Thermal Performance

Test System

Test Methodology

A Swiftech MCP35x2 pump, an Aquaero 6 XT controller, and a Black Ice Nemesis GTX 480 radiator with Noiseblocker NB-eLoop B12-3 fans complete the loop. The GPU is not placed in the loop to make the only source of heat the CPU and, thus, the CPU block itself. Average flow rate is set to 1 GPM and calibrated in-line temperature sensors are used to measure the coolant's temperature.

Everything required is placed inside a hotbox, and the ambient temperature is set to 25 °C. Thermal paste cure time is taken into account and three separate mounts/runs are done for statistical accuracy and to remove chances of any mounting-related anomalies. For each run, a 30 min AIDA64 load test is used, and CPU core temperatures are measured using the same, with the average core temperature recorded at the end of each run. A delta T of CPU core and loop temperature is thus calculated for each run, with an average delta T that is then obtained across all three runs. This way, the cooling solution is taken out of the picture.

Test Results

Note also that metal top blocks have generally performed slightly better than the non-metal top blocks in my hotbox with active ventilation, and this trend was seen with the previously reviewed Bitspower Premium Summit M, which helps explain why the Summit M w/OLED performed slightly worse despite having a similar cooling engine underneath. Overall, there is very little to differentiate these blocks, and it is only when you go with much older/poorly designed blocks or something like the cuplex kyos NEXT VARIO with the custom-fit tuning (tested on another platform before) that things get tangibly different.