The system being used to test the Danger Den MC-TDX is as follows:
CPU: | Intel E6850 Core2 Duo |
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Clock speed: | 9 x 333 MHz = 3.0 GHz, Memory at DDR2-667 |
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Motherboard: | Asus P5W DH Deluxe |
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Memory: | 2 x 1GB G.Skill F2-6400PHU1-2GBHZ |
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Video Card: | Sapphire HD 2900XT PCI-e |
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Harddisk: | 4 x 250 GB Seagate 7200.10 in Matrix Raid 0/5 |
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Power Supply: | ThermalTake ToughPower 750W |
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Case: | Lian Li PC-A10B |
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Software: | Windows XP Pro SP2, Catalyst 7.12 |
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Ambient temperature was kept to 22º Celsius (+/- 1 degree) and was measured by a standard mercury thermometer. The rest of the watercooling system used is listed below:
Pump: | Danger Den D5 (variable speed: pump set to "5") |
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Radiator: | Swiftech MCR320-QP-K |
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Fans: | 3 x Yate Loon D12SM-124B |
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Tubing: | Tygon 3603 1/2" ID |
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Fittings: | 1/2" OD barbs |
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At idle stock speeds there is little difference between all the coolers, as the E6850's G0 stepping runs nice and cool. When Orthos Dual Prime is run for 30 minutes the cores start to heat up, but the MC-TDX keeps the CPU temperature 8 to 16º C cooler than the air-cooled heatsinks, and about the same as the Swiftech Storm.
When the CPU is overclocked and the voltage is increased, the temperatures naturally go up. Again, there is little difference in idle temperatures, but under load the MC-TDX still manages to beat the air coolers by 7 to 24º C. There is even a slight improvement in comparison to the original TDX, even though the MC-TDX is designed with Quad Core CPUs in mind. However, this time there was a slightly larger gap between the MC-TDX and the older and more expensive impingement-style Storm waterblock.