Cooling performance - Core i7 at 3.2GHz/1.2625V
First off, we're looking at performance with the Core i7 965 EE chip at the default speed and voltage.[graph 2002]
The system consumes around 175W when idling in Windows Vista. The temperatures are fine on all fronts, clearly, but the Hydro H50 and Ultra 120 keep the chip 9°C cooler.
[graph 2005]
Add in what we term half-load by executing Prime95 on four threads and the Hydro H50 has the smallest lead over the Thermalright cooler. The stock heatsink is also fine, but you can see where this is going.
It's worth noting that the under-load voltage drops to 1.20V here. Power-draw rises to around 240W.
[graph 2003]
Crank it up with some eight-thread lovin' and the power-draw touches 300W, and that's without tasking the GPU with any work.
The Corsair Hydro H50 opens up a four-degree lead over the Thermalright, which is statistically significant, and the stock cooler falls 15°C behind.
[graph 2004]
This graph shows the idle-to-load delta, and, as you would expect, it's lowest on the liquid-cooled Hydro H50.