Page 3 - Test Results
CPU: AMD FX-8320 @ 3.5GHz (Stock Settings)
Motherboard: MSI 970
RAM: G.Skill RipjawsX F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 2x4GB
Graphics: ASUS Radeon R9 270
Chassis: Phanteks Eclipse P400
Power: Corsair CX430 430W
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB; Seagate Desktop HDD ST1000DM003 1TB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home x64
Compared hardware:
- Cooler Master GeminII S524 Ver.2
- Scythe Ninja 4
- SilverStone Tundra TD02-LITE
- SilverStone Tundra TD02-SLIM
- SilverStone Tundra TD03-LITE
- SilverStone Tundra TD03-SLIM
All tests were run in our custom built computer to best reflect real life performance. The computer remained in the same place and room throughout all tests. The ambient room temperature in the room was around 22c. The thermal paste applied to each cooler was stock respective to their manufacturers to rate its performance; all pastes had sufficient time for them to fully settle. The fans on all heatsinks were connected to the same motherboard 4-pin connector. The test computer was turned on and idling for at least one hour for the idling tests. High CPU load results were obtained using Prime95 in-place large FFTs test with eight worker threads for a minimum of ten minutes, and recorded when the temperature is deemed stable. As you can see, there were quite a few other CPU coolers we compared the Cooler Master GeminII S524 Ver.2 to. Temperature results were measured with AIDA64, which reports the CPU's integrated digital thermal sensor for maximum accuracy. Each temperature result was calculated by taking the maximum value of the cores inside the CPU.
After idling the computer for the required time, the Cooler Master GeminII S524 Ver.2 reached a stable temperature of 35 degrees Celsius. Comparing this to some of the other tests, you can see the Cooler Master GeminII S524 Ver.2 was much higher than some of the other coolers on the list. That said, the GeminII S524 Ver.2 is much smaller than the Scythe, and the SilverStone units are closed loop water coolers, so keep this in mind. Most of the time, when I was just using my computer for everyday work, and browsing the internet without gaming, the temperature did go up, and hovered around 40 to 43 degrees Celsius. However, what we really want to see is how it did under load.
After using Prime95 to put a lot of stress on the CPU, the Cooler Master GeminII S524 Ver.2 stabilized at a respectable 58 degrees Celsius. All of the other coolers on the graph provided a good perspective on whether the Cooler Master GeminII S524 Ver.2 performed well or not, especially considering the GeminII is a smaller air cooler. As you can see, it scored the same as the SilverStone Tundra TD03-SLIM, and from there quite a bit higher than the other coolers on the list. This is pretty good. It did not quite reach the same performance as the Scythe Ninja 4 or SilverStone Tundra TD02-LITE, but they are bigger and more expensive than the Cooler Master GeminII S524 Ver.2.
For anyone who do not use headphones, the noise level of a PC is very important. I do not think anyone would like the sound of a jet taking off next to them while they are watching a movie, gaming, or working -- even if they were playing a flight simulator game. The subjective APH Networks scale we use to rate noise emissions is between 0 and 10; where 0 is complete silence, and 10 is a jet taking off. While idling, I would rate the Cooler Master GeminII S524 Ver.2 at 1.0. While under load, I would rate it at 2.5. I am very impressed with the fan's performance. There was barely any difference in sound between idle and load. The Cooler Master Silencio FP 120mm fan really lives up to its name.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
