Performance

Test System

All testing is done at a room temperature of 20°C (68°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. With the use of XMP, the Intel i7 3960X ES chip I used for testing runs at 3.6 GHz under stock load. Overclocked, the chip is set to 4.1 GHz at 1.225 volts. During all these tests, fan speeds 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.

AIDA64 and its CPU stability test represent a typical multithreaded user load. It is run for 15 minutes before the highest 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.

Prime95 is the multithreaded stress test I will use to find the cooler's temperatures at maximum load. This is done by using the "In-place large FFTs" setting to truly stress the cooler's ability at keeping temperatures in check. The test is run for 15 minutes, and the highest recorded temperature is used as the result.

Fan noise testing is done at 20%, 50%, and 100% settings, and the dBA level is recorded by a Pyle PSPL25 sound pressure level meter at a distance of 30 cm. Fan RPM results are taken at the same 20%, 50%, and 100% settings.

Idle

At idle, the GELID Solutions Black Edition cooler settles in around the middle of the pack; 2°C behind the top performing Corsair H90. Idle temps when overclocked have the Black Edition cooler sitting 4°C behind the H100 that took the top spot in this test. Both situations have the Black Edition fall into the middle of the pack most of the time.

Typical Load

Typical loads put the Black Edition at second to last; 5°C behind the Corsair H100. The cooler falls into the middle of the pack by, again, landing 5°C behind the Corsair H110 during overclock testing.

Max Load

When fully stressing the CPU with Prime95, the Black Edition cooler comes in second to last at stock settings. However, the cooler once again climbs the list, coming in 1°C behind the Corsair H90 and 2°C behind the Coolink Corator DS, once the system has been overclocked.

Fan Noise

This is where things get interesting. The GELID Solutions Black Edition cooler is the quietest cooler so far at fan speeds of 20% and 50%, falling back into second place at 100%. However, the cooling performance it offers while being this quiet is astonishing, especially because of the size difference between it and such monsters as the NH-D14 from Noctua.