Test Setup and Methodology
| Test Platform | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i5-6600K |
| Motherboard | MSI B150A Gaming Pro (ATX) |
| Memory | Crucial Ballistix Sport 8 GB 2400 MHz DDR4 |
| Graphics Card | XFX AMD Radeon R9 290X Double Dissipation Edition |
| Storage | OCZ Vertex 460 120GB SSD |
| Cooling | Corsair H75 Liquid CPU Cooler |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider ST1000-P 1000 W Modular PSU |
| OS | Windows 8.1 64-bit |
The testing process I have adopted is as follows:
- CPU Temperatures
- Temps generated using a closed-loop liquid cooler (Corsair H75) in each enclosure
- Temps measured at idle, load, and "stress". Load temps created using the video transcoder benchmark x264, with stress results from prime95 (large FFT torture test)
- Temperatures defined as the hottest core as recorded at the 5-minute mark using HWMonitor software
- A custom fan profile is used to provide linear results for both liquid and air cooling
- GPU Temperatures
- Load temps (XFX Radeon R9 290X) created using the Unigine Valley benchmark (Extreme HD preset), with the highest temp recorded after two successive benchmark runs
- A custom fan profile is used to provide linear results
- Noise Levels
- Measured using a digital sound pressure meter positioned 24 inches from the front of the enclosure (system fully assembled with side panels in place)
- A fixed speed for load noise will be used for consistency, based on observed average max fan speeds under load for both CPU and GPU
I employed the ASUS motherboard software MSI motherboard settings to create a custom fan profile for the CPU, and both the Deepcool Gabriel air cooler and Corsair H75 liquid cooler used this profile for their PWM fans.
The XFX R9 290X DD graphics card was also setup with a custom fan profile using MSI's Afterburner software, with a linear rise in fan speed beginning at 20%.
The reason for the custom fan profiles is simple: default fan profiles flatten out during certain temperature ranges, which results in uneven results between tests and enclosures as a given temp will often fall below the threshold to increase fan speed. In my quest to provide consistent results I didn't like the position where a single degree often determined whether the cooler was placed into a louder, but more effective, state.
Add to this the complication of testing without complete control over ambient temperature and you can understand why noise testing was done at a fixed fan speed. Ambient temps can produce very misleading results with regard to fan noise as a colder room requires less fan speed to keep the system cool, with the opposite true for warm rooms. The adjusted delta temps are the same in either case, but for a neutral look at noise output a fixed speed was chosen for both CPU and GPU noise testing.
Next we will look at temperature and noise results.
Hardware Canucks did an aio
Hardware Canucks did an aio test in this case and got 7’c difference between the case being open and closed.
so either they deliberately skewed the results to favour the aio or this case has air flow issues.
reason i mention it is my old antec 902 barely shows any variation in temps (1-2’c max) whether the case is open or not.
so saying as you have the case at hand could you confirm Hardware Canucks results.
I have this case an I love
I have this case an I love it.
Only issues I have with it (and this isn’t specific to this case) is that the brushed aluminum gets marked up very quickly. Would honestly rather have plastic that looks like brushed aluminum that can’t get marked up or maybe matte or flat aluminum/metal.
I really don’t understand why
I really don’t understand why cases this large aren’t designed to hold 10-slot mainboards. Yeah there aren’t many of those around, but what I want in a huge case is to be able to install the largest MB’s in it.
Thanks for the review Sebastian, nicely done as usual. 🙂
“We will provide a followup
“We will provide a followup to this review soon with Phanteks’ dual-PSU adapter, which is a very interesting solution to high system power needs with two lower-wattage PSUs acting as one”
Seems like this makes more sense as a way to provide a system with a redundant psu with out being limited to enterprise grade hardware and pricing.
Good write up Sebastian
Just
Good write up Sebastian
Just a query interesting choice of installing Windows 8.1 x64 instead of Windows 10 latest build x64??
…. better late than never I
…. better late than never I guess, considering this case was a rather high profile release soon to be three years ago.
It is one of not even a hanful of “consumer” cases that will accomodate a 2 x 480 radiator setup and still have room to spare.
It s an awesome case and it s not that humonguous and I have zero issues with thermals considering side panel on or off, it s a couple of degrees so dont know what HC did in their review.