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: Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow
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 11 Pro
Compared hardware:
- Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 360
- Cooler Master MasterAir MA624 Stealth
- DeepCool AK620
- Noctua NH-D12L
- Noctua NH-U12A
- Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black
- SilverStone AR12-TUF
- Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 240
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 thermal pastes were given a proper amount of time for them to fully settle. The fans on all heatsinks were connected to the motherboard's CPU 4-pin fan header. 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 10 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 360 idled around 33c. This result is pretty great, as it undercuts all of our air coolers and the Ultra 240 by a couple of degrees. This is not too surprising either, considering the Ultra 360 has a larger radiator, more liquid, and an additional fan to help with cooler temperatures all around. 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. With the Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 360 at helm, we have a load temperature of 60c, which is the lowest result across all of our tested cooling options. This is great to see, as it outperforms everything else, even if this is an expected result. It is also cooler than some top performers like the Noctua NH-U12A 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 testing.
As for the sound analysis section, the Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 360 was also a louder cooler. On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is silence and 10 is the definition of loud, I would rate the TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 360 at 3.0/10 during idle and around 5.5/10 under full load. This is not too surprising, as the additional 120mm fan added slightly to the noise output. Even so, the primary source of sound came from the pump, as it emits an audible hum, which adds to the overall noise output. In day-to-day operation, I think the Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 360 is still reasonable in terms of noise output, but any user will hear this cooler clearly.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
