Enzotech Ultra-X: If Looks Could Chill
by Wesley Fink on June 27, 2007 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
CPU Cooling Test Configuration
The standard test bed for cooling tests is the EVGA NVIDIA 680i SLI motherboard. This is primarily based on the consistent test results on this board and the NVIDIA Monitor temperature measurement utility, which is part of the nTune program.
NVIDIA Monitor has a drop-down pane for temperature measurement which reports CPU, System, and GPU measurement. At this point reviews will concentrate on CPU temperature. In addition to the real-time temperature measurement, NVIDIA Monitor also has a logging feature which can record temperature in a file in standard increments (we selected every 4 seconds). This allows recording of temperatures during testing, which can then be reviewed when the stress tests are completed. There is also the handy reference of speeds and voltages in the top pane to confirm setup.
NVIDIA Monitor was compared to test results from the Intel TAT (Thermal Analysis Tool). Intel TAT CPU portions do function properly on the EVGA 680i motherboard, but the chipset-specific features do not operate as they should. Idle temperatures in TAT were in line with measured idle temps with NVIDIA Monitor. The CPU stress testing with TAT pushing both cores showed TAT stress temps at 80% CPU usage roughly corresponded to temps reported in our real-world gaming benchmark.
Other components in the cooling test bed are generally the same as those used in our motherboard and memory test bed:
All cooling tests are run with the components mounted in a standard mid-tower case. The idle and stress temperature tests are run with the case closed and standing as it would in most home setups. We do not use auxiliary fans in the test cooling case, except for the Northbridge fan attached to the 680i for overclocking. Room temperature is measured before beginning the cooler tests and is maintained in the 20 to 22C (68 to 72F) range for all testing.
Enzotech provided a small tube of premium Arctic Silver 5 with the cooler accessories, but we tested the Ultra-X with our standard premium silver-colored thermal compound. In our experience the thermal compound used makes little to no difference in cooling test results. This is particularly true now that processors ship with a large manufacturer-installed heatspreader. Our current test procedure uses this standard high-quality silver-colored thermal paste for all cooler reviews.
We test the stock Intel cooler at standard X6800 speed, measuring the CPU temperature at idle and while the CPU is being stressed. The CPU is stressed by running continuous loops of the Far Cry River demo. The same tests are repeated at the highest stable overclock we can achieve with the stock cooler. Stable in this case means the ability to handle our Far Cry looping for at least 30 minutes.
The same benchmarks are then run on the cooler under test at stock, highest stock cooler OC speed (3.73GHz), and the highest OC that can be achieved in the same setup with the cooler being tested. This allows measurement of the cooling efficiency of the test unit compared to stock and the improvement in overclocking capabilities, if any, from using the test cooler.
Noise Levels
In addition to cooling efficiency and overclocking abilities, users shopping for CPU cooling solutions may also be interested in the noise levels of the cooling devices they are considering. Noise levels are measured with the case on its side using a C.E.M. DT-8850 Sound Level meter.
This meter allows accurate sound level measurements from 35bdB to 130dB with a resolution of 0.1dB and an accuracy of 1.5dB. This is sufficient for our needs in these tests, as measurement starts at the level of a relatively quiet room. Our own test room, with all computers and fans turned off, has a room noise level of 36.4dB.
Procedures for measuring cooling system noise are described on page 7 which reports measured noise results comparing the stock Intel cooler and recently tested CPU coolers to the Enzotech Ultra-X.
The standard test bed for cooling tests is the EVGA NVIDIA 680i SLI motherboard. This is primarily based on the consistent test results on this board and the NVIDIA Monitor temperature measurement utility, which is part of the nTune program.
NVIDIA Monitor has a drop-down pane for temperature measurement which reports CPU, System, and GPU measurement. At this point reviews will concentrate on CPU temperature. In addition to the real-time temperature measurement, NVIDIA Monitor also has a logging feature which can record temperature in a file in standard increments (we selected every 4 seconds). This allows recording of temperatures during testing, which can then be reviewed when the stress tests are completed. There is also the handy reference of speeds and voltages in the top pane to confirm setup.
NVIDIA Monitor was compared to test results from the Intel TAT (Thermal Analysis Tool). Intel TAT CPU portions do function properly on the EVGA 680i motherboard, but the chipset-specific features do not operate as they should. Idle temperatures in TAT were in line with measured idle temps with NVIDIA Monitor. The CPU stress testing with TAT pushing both cores showed TAT stress temps at 80% CPU usage roughly corresponded to temps reported in our real-world gaming benchmark.
Other components in the cooling test bed are generally the same as those used in our motherboard and memory test bed:
| Cooling Performance Test Configuration | |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo X6800 (x2, 2.93GHz, 4MB Unified Cache) |
| RAM | 2x1GB Corsair Dominator PC2-8888 (DDR2-1111) |
| Hard Drive(s) | Hitachi 250GB SATA2 enabled (16MB Buffer) |
| Video Card | 1 x EVGA 7900GTX - All Standard Tests |
| Platform Drivers | NVIDIA 9.53 |
| NVIDIA nTune | 5.05.22.00 (1/16/2007) |
| Video Drivers | NVIDIA 93.71 |
| CPU Cooling | Enzotech Ultra-X 3RSystem iCEAGE Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX Thermaltake MaxOrb Scythe Andy Samurai Master Cooler Master Gemini II Noctua NH-U12F ASUS Silent Square Pro Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B OCZ Vindicator Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme Thermalright Ultra-120 Scythe Infinity Zalman CNS9700 Zalman CNS9500 Cooler Master Hyper 6+ Vigor Monsoon II Lite Thermalright MST-9775 Scythe Katana Tuniq Tower 120 Intel Stock HSF for X6800 |
| Power Supply | OCZ PowerStream 520W |
| Motherboards | EVGA nForce 680i SLI (NVIDIA 680i) |
| Operating System | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
| BIOS | Award P26 (1/12/2007) |
All cooling tests are run with the components mounted in a standard mid-tower case. The idle and stress temperature tests are run with the case closed and standing as it would in most home setups. We do not use auxiliary fans in the test cooling case, except for the Northbridge fan attached to the 680i for overclocking. Room temperature is measured before beginning the cooler tests and is maintained in the 20 to 22C (68 to 72F) range for all testing.
