Page 3 - Testing and Conclusion
Hey, you can see my computer in the background of this photo. - Editor
I put the Cooler Master Storm SF-19 V2 through a series of laptop cooling tests on my Certified Data laptop, which has the following specifications:
- Intel Core-i5-3210M @ 2.5 GHz
- Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB
- Transcend JM1333KSN 2x4GB DDR3 SDRAM @ 9-9-9-24
- 14” LCD @ 1366 x 768
- Microsoft Windows 7 Professional x64
I did not use a gaming laptop to test the cooler. Instead, a 14” normal laptop was used, since the cooling effect for a 15” gaming laptop has already been tested in the review of the original SF-19, and it would be interesting to see how the cooler can deal with a normal laptop. The test was quite simple. First, the laptop was put on a glass surface. Then, I pushed the CPU to run at full load. The CPU temperature data was logged every minute for ten minutes. The same test was also performed on a bare wood surface. Since the results were virtually identical to the glass surface, the data of the two surfaces were shown together. After the laptop cooled down to its initial temperature, I replicated the same tests on the SF-19 V2 using two extreme settings of the fan speed.
I first put the SF-19 V2 into the lowest fan speed, such that the fan only spins at 600 RPM. Thanks to the loop dynamic bearing and the low fan speed, I could hardly hear the noise of the cooler. The same test has also been done for the highest fan speed as well. Despite there was huge difference between the two fan speeds, pushing it to 1,300 RPM did not make a significant difference to the CPU compared to 600 RPM. The temperature of the CPU was kept at 64c at the 600 RPM setting, and 63c at the 1300 RPM setting. It was worth noting that the noise level was well controlled even when the motors were running at full throttle.
The testing results suggest the cooling effect of the SF-19 V2 on the CPU temperature was not significant. It only helped the tested laptop to drop 7% of its CPU temperature. I think there are a couple of reasons behind the small difference. Firstly, the tested laptop has very small amount of ventilation slots at the bottom, thus the air from the cooler cannot be blown into the laptop efficiently. Therefore, the CPU heatpipe was not able to fully utilize the cool air from the cooler fan. Secondly, the SF-19 V2's fan was capped at 1,300 RPM. The slower RPM definitely helped to keep the noise low compared to its predecessor, however, it comes at the price of cooling performance. Personally, I cannot quite understand why the Cooler Master limited the maximum to only 1,300 RPM, because the noise level can always be controlled by reducing the RPM on the user side.
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Back in 2010, Cooler Master introduced the first generation SF-19 Strike Force laptop cooler, which impressed us by its big size, cooling capability, LED shader, and the loudness. Okay, maybe not the loudness, but you get the idea. Now, more than half a decade has passed, Cooler Master has a new version of their 19” gaming laptop cooler, the SF-19 V2. Compared to its predecessor, although the basic design of the cooler remains the same, the new product has been improved in some ways. The cold-forged mesh surface has a different design that matches the rest of the cooler better, the multi-light shader has a new breathing mode to show the cooler fans are not on, and the loop dynamic bearing helps the fan motor to have a longer life expectancy and lower noise. Despite those improvements, there is one thing I could not totally understand, which is, the maximum fan RPM has been reduced to half of what the cooler used to have. Yes, the new version is very quiet even at maximum RPM, but you can always slow the fan down if you think it is too loud, right? I understand RPM is not always indicative of performance, but sometimes, there is no replacement for sheer fan speed. Other than that, the Cooler Master Storm SF-19 V2 is a laptop cooler with sturdy build quality, powered USB 3.0 ports with an external power supply, cool multi-light shader, and quiet new fans. For most people, it may not be too useful as it may have been back in 2010, but if you have already own a hot (But not deadly hot) 19” gaming laptop in 2016, then it may be worth purchasing. For $80 at press time, however, it does cost a pretty penny.
Cooler Master provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Review Focus Summary:
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
6/10 means A product with its advantages, but drawbacks should not be ignored before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 6.3/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
The Cooler Master Storm SF-19 V2 is an updated version of the original SF-19 with quieter, higher quality fans.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look, Usage
3. Testing and Conclusion
