Temperature Testing

Before we dive into the numbers, it should be noted that the MonsterLabo The First is not your standard enclosure. With the supplied fan, MonsterLabo advertises 140 W cooling capacity for the CPU and 160–180 W for the GPU. As the heatsink connects both components, you have a bit of flexibility in terms of the maximum, so either may draw slightly more on one end if the other does not. We have reviewed the EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 Super OC in the past and know that it maxes out at just above 180 W, which means we are able to put that MonsterLabo statement to the test nicely.

Without a fan, the capacity of the cooling solution is rated for 100 W across the CPU and 120 W across the GPU. This is much lower than what is suggested, especially for the GPU, but the Intel Core i5-9600K does push its thermal envelope, so it will be interesting to see how the system as a whole functions and if fanless gaming with this configuration is possible. Lastly, as we are using a different GPU as we usually would for ITX enclosures, you will not find any comparison data. Instead, insights into the state of the installed unit during the tests are mentioned.

On the software side, with the fan installed, the test setup includes Windows 10 Pro with Furmark and Prime95 both running at the same time to put maximum load on both the processor and the graphics card.

While Real Temp offers excellent and repeatable temperature results, we employ a REED Instruments SD-947 Data Logging Thermometer with four K-Type sensors that have been placed as closely as possible to the benchmarked areas of the CPU, M.2 SSD, and motherboard chipset. A fifth sensor is used to monitor the room temperature for an accurate delta T result.

We let the chassis sit at idle until temperatures have reached equilibrium. Next, our stress-testing load is started, and it continues to run until temperatures are stable. The temperature result for each section of the case is the highest value measured during the test run. All reported temperatures are normalized to 20 °C room temperature.

Active Cooling

With active cooling, the MonsterLabo The First managed our stress test just fine. Sure, you could hear the Noctua Fan and even the Fractal Design SFX-L PSU under load, but overall, it was still the quietest enclosed ITX system we have reviewed since starting thermal and noise measurements for cases.


Playing a game like Doom Eternal with VSync on resulted in much lower temperatures and even lower noise as a result. It is actually a bit weird as your brain expects there to be system noise during scenarios like this, but there is not. Even with just one fan dedicated to keeping temperatures down, the MonsterLabo The First manages to keep temperatures quite low as well.


With VSync off, the GPU throws everything it has at the screen, so temperatures are noticeably higher, but still slightly below the stress test, which was to be expected.

Passive Cooling

Trying to push the system in the same way with nothing but passive cooling, it started acting up quickly as we were well above the maximum advertised thermal loads. To illustrate this, take a look at the graph. The GPU temperature skyrockets, and just a few minutes later, the monitor goes blank and the GPU fails, suddenly dropping into an idle state while all other components keep going.

CPU and GPU Clocks

To check CPU boost clocks, Cinebench R20 showed that the all-core boost of 4.3 GHz was easily achievable, while the single-core boost maxed out at a respectable 4.5 GHz. Similarly, running Doom Eternal with VSync on, the GPU managed to shuffle around core and boost clocks as needed reliably.


Under real-world scenarios, no matter what game we threw at it, the MonsterLabo The First ran them and did so well. Temperatures hovered around 60–70 °C, and the GPU boosted across the whole spectrum as it normally would. After an extended session of Doom Eternal with VSync on, both the chassis and the heatsink were warm to the touch, but Doom Eternal ran smoothly and without issues.



When pushing the graphics card by disabling VSync, things got pretty hairy with the game crashing to the desktop once during the test and the PSU inexplicably revving up its fan towards the fifty minute mark to varying degrees, even though the 650 W unit should easily be able to handle the hardware, which makes heat the culprit here. This setup is certainly not recommended and well beyond the scope of what MonsterLabo advertises for The First. However, it is valuable because it shows what it takes to push the chassis beyond the line.