Cooler Comparison Testing
Cooler Testing Methodology
To best gage the quality of the system coolers under review, system CPU temperature and cooling system audio measurements were taken with the CPU idle and under load. To replicate CPU idle conditions, the system was rebooted and allowed to sit idle for 10 minutes. To replicate a stress system load on the Z77-based system, a combination of LinX and FurMark were run over a 30 minute period with LinX running for 500 loops with Memory set to All and FurMark running at 1280×1024 resolution and 2x MSAA in stress test mode. For the Z87-based system testing, Aida64 System Stability Test was used in conjunction with FurMark for 30 minutes per run. After each run, the system was shut down and allowed to rest for 10 minutes to cool down. Then the CPU cooler was removed, cleaned, and remounted to the CPU with fresh thermal paste applied. This procedure was repeated a total of nine times for each cooler – three times for the stock speed runs on the Z77 and Z87-based systems, and 3 times for the overclocked speed runs on the Z77-based system.
Temperature measurements were taken directly from the CPU thermistors using RealTemp v3.70. For the Z77-based systems, the highest recorded value for idle and load temperature were used for the run. Because of the volatile nature of the Haswell thermistor readings, the Z87-based system temperatures were measured in a different manner. For idle temperatures, the highest recorded value was used for the run. For load temperatures, a series of three values were annotated: the average (high and low) across all cores, the average (high and low) across the single highest core, and the high temperature. To measure these average values accurately, the RealTemp readings were reset 20 minutes into the run while the CPU remained at full load. This allowed the software to measure accurate load high and lows for all cores over the last 10 minutes of the run with the three measured values taken from these readings.
Note that the temperature values are reported as deltas rather than absolute temperatures with the delta value reported calculated as CPU temperature – ambient temperature. For all tests, room ambient temperature was maintained between 26-28C. Sound measurements of the system cooler where taken with the sound meter placed 3 feet away from the system with all other devices in the room silenced. The Sound Meter Pro applet on a Samsung Galaxy S3 mobile phone was used to measure decibel level.
Intel Z77-based Ivy Bridge System Testing
CPU Stock Speed Testing
The CPU stock speed testing was conducted with the BIOS defaults set for the CPU and Turbo Mode disabled, equating to a 3.4GHz CPU speed, 1600MHz memory speed, and 100MHz base clock. The Intel SpeedStep functionality remained enabled for the duration of the testing to get realistic CPU idle performance conditions.
The NH-D14 performs well with the Ivy Bridge CPU at stock speed, matching performance with the Phanteks cooler. However, it cannot compete well with the Thermalright air cooler nor with the XSPC-based cooler kit.
CPU Overclocked Speed Testing
The CPU overclocked speed testing was conducted with known stable settings from a previous board review for the CPU with Turbo Mode disabled, equating to a 4.4GHz CPU speed, 1960MHz memory speed, and 105MHz base clock. The Intel SpeedStep functionality remained enabled for the duration of the testing to get realistic CPU idle performance conditions.
Board voltage settings were configured as follows:
- CPU Core Voltage – 1.2750
- CPU I/O Voltage – 1.150
- DRAM Voltage – 1.6255
- System Agent Voltage(SA) – 1.0850
- CPU PLL Voltage – 1.7500
- PCH 1.05 – 1.0995
The NH-D14 drops off significantly as the processor speed is increased. Out of the three runs attempted at the overclocked speeds, the cooler was able to complete a single run for the full 30 minute period. Two of the three runs failed, with LinX crashing about 10 minutes into the run. During the recorded stable run, the NH-D14 managed to beat out the Corsair cooler by a mere 1C.
Intel Z87-based Haswell System Testing
CPU Stock Speed Testing
The CPU stock speed testing was conducted with the BIOS defaults set for the CPU and Turbo Mode disabled, equating to a 3.5GHz CPU speed, 3.5GHz Ring bus speed, 1600MHz memory speed, and 100MHz base clock. The Intel SpeedStep functionality remained enabled for the duration of the testing to get realistic CPU idle performance conditions.
With the Haswell CPU at stock speeds, the NH-D14 comes in just above the last place cooler, lagging the leaders by over 4C across the board. However, the CPU remained full stable throughout the run.
