Page 3 - Test Results
Our test configuration is as follows:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K @ 3.9GHz (Stock settings)
Motherboard: ASUS Z170-E
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury HX421C14FBK2/16 2x8GB
Graphics: ASUS GeForce GTX 1060
Chassis: SilverStone Kublai KL07
Power: Corsair RM650X 650W
Storage: Kingston SSDNow UV400 480GB; Seagate BarraCuda ST1000DM003 1TB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home x64
Compared hardware:
- CRYORIG A40 Ultimate
- CRYORIG A80
- Scythe Fuma
- Scythe Mugen
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 temperature in the room was around 22c. The thermal paste applied to each cooler was stock respective to their manufacturer's to rate its performance; all pastes had sufficient time for them to 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 the Prime95 in place large FFTs test with four worker threads for a minimum of fifteen minutes, and recorded when the temperature was deemed stable.
Comparisons were made to another water cooler and two air coolers, while as many variables as possible were kept constant. The only 280 mm cooler on the list is the CRYORIG A80, while the other two are quite large air coolers. They should give good references for comparison. The CRYORIG A40 Ultimate was mounted to the front of the case with both fans attached in a push configuration. The temperature results for each cooler was measured with CoreTemp, 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 more than an hour, the temperature stabilized at 22 degrees Celsius, which is actually the highest on the list. However, it is not too much warmer compared to the other coolers; it is still a nice low number. The 120 mm fans' RPM were also fairly slow at this point, so it was nice and quiet. I always find the idle tests to be a very small indication of a cooler's overall performance, so let us not waste more time, and have a look at the load results.
The CRYORIG A40 Ultimate stabilized at a temperature of 67 degrees Celsius; only one degree warmer than the CRYORIG A80, which is a little surprising, given the A80 has a 280 mm radiator. However, the A40 UItimate's radiator is 11 mm thicker than the A80, which increases the surface area, and keeps the product competitive with longer radiators. Comparing the A40 Ultimate results to the others on the list, it performed two degrees better than the Scythe Mugen, which should be no surprise as it is quite a bit smaller and only operating with one fan. Surprisingly, the Scythe Fuma beat out all the other coolers on this list. Another important feature for a competitive cooler is how quiet it can perform under stress, which the CRYORIG A40 Ultimate did decently with.
For anyone not using over-the-ear headphones to block out everything except your game or music, sound is pretty important to the enjoyment of using your computer. Using a scale between 0 and 10, where 0 is silent and 10 is a jet taking off, I would rate the CRYORIG A40 Ultimate at 2.5/10 at idle, while under load, the sound comes in at 4.0/10. The RPM of the fans really ramp up to keep the system cool, but they were mostly silent during idle. Noise from the pump was mostly inaudible. Depending on your sensitivity to noise, the CRYORIG A40 Ultimate will not be adding much more to your system, while keeping it under safe temperatures. Perhaps if you are very picky with noise emissions, you could change the RPM range of the pump or the fans, but that will affect cooling performance.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
