Test methodology
We have another flagship among all-in-one liquid coolers, this time from Fractal Design. We will focus in detail on the cooler Celsius+ S36 Prisma, which offers a pleasantly minimalist design with a pinch of ARGB lighting. And due to the size of the cooler, high cooling performance can be expected. The question remains, above all, whether it is not at the cost of too much noise, and also whether the cooler can defend its high price.
Test methodology
The Intel Core i7-5820K in the ASRock X99 Taichi motherboard serves as a heat generator. The whole rig is placed on a Streacom BC1 benchtable without fans that would provide airflow. Stress tests are performed using the Aida64 Extreme application with a duration of 45–60 minutes. The coolers are tested at three speed levels (800, 1,200 and maximum) at a processor clock speed of 4,200 MHz with a voltage of 1.150 V. This is followed by another series of tests at 4,500 MHz with a voltage of 1.350 V. The processor power draw at these clock speeds is approx. 150 W and 200 W, respectively. The second set of tests therefore represents a really high load and it cannot be expected that the tested coolers will be able to cool the processor at all speed levels.
At the end of the test, the highest temperature reached is always recorded. All data regarding temperatures and power draw of the processor are obtained from the HWiNFO64 application. The results are then corrected for ambient temperature as the final Delta T value. The test success limit is set at 80 °C. Any higher value means the processor temperature above 100 °C and a risk of thermal throttling. Therefore, if the cooler does not pass the stress test with a Delta T value below 80 °C, such test is marked as failed. Noise is measured using a calibrated sound level meter Voltcraft SL-100 at a distance of 50 cm from the cooler.
- Contents
- Key features
- Test methodology
- Results – maximum rpm
- Results – medium rpm
- Results – low rpm
- Results – correlation of the temperature and noise level
- Conclusion and summary
