Performance
Test System Configuration |
||
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | ASUS Sabertooth Z77 | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-3570K @ 4.4GHz | |
| CPU Cooler | Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 | |
| Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws-X 8GB (F3-12800CL7D-8GBXH) | |
| Memory Speed and Timings | 1,600MHz, 7-8-7-24-2N | |
| Graphics Cards | 2x Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 OC in CrossFireX | |
| Storage | 120GB SanDisk Extreme SSD | |
| Optical Drive | Pioneer DVR-S19LBK DVD Writer | |
| Power Supply | Corsair HX1050W | |
Our Z77 test platform consists of an ASUS Sabertooth motherboard, an Intel Core i5-3570K processor overclocked to a modest 4.4GHz, an Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 cooler, 8GB of high-performance G.Skill Ripjaws-X memory and two factory-overclocked Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 OC graphics cards in a CrossFireX configuration.
To find out how well the chassis can cool this particular setup, we record the CPU temperature after a 15-minute stint of the intensive Prime95 stress test is applied to all cores. To get an idea of GPU cooling performance, we record GPU temperature after 15 minutes of running Aliens vs. Predator. Last but not least, we also record chassis noise by using a PCE-318 noise meter to take readings when idle and while running Aliens vs. Predator.
All chassis are tested only with the standard manufacturer-supplied fans (any/all of which are set to 'silent' in the ASUS BIOS or low-speed using a fan controller if present), and to take into account the fluctuating ambient temperature, our graphs depict both actual and delta temperature - the latter is the actual CPU/GPU temperature minus the ambient. For the record, room temperature while testing the In Win GRone was recorded as a cool 19.7ºC.
In Win is using a lot of fans in its default configuration, but they appear to be doing the trick as the GRone is able to keep our overclocked Core i5 chip running at a cool 67ºC under extreme load.
Having a fan mounted on the side of the hard-disk column clearly has its benefits, as our dual graphics cards are also running nice and cool.
Cooling performance is very good on both the CPU and GPU fronts, but In Win's integrated fan controller leaves plenty to be desired. It supports only two modes - Silence or Turbo - and there's nothing in between. We configured our chassis in Turbo mode to obtain optimum cooling performance, but in doing so the GRone becomes noisy at all times.
The good news, however, is that fan noise drops to a far-more-comfortable 34.1dB when using the Silence mode at the expense of performance. We appreciate the two options, but we'd have preferred more linear control. As it stands, it's either quiet or loud, and we suspect most users will revert to their motherboard headers for finer fan-speed control.