Ahanix dBox: Standardizing LCD Case Controls

Benchmark

            We have a few heat and sound intensive tests lined up for the Ahanix dBox.  The Heatsink reading is actually the temperature inside the heatsink.  CPU temperature is also recorded.  All temperature is recorded in degrees Celsius.  The heat tests were each performed inside the closed case with the external temperature of 23.0 degrees Celsius, during a full system load.  Our testbed consists of:

The thermal test was conducted with the unit on high.  The thermal readings for the different components during operation were as followed:

Ahanix dBox

Kingwin KT-436-WM

Sound is recorded in decibels from 12” away from the closed case to most accurately replicate a production system.

For the most part, performance was on par to what we expected.  The lack of intake in the front of the unit severely hurt the cooling over the hard drive.  Had we run the unit on low, the thermal results might have been even more unfavorable.  Keep in mind, however, the thermal performance of the dBox is still decent.  The unit does not have the best performance we have ever seen, but not the worst either.  We were pleased to see the dBox outperform the Kingwin in the noise category.  There was a very distinct audible difference between the high and low settings on the case.  Again though, we need to stress that the audible difference is mostly due to the lack in thermal performance. Since the dBox only has 2 fans, we expected it to be warmer but quieter.