU temperature of our test rigs when the CPU is idle (Windows desktop) and under load (by running the smallfft test in Prime95). We use the freeware application CoreTemp to measure the temperature of the Intel CPUs, which reads the data from the DTS (digital thermal sensor) embedded in the core of every modern CPU. The DTS gives a far more accurate reading than any third-party temperature sensor, because its readings are not affected by sloppy BIOS programming or a poorly calibrated external health monitoring chip on the motherboard.
Because we don't have a temperature control chamber, it's more accurate to measure and quote the delta T (difference) between the ambient and CPU temperature. This means HSFs (heatsinks and fans) that were tested on different days, when the ambient temperature may have varied, can be fairly compared to one another. You'll find the temperature results for the reference HSFs in the graphs. We normally compare the results of each cooler to the reference cooler.
However for the Socket AM3+ and LGA2011 systems, we didn't have the reference coolers for these at time of testing, so the cooling scores are compared against other coolers rather than how much better the cooler was than the reference cooler.
LGA1155 test system:
Core i7-2600K overclocked to 4.1GHz using a vcore of 1.325V
LGA2011 test system:
Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition overclocked to 4.3GHz using a vcore of 1.285V
Socket AM3 test system:
FX-8150 overclocked to 4.4GHz with a vcore of 1.325V
Each test rig is built inside a SilverStone PS03 midi-tower case and includes an Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT graphics card. The temperatures shown are the delta T between ambient and CPU temperature.
Intel LGA1155 CPU delta T
Arranged by 100 per cent CPU load delta T value
Corsair H100i Maximum Profile
Corsair H100i Balanced Profile
Corsair H80i Maximum Profile
Corsair H100i Quiet Profile
Antec Kühler H2O 920 (Extreme Profile)
Corsair H100 full speed
Thermaltake Water 2.0 Pro
Corsair H80i Balanced Profile
Corsair H80 full speed
Corsair H100 medium speed
Thermaltake Water 2.0 Performer
Corsair H80 medium speed
Arctic Freezer i30
Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 2
Phanteks PH-TC14PE full speed
Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro
Corsair H80i Quiet Profile
Corsair H100 low speed
Thermalright Macho Rev.A
Zalman CNPS14X
Enermax ETS-T40-TA
Phanteks PH-TC14PE low speed
Corsair H80 low speed
Be Quiet! Shadow Rock TopFlow SR1
Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced
Gelid GX-7
Gelid Tranquillo Rev2
Thermolab Trinity high speed
Antec Kühler H2O 920 (Silent Profile)
Thermolab Trinity low speed
Intel Reference Cooler
4
31
4
33
4
34
5
34
4
36
4
36
4
36
4
36
4
36
4
37
4
38
5
38
3
39
4
39
5
39
6
40
5
40
5
40
5
40
5
41
5
41
7
41
6
41
5
43
7
43
6
44
6
44
6
46
6
48
8
49
10
73
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Delta T (°C) (lower is better)
idle
Load
AMD Socket AM3+ CPU delta T
Arranged by 100 per cent CPU load delta T value
Corsair H80 full speed
Thermaltake Water 2.0 Pro
Corsair H100 full speed
Thermolab Trinity high speed
Antec Kühler H2O 920 (Extreme Profile)
Corsair H80 medium speed
Phanteks PH-TC14PE full speed
Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 2
Corsair H100 medium speed
Phanteks PH-TC14PE low speed
Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro
Corsair H100 low speed
Antec Kühler H2O 920 (Silent Profile)
Thermolab Trinity low speed
Be Quiet! Shadow Rock TopFlow SR1
Thermaltake Water 2.0 Performer
Gelid GX-7
Zalman CNPS14X
Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced
Corsair H80 low speed
9
42
8
43
8
46
9
46
9
47
10
48
8
48
9
48
8
49
9
50
9
50
9
52
9
53
11
55
12
55
10
56
11
56
10
56
10
57
11
60
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Delta T (°C) (lower is better)
idle
Load
Head over the page to see the performance analysis and scores
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