Page 3 - Test Results
Our test configuration is as follows:
CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K (Stock settings)
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87
RAM: Patriot Viper 3 Series Black Mamba Edition PC3-17000 4x8GB
Graphics: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB
Chassis: Silverstone Fortress FT04
Power: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1000W
Optical Drive: N/A
Hard Drive: OCZ Agility 3 240GB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional 64-bit
Compared Hardware:
- Cooler Master Nepton 280L
- Intel Stock
All tests were run in our custom built computer to best reflect real life performance. The computer remained in the same location in the same room throughout all tests. The room temperature in our testing lab is around 21c. Stock thermal paste respective to both coolers were used to rate its performance; all pastes were given a proper amount of time for them to fully settle. The fans on all heatsinks were directly connected to the motherboard's 4-pin connector. Computer was turned on and idling for at least one hour for the idling tests. High CPU load results were obtained using the Prime95 in-place large FFTs test with eight worker threads for a minimum of ten minutes or until the temperature is deemed stable. The Intel stock cooler was chosen as a baseline reference; it is always a good heatsink to figure out the delta between the reference unit and the tested product for standardizing performance against other coolers, even if not compared directly against.
Our temperatures shown above were obtained using data collected by the CPU's integrated digital thermal sensor for maximum accuracy. We chose the Intel stock cooler as a baseline reference, as it is always a good product to test against as mentioned earlier. After idling the computer for an adequate amount of time as aforementioned, we made sure these idle results can actually be obtained after a full load cycle. The graph above shows the Cooler Master Nepton 280L with pretty good results, pulling 21 degrees Celsius in idling state. Intel's stock cooler was significantly higher at 42 degrees Celsius. Having said that, idling does not put very much stress on the cooler, and hence, does not show the true potential of the cooling system. To see how well it actually performs, we pushed our Core i7-4770K in Prime95.
The Cooler Master Nepton 280L is actually putting up a decent fight. Under full loads, the highest CPU reading was kept at a rather excellent 50 degrees Celsius. For your reference, the stock Intel cooler came in at 78 degrees Celsius, which is unacceptable for us. Of course, the lower the temperature, the better it would be. Taking the sound into consideration now, the fans run surprisingly quiet. ranking on our standard APH Networks scale of 0-10, where 0 is silent and 10 is loud, I would rate the Cooler Master Nepton 280L at 2.0/10 and 3.0/10 under idle and load conditions, respectively. Generally speaking, this is pretty good for most quiet PC enthusiasts.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
