Test System and Temperature Results

Test System

Testing Procedure

All testing is done at a room temperature of 23°C (73°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. The retail Intel Core i7-4770K I use for testing at stock is set to load-optimized defaults with the CPU's voltage at a static 1.15 V. Overclocked, the processor is running at 4.2 GHz on the CPU and 3.9 GHz on cache, with respective voltages set to 1.20 V and 1.15 V. During all these tests, fans 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.

Wprime's and AIDA64's CPU test represent typical multi-threaded loads. Both offer consistent results, with one being a benchmarking application and the other a stability test. Both are run for 15 minutes before the peak 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. Wprime is set to eight threads while AIDA64 is configured to stress the CPU, FPU, cache, and system memory.

AIDA64 offers maximum heat generation when set to stress just the FPU in the stability test, which will really push the CPU. This test represents extreme loads much like LinX, Prime95, and other extreme stress tests many users are familiar with.

Idle Temperatures

The Thermalright Silver Arrow ITX does well at idle, comparing favorably to many high-end air coolers and all-in-one liquid coolers.

Typical Load Temperatures

Using Wprime as a typical multi-core work load, the Thermalright Silver Arrow ITX performs fairly well, tying the Noctua NH-D15 at stock and only falling behind by 2°C when the CPU is overclocked.


Pushing a heavier workload with AIDA64's CPU stability test again has the Silver Arrow ITX do well by taking the top air-cooling spot with the system at stock settings. Even with the CPU overclocked, the Thermalright performs well, only falling behind the Noctua NH-D15 by 1°C.

Max Load Temperatures

Using AIDA64's FPU stability test to push CPU load levels to the maximum, the Silver Arrow ITX finally succumbs a little. At stock, it falls back a bit, but still performs admirably as it is just 3°C behind the NH-D15. With the CPU overclocked, performance drops off as it falls behind the NH-D15 by 5°C. At a maximum temperature of 88°C in the overclocked test, the Silver Arrow ITX beats out single-fan, single-tower coolers like the be quiet! Dark Rock 3 and NH-U12S, but only does so due to its size. Still, performance is more than acceptable considering its ultra-low noise levels.