Performance
All tests were performed on the Intel i7-11700K 8-core processor, ASRock Z590 Extreme motherboard, HyperX Predator 16GB DDR4-4600 memory kit, and ASRock RX 6800 XT 16GB graphics card. The rig photos include the SuperO C9Z590-CGW motherboard, but we couldn’t use it for the comparison because of a bit different voltage settings.
There are three tests. The first is called Idle, so an operating system without additional load besides standard processes in the background. The second test is based on the PCMark 10 Extended benchmark, which simulates daily work. The last one is a high CPU load tested with AIDA64 with AVX instructions.
The i7-11700K is a very demanding CPU, and because of power limits and frequency ranges, we had to modify its settings, so it was possible to compare the performance. The CPU was working at its rated frequency. However, to keep it at the higher frequency for longer, we had to unlock power limits and their duration and set a fixed voltage of 1.30V. The default Intel settings cause the CPU to limit the frequency and voltages, giving hard to compare results. At fully automatic settings, the voltage would go down to around 1V, and the frequency would balance between 3.6GHz and 4.6GHz, depends on many factors.
Let’s take a look at our test results.
The LIQMAX III is clearly one of the best coolers on the market. It doesn’t change that the i7-11700K runs very hot, and it is hard to keep it below the throttling point at manual settings. The fully-loaded processor had about 93°C what seems high but, at the same time, is still far from the throttling point, so the CPU clock was stable.
Tests with AVX instructions could easily push the CPU up to 270W, even at a lower voltage. Because of the temperature and voltage requirements, it wasn’t possible to overclock the CPU. At 1.35V, the temperature was exceeding 100°C. If we use fully automatic settings, we won’t see more than 90°C, and the CPU will use its maximum turbo frequency.
The LIQMAX III shows high performance, but I guess we are reaching the thermal limits of new processors as clearly there is no cooling that can keep up with the latest Intel series with unlocked power limits. On the other hand, AMD processors are also limited so that they won’t heat up too much.
While gaming, the LIQMAX III performs excellent and is very quiet, so I can recommend it to every gamer. The typical noise was not much higher than the ambient noise, so around 32-33dB. We can expect about 2-4dB more during high load, depending on the used CPU and its settings. The cooler was slightly quieter than the previously reviewed Raijintek EOS 360, while both were performing about the same. On the other hand, Enermax AQUAFUSION performed a bit better in our tests, but it costs some more than the LIQMAX III. Either way, Enermax is providing great coolers so everyone can pick something that meets the expectations.
