Thermal Performance

For thermal performance testing, I used the Core i7-5960X on the Asus Rampage V Extreme motherboard with the CPU overclocked to 4.4 GHz at 1.3 Vcore and paired with the Patriot dual memory kit (2 x 8 GB, 3400 MHz at 16-18-18-36 and 1.35 V) with the XSPC memory block and side plates installed. The system is thus a dual-channel memory configuration, but that is a non-factor for this review. A Swiftech MCP35x2 pump, an Aquaero 6 XT controller, and a Black Ice Nemesis GTX 480 radiator with Noiseblocker NB-eLoop B12-3 fans complete the loop. Given there are no other memory blocks to be tested, I also compared it directly to the stock memory heatsink and a few other alternatives. Secondly, a realistic use of memory water blocks is when you have a CPU and GPU water cooled as well. So I had the CPU and a GTX 1080 GPU added to the same loop, and the average flow rate with distilled water as the coolant was set to 1 GPM.

Everything required was placed inside a hotbox, and the ambient temperature was set to 25 °C. A combination of SuperPI 32M and Fire Strike Extreme was used to stress the memory and other components alike, and two separate Omega NTC thermistors were placed in-between the memory modules to chart the RAM temperature with an average taken and recorded. A delta T of this average readout and the ambient temperature was thus calculated for each run, with an average delta T that is then obtained across the two runs per test to account for any statistical anomaly.


First off, that middle entry of the bare PCB outperforming every other air-cooled solution here makes me sad, but I can't say I am surprised. Note that this is in a low-restriction hotbox with constant airflow to keep the ambient temperature consistent, and a typical case may not have airflow that is as good right where the memory sticks are located. Secondly, the XSPC Neo memory block actually does what it claims and cools the system RAM very well despite there being added heat sources from a CPU and GPU in the loop, which was not the case for the air-cooled situations. Of course, this is also where the heat dissipation from the 480 mm radiator and fans comes into play, and there is no way to account for every configuration available, so the results above hopefully help provide more context than originally expected.