Performance Testing
Testing heatsinks always involves evaluating how they can handle CPUs during idle and load conditions. It also involves pitting them against stock coolers that come with the CPU. Additionally, we paired the ASUS Triton 81 against Intel’s stock heatsink, the Vigor Monsoon III LT, and the CNPS9900 LED. Our idle results came right after booting into Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit. Our load tests were recorded after running three instances of Cinebench 10 (64-bit version). Here are the results from our tests:
The Triton 81 heatsink couldn’t hold its ground against the beefer Zalman CNPS9900 LED or Vigor Monsoon III LT, but it did put the beat-down on Intel’s stock heatsink. These results are in line with our earlier thoughts on the design of the heatsink itself. Another key issue that we though contributed to the Triton 81’s performance scores was the actual size of the base. The base barely fit over the Intel Q8400 we used during testing. This means if we tried to use it on a Core i7 or AM3 processor then it wouldn’t cover the CPU completely leaving many avenues for heat to build up on the CPU itself. The overall performance we noticed with the Triton 81 is definitely a step up from Intel’s stock heatsink, but it couldn’t compete against other high-end, air-based heatsinks currently on the market.
