Testing Methodology System Used:Processor: AMD Phenom X3 8750 @ Default Frequency of 2.4Ghz (Vcore increased to 1.4V to increase thermal output)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 2x 1GB PC2-8500 (Single sided models @ 2.0V and 5-5-5-15-2T timings)
Motherboard: ASUS M3A78-T (790GX/SB750 Chipset)
Video Cards: 2x ATI Radeon 3850s in Crossfire (Reference Design @ Default 668/828MHz)
Optical Disk Drive: Pioneer DVD Writer
Hard Drive: Seagate 80GB 7200RPM SATA
Heatsink: Noctua NH-C12P with NF-P12 1300RPM fan
Power Supply: Antec Signature Series 650W and Corsair TX750  - All testing was conducted with an ambient temperature of 21°C and not permitted to deviate beyond +/- 0.5°C.
- Full system load was achieved using a combination of Prime95 v25 and Furmark for 100% CPU and GPU load. Temperature readings were taken after about 30 minutes of full-load testing and stabilization of temperatures. Idle temperature readings were taken after about 30 minutes of inactivity at the Windows desktop.
- AMD Cool’N’Quiet technology was disabled in the BIOS.
- GPU fan speed was fixed at 75% using RivaTuner on both cards for testing to ensure that fan profiling does not throw off results. CPU fan speed was also fixed at 1300RPM.
- CPU, Motherboard and HDD temperature readings were taken from Speedfan 4.37 as it provided the most realistic values compared to what is being reported by CoreTemp, AOD and PC Probe II with this particular board/CPU combination.
- GPU Temperature readings were taken from each individual GPU core using RivaTuner.
- PSU Exhaust temperature was measured using an external probe attached to the PSU exhaust fan grille.
To provide some comparison, we conducted testing in accordance with the above methodology on the recently reviewed Thermaltake Spedo, Antec P183, Cooler Master Storm Sniper, Storm Scout as well as a case-less configuration on a “High Speed Tech Station”. The fans were left in their default configurations unless otherwise specified, but the 120mm fan was disconnected from the Tech Station to show a truly ambient environment where only the CPU fan, PSU fan and GPU fans are providing cooling to the system.
As you’ll see shortly, we conducted several tests with both an Antec Signature 650W PSU and a Corsair TX750 PSU. This was done to test the impact of using a PSU with a bottom mounted fan that intakes warm air from around the video cards as well as one that intakes cooler air from toward the front of the case.
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