Specification and Test Methodology
To put CPU cooler performance into perspective we're testing using a high-end Intel Ivy Bridge system. A detailed description of our test bench and all comparison coolers can be found in the tables below.
Enermax ETS-T40-W Specification |
|
|---|---|
| Heat Sink | |
| Intel LGA Socket Support | 775/1150/1155/1156/1366/2011 |
| AMD Socket Support | AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1/FM2 |
| Overall Dimensions | L 139mm x W 93mm x H 160mm |
| Heat Sink Dimensions | L 139mm x W 70mm x H 160mm |
| Number / Thickness of Heat Pipes | 4 x Ø 6mm |
| Thermal Resistance (°C/W) | 0.085 |
| Weight (without fan) | 610g |
| Material | Copper Heat Pipes / Aluminium Fins |
| Thermal Grease | Dow Corning TC-5121 |
| Fan | |
| Fan Model | Cluster Advance |
| Fan Dimensions | 120mm x 120mm x 25mm |
| Bearing Type | Twister Bearing Technology (patented) |
| Fan Speed (RPM) | 800 – 1,200/1,500/1,800 |
| Air Flow (m3/h) | 63.9 – 121.1/147.30/180.0 |
| Air Flow (CFM) | 37.57 – 71.3/86.70/105.9 |
| Static Pressure (mm-H2O) | 0.7 – 1.7/2.4/3.6 |
| Noise Level (dB(A)) | 17 - 24/28/31 |
| Rated Voltage (V) | 12 |
| MTBF | 100,000 hours |
| LED | 4x white LED |
| Fan connector | 4-pin PWM |
| Fan Mounting | Metal brackets |
Test Bench |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3770K (3.5GHz, 8MB cache, quad-core) | |||||
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H | |||||
| Memory | G.Skill TridentX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 @ 2,400MHz | |||||
| Graphics | Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 OC 2GB | |||||
| Disk drive | Samsung SSD | |||||
| Optical drive | Generic 24x DVD-RW | |||||
| Chassis | Corsair Graphite Series 600T | |||||
| Power supply | Corsair AX750 | |||||
| Operating system | Windows 7 Home Premium (SP1, 64-bit) | |||||
Comparison Coolers |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fan(s) | Fan speed | Radiator dimensions | Heatsink dimensions (inc. fans) | Warranty | |
| Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 | Arctic Cooling PWM 92mm | 600 RPM - 2,000 RPM | - | Height: 130mm Width: 96mm Depth: 123mm |
6 Years |
| be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 2 | 1 x SilentWings PWM 120mm 1 x SilentWings PWM 135mm |
1,500 RPM |
- | Height: 166mm Width: 138mm Depth: 147mm |
3 Years |
| Corsair Hydro Series H60 | Corsair 120mm | 1,700 RPM | Width: 120mm Height: 152mm Depth: 27mm |
- | 5 Years |
| Corsair Hydro Series H100 | 2 x Corsair 120mm | 2,600 RPM | Width: 275mm Height: 122mm Depth: 27mm |
- | 5 Years |
| Corsair Hydro Series H100i | 2 x Corsair 120mm | 2,700 RPM | Width: 275mm Height: 122mm Depth: 27mm |
- | 5 Years |
| Enermax ELC240 | 2 x Enermax T.B.Silence 120mm | 800 RPM - 2,200 RPM | Width: 270mm Height: 120mm Depth: 32mm |
- | 5 Years |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Cluster | Enermax Cluster Advance 120mm | 800 RPM - 1,500/1,800/2,200 RPM | - | Height: 160mm Width: 93mm Depth: 139mm |
2 Years |
| Intel Reference E97378-001 | Intel PWM 92mm | 1,200 RPM - 2,800 RPM | - | Height: 50mm Width: 92mm Depth: 92mm |
1 Year |
| Noctua NH-U9B SE2 | 2 x Noctua NF-B9 92mm | Standard: 1,600 RPM Low Noise Adapter: 1,300 RPM Ultra Low Noise Adapter: 1,000 RPM |
- | Height: 125mm Width: 95mm Depth: 120mm |
6 Years |
| NZXT Havik 120 | 2 x NZXT FZ 120mm | Standard: 1,500 RPM Low Noise Adapter: 1,200 RPM |
- | Height: 160mm Width: 125mm Depth: 112mm |
2 Years |
| Phanteks PH-TC14PE | 2 x Phanteks PH-F140 140mm | 700 RPM - 1,200 RPM | - | Height: 171mm Width: 140mm Depth: 159mm |
5 Years |
| Sapphire Vapor-X | 2 x Sapphire Dual-X 120mm | 495 RPM - 2,200 RPM | - | Height: 164mm Width: 135mm Depth: 111mm |
2 Years |
| SilverStone Heligon HE01 | SilverStone 140mm | Low Setting: 500 RPM - 1,200 RPM High Setting: 500 RPM - 2,000 RPM |
- | Height: 165mm Width: 150mm Depth: 119mm |
2 Years |
| Thermaltake Contac 39 | 2 x Thermaltake 120mm | 800 RPM - 2,000 RPM | - | Height: 160mm Width: 104mm Depth: 120mm |
2 Years |
Benchmark Process
To get a feel for how well all of the above coolers compare, we start by running our Core i7-3770K at its default frequency and run Prime95's small-FFT test to apply maximum load to all four cores/eight threads. This test is run for 15 minutes while temperature is logged, and in order to provide a stabilised reading we then calculate an average temperature across all cores from the last five minutes of testing.
We then repeat the same test, only this time with the Core i7-3770K processor overclocked to a modest 4.4GHz, with voltage increased from 1.17V to 1.22V.
Actual CPU temperature is recorded, but to take into account any temperature fluctuations in our lab, we also graph the delta temperature - that's CPU temperature minus ambient temperature. And, last but not least, to give you an idea of cooler acoustics, we use a PCE-318 noise meter to measure overall system noise in both idle and load states.
Notes
To put the onus on the CPU coolers, our Corsair Graphite Series 600T chassis is set to run with two fans; a 200mm front intake and a 120mm rear exhaust. The top 200mm exhaust is disabled. Both chassis fans are set to run as 'silent' from within the Gigabyte BIOS, while each CPU cooler is set to a 'normal' profile.
Each cooler is configured for optimum performance per the manufacturer's recommendations, and any fans connected to a radiator are configured to draw air in from outside the chassis (thereby ensuring that the delta between the air temperature and the temperature of the radiator is maximised).
Eagle-eyed readers will note that the pictures from the previous page depict the cooler installed in an Intel Haswell platform. Regrettably, we're experiencing wildly inconsistent temperatures with our Core i7-4770K chip and our transition to the new test bed has been put on hold pending further investigation.