Performance

Test system:

Note:
Idle refers to the computer sitting at desktop for 30 minutes.
Load refers to the CPU running two threads of Prime95's "In-place large FFTs" stress test for 15 minutes.
Temperatures have been taken via RealTemp. RealTemp takes the TjMax value of the CPU into account, providing very accurate results. Read all about it here.


At stock clocks, when idling, the Core Contact Freezer performs better than everything except the Gyre. Under load temperatures, the Core Contact Freezer runs cooler than most other heatsinks, only being slighly warmer than both the Gyre and G-Power at a high setting. None the less, it beats the stock cooler by 8 degrees Celsius at a low setting, and 9 degrees at high. From this test it is shown that the fan running at either high or low does not make much of a difference. This is actually suprising as the fan pushes a lot more air when at full speed, as compared to when it is at a low speed.



Once overclocked, the Core Contact Freezer again runs a lot cooler than the Intel stock cooler when idling. Under load temperatures, the Core Contact Freezer almost performs better than all other coolers, running equal to the Gyre at a high fan setting and only one degree warmer at a low setting. It still runs a whole 14°C (at high) and 13°C (at low) cooler than the stock cooler. Again though, the fan being from high to low makes no difference at idle and only performs one degree better at load.

Fan Noise

At its low setting, the Core Contact Freezer is almost totally silent. It is not audible at all over standard case fans once the case is closed, and only a whisper can be heard when the case is open. Yet, this silence only remains when the fan controller is set to low. Once the knob on the fan controller is turned all the way up, the fan can be heard clearly over all other case fans, even when the case is closed. Barring the serious overclocker, having the fan set to anything other than "low" is not needed, as tests conclude there is not much of an increase in cooling performance. That being said, the fan controller is not totally a waste, as if the user attaches a very low RPM fan to the heatsink and needs it to run faster, they will have that option.

The Intel stock cooler is marginally louder at stock, but a lot louder when under load or when overclocked. The Core Contact Freezer (when the fan is set to low) is noticeably a lot quieter than the Intel stock cooler when running at higher speeds. When the Core Contact freezer has its fans set to 100% it produces the same noise levels as the stock cooler. The fan controller does help a lot, as if the fan was running at 100% all the time it would be too noisy.