Test System and Temperature Results

Test System

Testing Procedure

All testing is done at a room temperature of 23°C (73°F), with a 1°C margin of error. The coolers are tested with Turbo, EIST, and C1E enabled, which will allow the CPU to clock down to a low 1.6 GHz while idle, or clock up to proper speeds under stock and overclocked conditions. The retail Intel Core i7-4770K I use for testing at stock is set to load-optimized defaults with the CPU's voltage at a static 1.15 V. Overclocked, the processor is running at 4.2 GHz on the CPU and 3.9 GHz on cache, with respective voltages set to 1.20 V and 1.15 V. During all these tests, fans are set to run at 100% in the BIOS, with temperatures being recorded by AIDA64.

The idle test will consist of the CPU sitting idle at the desktop for 15 minutes. This will allow for a stable temperature reading that will be recorded at the end of those 15 minutes.

Wprime's and AIDA64's CPU test represent typical multi-threaded loads. Both offer consistent results, with one being a benchmarking application and the other a stability test. Both are run for 15 minutes before the peak reading during the test is recorded and taken as the result. This test lets enthusiasts know what temperatures they can expect to see with games and applications. Wprime is set to eight threads while AIDA64 is configured to stress the CPU, FPU, cache, and system memory.

AIDA64 offers maximum heat generation when set to stress just the FPU in the stability test, which will really push the CPU. This test represents extreme loads much like LinX, Prime95, and other extreme stress tests many users are familiar with.

Idle Temperatures

The Enermax Liqtech 240 looks good while the system is overclocked at idle, but its performance is just average at stock. Granted, I don't put much emphasis on idle temps.

Typical Load Temperatures

Moving on to the first set of typical load temps, it is clear that the Liqtech 240 performs extremely well in Wprime, falling just 1°C behind Corsair's Hydro Series H105 with a thicker radiator.


Pushing a heavier workload with AIDA64's CPU stability test again shows the Liqtech 240 performing well, coming in just 2°C behind the top performer at both stock and overclocked settings.

Max Load Temperatures

Using AIDA64's FPU stability test to push CPU load levels to the maximum, the Enermax AIO liquid cooler again claims the second spot in both tests, coming in just 2-3°C behind the Corsair H105. This is interesting because the Corsair unit has a thicker radiator while Enermax's unit features a unique radiator design. Still, Enermax's unti is more than capable of cooling the test system's Intel i7 4770k.