Cooling Efficiency

During Linpack tests inside a closed system case using the “weakest” cooling system of the today’s testing participants we managed to overclock our 45 nm quad-core processor to 3.73 GHz (+24.3%). The nominal processor Vcore was increased to ~1.5 V in the mainboard BIOS (+30.4%). During the OCCT tests in the same conditions the CPU remained stable up to 3.9 GHz (+30%) at 1.56V (+35.7%) Vcore: 

The obtained results are given on the diagram below (the coolers are grouped according to the testing conditions and noise levels):

Well, ThermoLab BARAM proves to be more efficient on an overclocked processor than its formidable opponent, even though the advantage is relatively small. The newcomer is about 1-3°C better. We remember that Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme has been the most efficient tower cooler so far (with the exception of unique Thermalright IFX-14). Also, considering that ThermoLab BARAM is 165g lighter and $15-$20 cheaper, and features an impeccably even base, it has every right to be called the best CPU air cooler! It’s a pity that the advantage is too low and we can’t overclock our processor to a higher frequency than with Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme. However, it is in fact quite logical, as the peak temperature difference is too low to affect maximum overclocking result in any way.

We are not going to discuss the acoustic parameters, because both coolers were tested with identical fans already reviewed before.