Performance
Below you can see additional photos of the PC with installed AQUAFUSION cooler. This is our test platform.
Now let’s take a look at test results. All tests were performed on the i9-10900K, which is the most challenging processor in the last weeks. In the comparison are some high-end coolers which we reviewed in the past months. Once we receive some new coolers, then they will be added to the list in future reviews.
The AQUAFUSION 360 is clearly a top choice for the i9-10900K processor. The best air cooler so far, so Noctua NH-D15 at maximum fans speed, performs worse than the AQUAFUSION 360 at 800RPM. At the same time, the NH-D15 is louder when the CPU is under full load. This is about the best we can get from an air cooling, and that’s why Intel suggests AIO water coolers.
Once we run the AQUAFUSION at automatic speed, then we can expect at least 10-12°C lower CPU temperature than on the best air coolers. Even though the maximum fan speed is 2000 RPM, then they are not going much above 1500 RPM at automatic mode. The motherboard clearly doesn’t see any reason to set a higher speed as the maximum temperature is low enough. On the other hand, if we wish to keep our PC quiet, then we should stay below 1500 RPM, so it seems a perfect balance between the noise and low temperatures. If we force the fans to work at their maximum speed, then the CPU temperature isn’t dropping much, and we can expect around 2°C improvement.
Our results are showing some amazing numbers. It would be even better if our processor could overclock higher.
The i9-10900K is hard to overclock, so even though we were able to lower the temperature significantly, then the CPU couldn’t run at more than 5.2GHz at all cores. This is still a great result considering that the i9-10900K runs really hot, and typically, there is a problem to set 5.1GHz.
Our results are not showing the whole story. Behind the numbers is hiding the user’s experience during work. Even though most competitive higher series coolers can still handle the i9-10900K processor, then most of them make a lot of noise when the CPU is under higher load. The AQUAFUSION 360 is not only lowering the temperatures but improves the comfort of using a PC. This is really important during longer work or gaming sessions. Not everyone likes to play for long hours with a headset, which is canceling the noise.
