Page 3 - Test Results
Our test configuration is as follows:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Motherboard: ASUS Prime X470-Pro
RAM: Patriot Viper RGB DDR4-3600 2x16GB
Graphics: EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING
Chassis: Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN500 NVMe SSD 500GB, OCZ ARC 100 240GB, Patriot P200 512GB
Power: FSP Hydro PTM Pro 1200W
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Compared hardware:
- Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 240
- be quiet! Pure Loop 240mm
- Cooler Master MasterAir MA610P ARGB
- Cooler Master MasterAir MA624 Stealth
- Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black
- Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 chromax.black
- Noctua NH-U9S chromax.black
- Noctua NH-U12A
- Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black
- Noctua NH-U12S redux
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 was around 22c. Stock thermal paste respective to all 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. 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 a maximum number of worker threads for the tested CPU for a minimum of ten minutes or until the temperature was deemed stable. Temperature results were measured with HWiNFO, 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 letting my computer sit idle for a while, I took a look at HWiNFO's CPU temperature readings. From the first graph, you can see the TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 240 idled around 35c. This result is pretty similar to our better performing air coolers, and slightly undercut the be quiet! Pure Loop 240mm by a single degree. These results are in line with the other coolers, showing the TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 240 was capable of keeping up with other excellent options. These idle results, on their own, do not tell too much about what these CPU coolers can do, so we fired up Prime95 and ran the tests to see our load results.
With a sufficient amount of time to load the processor on all cores and threads, you can see how each of the coolers performed under full load. Running at full bore, the Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 240 peaked at a load temperature of 65c, which is again a pretty decent result. This is a bit warmer than some of our high performing CPU coolers like the Noctua NH-D15S chromax.black, while also being two degrees warmer than the be quiet! AIO cooler we have also tested. Even so, the overall temperature reading is still good, falling in between our Noctua NH-U12A and NH-U12S chromax.black. We were also able to observe the same boost frequencies throughout the test across our coolers, with 3.8GHz across all cores during the Prime95 tests.
However, if we look at the sound analysis section of the Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 240, on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is silence and 10 is the definition of loud, I would rate the TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 240 at 3.0/10 during idle and around 5.0/10 under full load. Unfortunately, the problem I have found in the past with many AIO coolers is that there are more moving parts than a standard air cooler, including the pump and the liquid flowing through. While I actually found the TOUGHFAN 12 Turbo fans to be decently quiet, I did notice a slight hum from the pump under full load, which adds to the overall noise output. In day-to-day operation, I think the Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 240 is generally reasonable in terms of noise output, but those with more sensitive ears will probably hear this cooler.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
