Fan Noise

To measure fan noise we used an IEC Type 2 sound level meter on the dbA setting. Measuring distance was 10 cm from the heatsink fan hub. The short distance of 10 cm is necessary to get proper readings with very silent fans. All fans were tested outside of the case at 12V supplied by a lab PSU. On fans that come with a fan controller or allow control of fan speed in any other way, "low" and "high" indicate the settings on the fan controller.


From the Sound test the fan on the Andy Samurai Master Cooler does well against the competition, measuring at only 47 dB.

Performance

The system being used to test the coolers is as follows:



The Andy Samurai beats all the other coolers here, except for the stock load temp. But it only loses by 1°C, so it's still working well.


Here the system has been overclocked to 2.8 GHz with a mild increase in voltage to 1.4V. Although the CPU is putting out quite a bit more heat, the Andy Samurai not only beats the other coolers, but it does it with a much quieter fan.