Pushing the cooler
Let the games begin...
Here, we will test the system the unit is installed in under a variety of overclocked and stock conditions. The overclocked testing will come later. For now, however, the test system will be left at default. In the testing, we will be considering the following three factors:
- System noise levels at stock and with a CPU overclock.
- Thermals with the CPU at stock settings (aka. as set to 'automatic' in the BIOS).
- Thermal performance with the CPU overclocked.
For the overclock, the test system is using AMD's Summit Ridge platform (aka. Ryzen '1'). The CPU in question is an R7 1700X octa-core processor. The motherboard is a mid-level MSI B350M Mortar 'Arctic'. The B350 chipset supports overclocking, and is the 'mainstream' choice for all those wanting to get into AM4 without shelling out the extra dollar for the more expensive X370 and X470 chipsets.
Why did we chose Ryzen to test with? Well, plenty of people adopted Ryzen CPUs, and we, therefore, reflect this in using one for our tests of this cooler. It's also appropriate given the potential strain a well overclocked 8 core/16 thread CPU will put on any cooler. This will be a big test for the Leto, as when overclocked to 3.8Ghz, I have seen total system power consumption peak at around 180W, with the CPU pulling anything between 105-115W.
The overclock in question will be with the 1700X operating at a fixed 3.8Ghz at 1.315v on the VCore, and 1.15v on the SOC voltage. The latter does actually affect CPU core temperatures, so it is worth mentioning. Whilst I could certainly blast the CPU with a full 1.425v (stated by AMD as the absolute max for safe 24/7 operation, assuming safe temperatures), this 1700X also happens to be my actual 1700X, so blowing it up isn't in my list of things to do. This motherboard also happens to be my motherboard...
The stress tester
We follow a set protocol when testing CPUs. The stress test in question is wPrime, using the 1024 data set. The wPrime benchmark is allowed to run three times in a row, in order to 'saturate' temperatures, though this is less relevant with air coolers. Ryzen CPUs will automatically trigger shutdown if they hit 95C on the package, but we do not expect the CPU to get anywhere near that level today. Another important note would be to explain our temperature readings. Not only do we report the temperatures without the 20C offset present on 'X' series Summit Ridge CPUs, but we also take our results from HWInfo's 'TDie' reading, or alternatively the 'CPU' readout on the motherboard segment. These are providing the temperature without the offset, for the record.
Given that this is a relatively new test system for Guru3D, the only results you will see are from my old NH-U12S, and those from the Fractal Design S24 review I did some weeks back (the link to which I will leave here). As I review more coolers, this will naturally fill out.
