CRYORIG C7 Compact Cooler Review

Performance

For tests I was using Intel Skylake platform based on Core i5 6600K CPU. Processor has been overclocked to 4.2GHz and voltage has been set to 1.25V. This voltage let you set many CPUs higher and I wanted to use better “heater” to compare all cooling solutions.

Some readers probably noticed that on the list is reference Intel cooler while Intel is not adding it to i5 6600K processors. Cooler used for tests was included in Haswell series i7 CPU and it’s about the same as new coolers for i3 or i5 processors.

Water cooling in this comparison is in a dual 360 mm radiator setup. It’s about maximum you can count in a really large closed case build. Of course it’s only for reference numbers, not to directly compare it with CRYORIG C7 as both are designed for a different computer types.

On the list is also one more CRYORIG cooler – M9i. There will be review of that cooler soon so visit Funky Kit to see if review is already live. It’s also smaller cooler but in tower build so takes some more space in the computer case.

You can see that CRYORIG C7 is more than enough to handle i5 6600K processor and even if we overclock it then maximum temperature is in safe range for long work. All tests were performed on a open rig in a room of about 23°C but even in closed case with any airflow maximum temperature should remain safe for the processor. At the same time we see that Intel’s reference cooler is much worse. In the comparison we can see 100°C but in real it was more and I had to stop test as it was passing 105°C after couple of minutes of the latest Prime95 test.

Maximum temperature which we can see in the table is also really hard to achieve during normal work, that’s why I added results based on a PCMark 8 benchmark. This benchmark is testing various applications so simulates real, daily usage. In this test CRYORIG C7 performs great and what’s more important, generated noise is really low.

Below is a graph on which you can see how CRYORIG C7 looks like comparing to other cooling solutions. I think it’s really good considering size of the C7.

Of course presented results are available on lower wattage processors. For the most power-hungry solutions best is to pick something from higher CRYORIG models. 1.35V was already too high voltage for full load tests using Prime95.

One more photo of the CRYORIG C7 on MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC. As you see it’s really close to all other components and at the same time C7 perfectly fits to this small space.