Sound Testing
The Noctua NH-D14 is barely audible even at full speed with the other case and video card fans easily drowning out any noise it may be contributing. However, air flow through the radiators can be felt only barely on the exit end of the cooler.
Agree with pdjblum.
And
Agree with pdjblum.
And remember this cooler came out in 2009 if I’m correct, which makes it even better for a 4-5yr old air cooler still able to amaze people!
*proud owner of a NH-D14*
bad ass hsf
bad ass hsf
“However, the NH-D14’s
“However, the NH-D14’s performance profile begins to break down as the processor is pushed to higher performance levels via overclocking. The fan’s equipped with the cooler simply cannot push enough air through the radiators to keep the CPU cool enough to remain stable.”
Morry, I think that last sentence needs a modifier. The fans will certainly be sufficient to allow the cpu to be overclocked and stable, just maybe not as much as some others in the comparison, though I doubt even that.
More importantly, countless enthusiasts the world over have been using the NH-D14 to successfully oc their rigs for years. In fact, I would argue the NH-D14 has been the air cooler of choice for the vast majority of enthusiasts since it came out years ago.
I currently have an i7 930
I currently have an i7 930 running @ 4ghz (1.2ghz oc) with hyper threading on. I push about 1.38 volts through this thing and the cooler keeps my cpu pretty cool. Even under heavy prime 95 benching it holds around 70 degrees, keep in mind, on everything stock on this cpu with stock cooler prime would push it to 83 degrees. All to say this thing is a champ and very quiet. I have not tested on haswell yet but imagine it can handle most things fine.
In the conclusion I think you
In the conclusion I think you mean 6″ tall though I would love to see what a 12″ tall cooler could do 🙂
I’m concerned that you consider a 2:3 crash rate a stable overclock. In general I think that running your cooler tests so close to the TDP may produce unreliable results. Thermal throttling is not something you want to encounter in a cooler comparison test. If throttling occurs a cooler that trips it more could end up with favourable numbers it doesn’t deserve.
Can you please specify whether you used either of the low noise adapters in testing? I assume not but I’d rather not have to assume.
I didn’t consider the cooler
I didn't consider the cooler to be stable under overclock, as i stated in the results and the conclusion. The overclocking level is a known stable overclock for that CPU, memory, board combination if temps can be kept under control. The Noctua just couldn't for 2 out of 3 runs.
As far as adapters used in testing, the fans were running full speed.
Looks like a torture device.
Looks like a torture device.
Noctua have promised at
Noctua have promised at Computex 2013 an upgraded version of this gem (fan) for Q4 2013.
The updates version sports dual 140mm fans with PWM and more optimized heatpipes.
The enemy of the good is the better one 😀
I am still waitung for this device.
noctua is a pretty good
noctua is a pretty good company, i tend to use thier low profile coolers in some cases.
but i think i would opt for a self contained water cooled option instead of pulling this hunk of metal out- the nh -d14 is way too much …
I completely agree with
I completely agree with pdjblum. The NH-D14 is considered to be one of the best coolers out there.
Here’s two reviews I found on the NH-D14 handling 3770K @ 4.6Ghz.
http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-l9i-nh-d14/6
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/corsair_h110_review,13.html
“However, air flow through
“However, air flow through the radiators can be felt only barely on the exit end of the cooler.”,
Im sorry but if you dont feel any airflow with this cooler either you set it up wrong or this specific unit has something wrong with it.
I have nh-d14 on a 3930k, i
I have nh-d14 on a 3930k, i run all day, at 4.6ghz 1.40v, rock solid stable, and the 3930k is a hot beast.Somethings wrong with your methodology or setup, i have had this 3930k as high as 4.8 with some r4s strapped on to it, but, that creates to much noise.
I have nh-d14 on a 3930k, i
I have nh-d14 on a 3930k, i run all day, at 4.6ghz 1.40v, rock solid stable, and the 3930k is a hot beast.Somethings wrong with your methodology or setup, i have had this 3930k as high as 4.8 with some r4s strapped on to it, but, that creates to much noise.
ATX Cases !! Memory !!
ATX Cases !! Memory !! Ram!!
X58 sabertooth motherboard with Triple-Channel DDR3
Is there a nice list somewhere that fits/works with this awesome cooler