Testing and Results
Now for the real fun: the overclocking!
If you’ve read earlier reviews that we’ve posted, you should be familiar with the Delta (change in) metric that we use when pushing the CPUs to a workable level. But just a refresher, we simply measure the ambient temperature of the testing area, the idle and load temperature of the CPU, and then we subtract the former from the latter.
Also, since this is a dual-fan setup, there will be a much better airflow which can definitely give a noticeable boost in performance.
The test system is
- Intel Core i7 3770k
- Asus Maximus V Gene
- 8gb Patriot Viper Extreme 1600mhz
- Silverstone 700w Modular Power Supply
The 3770K will be run at a mild overclock and a higher overclock:
- 4.1ghz with 1.15v Core
- 4.5GHz with 1.3v Core.
Results
The results are expressed in idle/load temperature minus ambient temperature.
4.1Ghz Testing
Well…what more can I say really? The PH-TC12DX practically stomps the Xigmatek Dark Knight at 4.1ghz, and seeing as how 4.1+ is a pretty common speed amongst overclockers, those are really quite impressive numbers. So far so good.
But the stakes get higher when we bump up the temperature and voltages to 4.5ghz.
Overclocked
At 4.5ghz, the difference starts to level out which is pretty understandable at that voltage, but it still is well within a respectable level and doesn’t even come close to breaking safety limits. It beats out the Dark Knight by about 2 points and the Prime by about 6.5 points. Unfortunately, it couldn’t match up to the Monster but still, with these results you take what you can get. And you get quite a lot. Not bad, not bad at all.
Noise Level
Noise is not a problem. At all. Even at 4.5ghz and both of them running, it’s pretty surprising just how quiet these fans are. I can barely hear them over the sound of my PSU fan or my harddrives spinning. Phanteks really does not mess around when it comes to heatsinks.