Enzotech provided a small tube of premium Arctic Silver 5 with the cooler accessories, but we tested the Ultra-X with our standard premium silver-colored thermal compound. In our experience the thermal compound used makes little to no difference in cooling test results. This is particularly true now that processors ship with a large manufacturer-installed heatspreader. Our current test procedure uses this standard high-quality silver-colored thermal paste for all cooler reviews.
We test the stock Intel cooler at standard X6800 speed, measuring the CPU temperature at idle and while the CPU is being stressed. The CPU is stressed by running continuous loops of the Far Cry River demo. The same tests are repeated at the highest stable overclock we can achieve with the stock cooler. Stable in this case means the ability to handle our Far Cry looping for at least 30 minutes.
The same benchmarks are then run on the cooler under test at stock, highest stock cooler OC speed (3.73GHz), and the highest OC that can be achieved in the same setup with the cooler being tested. This allows measurement of the cooling efficiency of the test unit compared to stock and the improvement in overclocking capabilities, if any, from using the test cooler.
Noise Levels
In addition to cooling efficiency and overclocking abilities, users shopping for CPU cooling solutions may also be interested in the noise levels of the cooling devices they are considering. Noise levels are measured with the case on its side using a C.E.M. DT-8850 Sound Level meter.
This meter allows accurate sound level measurements from 35bdB to 130dB with a resolution of 0.1dB and an accuracy of 1.5dB. This is sufficient for our needs in these tests, as measurement starts at the level of a relatively quiet room. Our own test room, with all computers and fans turned off, has a room noise level of 36.4dB.
Procedures for measuring cooling system noise are described on page 7 which reports measured noise results comparing the stock Intel cooler and recently tested CPU coolers to the Enzotech Ultra-X.
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Wesley Fink - Thursday, June 28, 2007 - link
CorrectedBarkuti - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
Too much fuss with all of these new massive coolers. Back in 1995 I purchased a Thermaltake Sonic Tower, which proved to be an incredible performer, best passive cooler IMO. The one being currently available is "rev2", guess it's just a mounting accesories update.The cooler comes with a mounting plate for a 12 cm fan, which can be installed on either side. I myself drilled new screwholes on a inner side to be able to install the fan in the center, saving a bit of space. A bit cumbersome to install the fan this way tough. Achieves top performance in this configuration, even with an ultra-low noise fan.
An Anand's review of this cooler is still missing and I think it's really worth the pain, like a gem lost inside and old chest.
And with a bit of skill, a little mod and a lot of space you may be able to install three fans on it... Drools about the kind of performance and perf/noise you could get this way, even with just 2 fans...
Cheers
DrMrLordX - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
Is there a side intake duct or vent that can feed top-down HSFs in your test bed? I'm pretty sure top-downs just don't work well if they can't pull cool air directly in from outside the case (which is why they've done so well in open-air testbeds).vhx - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
Definitely nice, but there are a lot better alternatives according to the results. Anyways, does anyone know whats up with Anandtech's forums? They've been down for like a week.theprodigalrebel - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
The forums have been a little iffy of late but they most certainly haven't been down all week. They just had an update of the forum software and there were a few minor outages here and there - Opera users had some problems, so did IE users. Did you try deleting all forums.anandtech.com cookies? It should work.Wesley Fink - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
The LATEST NEWS at the top of our AT Forums Log-In page:"Clear your cookies... - 06/24/2007 01:17 PM
We recently updated our forum software to fix a number of issues. As a result, some users are having problems using FireFox on the forums.
The fix for this is to delete your forums.anandtech.com cookies.
We recommend that all members delete their forum cookies, though we haven't run into any technical issues with this in other browsers.
Thanks for your patience while we continue to improve the forums."
Pirks - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
I've got myself A cooler master geminII and run it in passive (fanless) mode, and no fan on my passive mobo chipset heatsink as well. finally I've got a silent PC! my wife thinks my computer stopped working now, hehe :) no overclocking of course but who needs it for games anyway. I'm getting high framerates with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. around 30-40 fps and I'm happy. who says you need a mac to get a silent computer? who says gaming PCs are noisy? just ignore those noobs, they know nothingdeadseasquirrel - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
but it seems, at least according to this review, that it is not worth the price for the performance you get. Can anyone else see a better price/performance cooler than the Scythe Mine Rev B? For $38, with fan, and pretty quiet, it seems like a good choice. Oh, and are the forums down or am I having browser problems?kmmatney - Thursday, June 28, 2007 - link
I have a Scythe mine and am happy with. It's a good combination of price, low noise (its nearly silent) and good cooling. I don't know if I'd recommend it for extreme overclocking, but for stabdard overclocks it is great.Goty - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
Based on the little knowledge I have about the inner workings of heatpipes, wouldn't the lower heatsink on the X-Ultra lower the efficiency of the heatpipes (where heat transfer to the main heatsink is concerned) and thus the whole cooler?