Noise Levels and 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 Captain 360 is rather loud, though the fans aren't audible until they ramp up past 50%. Most of the noise is related to the pump. I also allowed the system to run for a night and tried moving the radiator around to remove any potential air bubbles. In the end, neither measure helped as the 44 dBA reading at 25% fan speed is due to the pump. At 50% fan speed, noise levels hit 46 dBA, which made the pump less noticeable. At full speed, noise levels are similar to those of many other AIO coolers, like the Corsair H105 or Enermax LIQTECH 240.

Update: 2/20/2015:

As can be seen, the new sample's noise levels at speeds below 50% are improved and are, all things considered, acceptable. Noise levels also improved by 1-2 dBA at 50% and 100%, which is nice to see.

Fan Speeds

RPM readings reinforce the noise levels I recorded during testing. The fans' low maximum RPM translates into very little fan noise, but that matters little since the pump is pretty noisy. At 50%, the fans hit an RPM of 1281.

Update: 2/20/2015:

Fan speeds remain the same with the new fans performing within 10-15 RPM of the original sample.