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TEST RESULTS
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Results: Xigmatek Battle-Axe
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State
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System Fan Speed
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System Noise
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GPU Temp.
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VGA Amb.
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CPU Temp.
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System Power
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Idle
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5V
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~19 dBA
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38°C
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36°C
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23°C
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102W
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CPUBurn
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5V
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~19 dBA
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42°C
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41°C
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51°C
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188W
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CPUBurn + ATI Tool
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5V
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~19 dBA
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71°C
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62°C
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57°C
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271W
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7V
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22 dBA
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70°C
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60°C
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56°C
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271W
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9V
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29 dBA
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71°C
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61°C
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56°C
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272W
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12V
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35 dBA
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70°C
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60°C
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56°C
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272W
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Fans @ 12V: At 35 dBA it was uncomfortably loud, but we were expecting that
since there are two fans, and not one. The majority of the noise was your run-of-the-mill
growling turbulence.
Fans @ 9V: The fans exhibited a semi-high pitched buzzing. There was also a
grinding noise coming from the motor.
Fans @ 7V: The acoustics were very smooth, with some slight ticking evident
at 1m.
Fans @ 5V: The fans were essentially inaudible except for the ticking which
could be heard within one foot of the case.
The GPU temperature remained basically constant throughout testing, no matter
how fast the fans were spinning. This was a very surprising result, especially
considering the difference in airflow and noise between 5V and 12V. This unusual
behavior could possibly be the result of the lack of direct contact between
the GPU core and the two heatpipes at the Battle-Axe's extremities. The potential
may be there for better temperatures. With numbers like these, we see no reason
to have such loud fans. They could probably have gotten away with using just
one. We considered attempting to jerry-rig the Battle-Axe with just one fan
in the center, but during the course of our review, a second hex-screw broke,
making it more trouble than it was worth to continue testing it.
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Comparison: Battle-Axe vs. VF1000 & Accelero
S1
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Zalman VF1000
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Xigmatek Battle-Axe
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Accelero S1
(Nexus 120mm)
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System Noise
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GPU Temp.
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System Noise
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GPU Temp.
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System Noise
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GPU Temp.
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20 dBA
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77°C
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~19 dBA
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71°C
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<20 dBA
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67°C
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22 dBA
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75°C
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22 dBA
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70°C
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22 dBA
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64°C
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24 dBA
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73°C
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n/a
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23 dBA
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63°C
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29 dBA
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71°C
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29 dBA
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71°C
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n/a
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Note: 1°C was added to the results for the
VF1000 as the ambient temperature was 1°C higher at the time it
was tested.
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The Battle-Axe is significantly better than the Zalman VF1000, but falls
short of our favorite, the Accelero S1 with a single Nexus 120mm fan. With
two loud 92mm x 25mm fans, we were expecting it to blow the Accelero S1 out
of the water, but the issue of no-contact for the outside heatpipes limits its performance.
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