Temperatures

We use a Noctua NH-U14S and measured the CPU temperature while running Blender. We specifically picked an actual application as that better reflects real-life usage than a synthetic stress-testing application like Prime95.

Before you wonder how some Intel temperatures are so low, note that unless indicated otherwise, all processors are tested at stock conditions with their power limit active. As designed by Intel, the CPU can exceed its TDP for a few seconds, but in the long-term, the power limit is respected, which brings down temperatures considerably. We report the steady-state temperature after an extended runtime.



I also tested the stock cooler included in the box. At the default power limit, it is a decent option, but once you raise the power limit to the maximum, it's too weak and causes the CPU to thermally throttle, at which point it still dissipates 100 W at 100°C. The beauty of power limit adjustments is that you can freely choose any power limit, so just pick a value like 95 W, which is still a huge improvement over the 65 W default.