Noise Levels & Fan Speeds

Testing Procedure

Fan noise testing is done at 25%, 50%, and 100% fan speed, with the dBA level being recorded by a Pyle PSPL25 sound pressure level meter at a distance of 30 cm. The fan(s) RPM results are taken at the same 25%, 50%, and 100% settings. The selected speeds are handled by MSI's Command Center software, and a Lamptron FC6 fan controller is also used as a secondary method of confirming RPM and dBA readings in case MSI's Command Center cannot control the fan(s), which ensures that proper results can still be obtained if the software fails. To give users the noise profile of the tested CPU cooler, testing is done using fan speed percentages instead of various load levels.

Noise Levels

Overall, Deepcool's Gamer Storm Assassin proves to be a very quiet high-end air cooler. Taking the top spot at 25% and 50% fan speed, it falls back a few spots at 100%, but still manages to be extremely quiet, only falling behind be quiet!'s Dark Rock Pro 2 by 3 dBA. Deepcool can improve here by replacing the standard 120 mm fan with a PWM model instead. To control fan speed on the current 120 mm model requires a fan controller. Considering the fact the UF140 is already PWM, the included UF120 not having PWM is a bit of a mystery.

Fan Speeds

RPM readings show that the Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin's fan speeds, be it via fan controller or PWW, are rather close given the difference in size, yet the hydro bearings these use still make for seriously quiet fans.

Overall, the RPM and dBA readings show the Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin to be fairly well balanced in terms of airflow and noise output. However, more work can be done to improve both by using dual 140 mm UF series fans with PWM support to improve airflow with no noticeable change in noise. The big, necessary change is PWM support. Using a motherboard fan header on our test system allowed for fan speed control between 50%-100%, and recording 25% fan speed results on the 120 mm fan required a fan controller as using a CPU fan header resulted in 100% fan speeds at all times. As you can guess, this is something that can easily be improved upon.