CPU Low Profile CPU Cooler round up

IntoxicatedPuma

Customizer of Titles
Original poster
SFFn Staff
Feb 26, 2016
992
1,272
This is still a work in progress but I wanted to share the results I have so far.

I tested at two settings (3.5ghz & 4.0ghz) on the same system, and two different fan speeds (50% & 100%). In green you will find the temps at 100% fan speed, and the red is the additional temp when running at 50%.

Here is my testing methodology:

CPU is cleaned wtih Arctic thermal paste remover and purifier each time the cooler is removed. MX-4 paste was used for all tests and applied in the same fashion (a small pea amount in a short line).

Ambient temperature monitored using a digital thermometer with an additional sensor placed above the intake fan. For ambient temperatures, I took the temperature recorded on the desk not by the test bench.

HW Monitor and Prime 95 was the software used. 15 minutes of stress testing on Prime 95 with maximum temperature taken from HW Monitor.

Test bench is an open air bench with Silverstone ST50F-P power supply, Asus B85M-Gamer board, Intel i5 4690k CPU, and 2x4g Kingston HyperX Savage DDR3 2133mhz. SSD was OCZ Trion TR150 240g. No external fans were used, and the PSU fan position was away from the motherboard.


edit 4/18: Updated the charts and condensed to one, with tabs for the different clock speeds. Some coolers with specific fan configurations were added, 4.3ghz test results were added, Noctua NH-D9L & NH-U9S were added.

A list of "coming soon" coolers:
Arctic Freezer 11LP
Arctic Alpine 11 GT
Coolermaster V200 / Vortex 211P
Gelid Slim Silence-I
ID-Cooling IS-40
ID-Cooling VC-45
ID-Cooling DK-03 Halo
InfiPlus i95
InfiPlus i135T
Jonsbo HP400
Phanteks PH-TC90LS
Scythe S950N
Scythe Kozuti
Silverstone AR05
Silverstone AR09
Silverstone AR10
Thermaltake Slim X3
 
Last edited:

VegetableStu

Shrink Ray Wielder
Aug 18, 2016
1,949
2,619
the C7cu results o_o
I remember someone mentioning the C7 had poor airflow within itself, is that the reason for this similar results on the copper edition? o_o
 

dumplinknet

Airflow Optimizer
Jan 26, 2018
364
168
That webpage doesn't pull up correctly for me. Can someone summarize it up for me? Where does the legendary LP53 sit in terms of the other coolers?
 

Chrizz

Average Stuffer
Jan 23, 2017
74
81
That webpage doesn't pull up correctly for me. Can someone summarize it up for me? Where does the legendary LP53 sit in terms of the other coolers?
 

Thehack

Spatial Philosopher
Creator
Mar 6, 2016
2,800
3,650
J-hackcompany.com
The issue is this graph doesn't control for noise. So you don't know what is comparable with each other.

Even more so it is not even overall sound dB but the sound signature. High frequency buzzy fans are perceived to be louder than low hums, yet they register lower on dB.

But this review does provide us a very coarse snapshot of how we can see the maximum stock performance to be.
 

IntoxicatedPuma

Customizer of Titles
Original poster
SFFn Staff
Feb 26, 2016
992
1,272
Noise comparisons will come later. I have documented the speed the fans were running and will be recording sample clips of the coolers at different fan speeds. I do not plan to record dB ratings for the reason you mentioned, I'll just record noise in the same settings for all and let the listener decide, as noise is highly subjective.
 

Thehack

Spatial Philosopher
Creator
Mar 6, 2016
2,800
3,650
J-hackcompany.com
Noise comparisons will come later. I have documented the speed the fans were running and will be recording sample clips of the coolers at different fan speeds. I do not plan to record dB ratings for the reason you mentioned, I'll just record noise in the same settings for all and let the listener decide, as noise is highly subjective.

If you want to above an beyond, you can attach a frequency snapshot. Bad noise signatures will show as spikes on the snapshot.

If you want to do a perceived dB level, I would take a solid recording and use a parametric equalizer that applies the perceived noise level curve then record the dB as a single value.

Just some suggestions should you want to go into more depth.
 

IntoxicatedPuma

Customizer of Titles
Original poster
SFFn Staff
Feb 26, 2016
992
1,272
Great suggestions! I'll do the frequency snapshot for sure. It should be easy to do using Audacity.

My goal eventually will be to provide as much data as possible to consumers using standardized methods. If it is possible some day to add an AMD Ryzen test bench I will try to do that as well.
 

Thehack

Spatial Philosopher
Creator
Mar 6, 2016
2,800
3,650
J-hackcompany.com
If you are already recording two sets of samples, 50% and 100%, you can easily add in the perceived loudness dB and plot it vs temperature. It would then be possible to kind of approximate performance very well.

If you want me to, I can organize the data for you if you can get me readings and recordings for 50%, 75% and 100%.

Do you have a decent quality mic? Something like a blueball or audio Technica.
 

IntoxicatedPuma

Customizer of Titles
Original poster
SFFn Staff
Feb 26, 2016
992
1,272
I have a Zoom H1 and Rode VideoMicro, would those work? I'm not very skilled with Audio, usually I just get cheaper stuff that works well enough for me. I had a Blue Yeti but sold it last month...
 

Untero

Average Stuffer
Dec 14, 2017
83
80
I also wondered this, but unfortunately you cannot buy Titan coolers in China. However, yesterday I received this from Japan:


Like Ash in Pokemon, I will not stop until I have them all.
Whoa, that layout looks exactly like titan's one! Along with 46mm height and 130W max TDP it seems to be a Titan's twin!
 

Thehack

Spatial Philosopher
Creator
Mar 6, 2016
2,800
3,650
J-hackcompany.com
Whoa, that layout looks exactly like titan's one! Along with 46mm height and 130W max TDP it seems to be a Titan's twin!

Looks like so. There are many OEM coolers that companies rebrand.

It looks better than C7 since there seems to be more contact between the heat pipes and the fins.