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 and VRM temperatures are measured using the same, with the average temperature recorded at the end of each run. A delta T of CPU core and loop temperature, and the same for the VRMs with ambient temperature, is thus calculated for each run, with an average delta T that is then obtained across all three runs.

Test Results

The larger cold plate and contact area of the monoblock allow for more heat dissipation in addition to the standard cooling engine relative to the EK-Supremacy Classic, and countering it is the added heat to the loop from the VRMs. The choice of VRMs matters just as much here, and MSI's onboard sensors rate efficiency at the time of testing to be around 86%. Take that with a grain of salt, but there is no denying that the relatively higher-quality MOSFETs meant that very little extra heat is added to the coolant, and the overall performance on CPU cooling is slightly better than the respective CPU blocks, though well within margins of error, as are all in the chart above.


Comparing VRM cooling meant I had to calculate the differential temperature relative to the ambient itself since the only other comparison is with MSI's own stock heatsink. The latter does well enough here, and indeed plenty good enough with the active ventilation in the hotbox, but water cooling is just so much better that we are seeing a fairly big improvement. Not really a need, it is, rather, just a nice to see, as these VRMs can get much hotter without it compromising their functionality.