CoolIT Boreas MTEC Chassis Review

Performance Results (Default Settings)

To see how well mannered this unit can be, the first round of tests will have the Advanced features of the MTEC controller software enabled with the default range of 20 min and 40 max. With this range setting the coolant temperature will be allowed to rise to a maximum temperature of 40° Celsius before the software will take action and increase the TECs and Fan power. Conversely the software will also reduce levels (to a minimum of 40%) as needed to try and keep the coolant temperature above 20° Celsius. By doing this we will get a clear picture of what is the absolute minimum noise the BMC needs to use to give acceptable performance results. In other words, the first set of tests will show what this unit can do in low noise environments, where CPU temperatures are secondary to noise levels.

In the second set of tests we will max out the TECs and the Fans to see what this unit is really capable of (i.e. they will be running @ 100% even when idle). This will show exactly how much cooling potential this unit has; or to put it bluntly, this set of tests is all about raw performance with no worries about noise levels.


Q6600 Performance Results


Any way you slice it, these idle temperatures are down right amazing! We had a hunch the only mass produced product which would put out beloved Elite to shame was the Boreas and these temperatures certainly are proof we were right. As we have said in the past, idle temperatures are all well and fine but it’s the load temperatures which really matter and the Boreas certainly does not disappoint. Heck, the only time we have seen temps this low at stock speed on out quad was when we were talking about Idle temps. Even a full bore overclock barely raises the temperatures enough for the MTEC software to really take note!.

For those interested, at stock speed the MTEC software “blipped” to about 49% (with a blip being defined as a short few second duration of increased power) before returning to its minimum 40% level. At a moderate overclock of 3.0GHz (enough to make some air coolers throw in the towel) the software shortly increased the power levels to the low 60s, but for the most part stayed at about 52%.

When the processor was turned all the way up to 1.45 volts and our maxium overclock of 3.4GHz was reached, the MTEC would blip the power levels to the mid 70s before returning to around 60% for the majority of the time. To us this is down right impressive and we wonder what thermal loads would be required to really make this thing sweat…..I don’t know about you but I’m itching to find out, but lets first look at the Phenom 9750 results which should prove equally interesting!


AMD Phenom 9750 results

As with the Q6600 this round of tests will have the Advanced features of the MTEC controller software enabled with the default range of 20 min and 40 max. With this range setting the coolant temperature will be allowed to be rise to a maximum temperature of 40° Celsius before the software will take action and increase the TECs and Fan power. Conversely the software will also reduce levels (to a minimum of 40%) as needed to try and keep the coolant temperature above 20° Celsius.

Please note: As the CPU sensor in our 9750 is less than accurate we are foregoing the overclocking of this chip as the results seem to get worse the higher the OC.


As with the Intel Q6600, the Phenom’s test results in some very impressive results. Sub ambient temperatures at idle on one of the hottest main stream CPUs (next to the 140TDP versions that is) brings the Boreas’ performance to a whole new level. Even the load temperatures are great.