Viewing page 5 of 6 pages.
Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next
TEST RESULTS
With the Duorb being fairly light and only occupying one extra slot, it was
very easy to install the test card.
|
Installed in our test system.
|
|
Test Results: ATI Radeon X1950XTX + Thermaltake Duorb
|
|
State
|
Fan Voltage
|
Fan Speed
|
System Noise
|
GPU Temp.
|
VGA Amb.
|
CPU Temp.
|
System Power
|
|
Idle
|
5V
|
~1200 RPM
|
18 dBA
|
45°C
|
42°C
|
27°C
|
103W
|
|
CPUBurn
|
5V
|
~1200 RPM
|
18 dBA
|
48°C
|
44°C
|
50°C
|
187W
|
|
CPUBurn + ATITool
|
5V
|
~1200 RPM
|
18 dBA
|
77°C
|
59°C
|
56°C
|
267W
|
|
7V
|
~1510 RPM
|
22 dBA
|
77°C
|
59°C
|
56°C
|
266W
|
|
9V
|
~1890 RPM
|
26 dBA
|
76°C
|
59°C
|
57°C
|
266W
|
|
12V
|
~2580 RPM
|
31 dBA
|
75°C
|
58°C
|
57°C
|
266W
|
|
VGA fan speed approximated via Stroboscope.
|
ACOUSTICS
Fans @ 12V: The fans were very loud with much high-pitched turbulence.
Performance was fairly good with a GPU temperature of 75°C.
Fans @ 9V: The noise level was much improved but it was still whiney
and turbulent. The GPU temperature barely changed from 12V, only 1°C
Fans @ 7V: While they can pass for 'quiet' at this speed, the fans
were still quite buzzy and the reduction in noise level allowed an odd, intermittent
electrical squeal to become audible. Performance was only reduced by a single
degree.
Fans @ 5V: Very quiet, with a low-pitched mechanical hum evident close-up.
Inside the case, it was inaudible. The GPU temperature did not budge compared
to 7V.
The interaction between the fans generated a lot of noise — each fan on
its own was not that bad, but when their output streams collided it created
a lot of extra turbulence. If they were spaced further apart, the acoustics
would have been better. Alas, the results show that all that extra airflow and
noise amounted to almost nothing — there was barely any change in cooling
performance when the fan speed was lowered. We found the fans' starting voltage
was about 3.7V (not 7V as listed in the specifications) so they are prime candidates
for undervolting — a built-in fan controller (even a manual one) would
have been a godsend.
The results may have been skewed by our mounting problems, but they would have
been slight. Good, tight contact was being made between the GPU core and heatsink
base.
COMPARISONS
|
Thermaltake Duorb vs. Zalman VF1000 vs. Xigmatek
Battle-Axe
|
|
Fan Speed
|
Zalman VF1000
|
Thermaltake Duorb
|
Xigmatek
Battle-Axe
|
|
Noise Level
|
GPU Temp.
|
Noise Level
|
GPU Temp.
|
Noise Level
|
GPU Temp.
|
|
12V
|
35 dBA
|
71°C
|
35 dBA
|
72°C
|
39 dBA
|
71°C
|
|
9V
|
30 dBA
|
73°C
|
30 dBA
|
73°C
|
34 dBA
|
70°C
|
|
7V
|
26 dBA
|
75°C
|
25 dBA
|
74°C
|
26 dBA
|
71°C
|
|
5V
|
20 dBA
|
77°C
|
19 dBA
|
74°C
|
20 dBA
|
70°C
|
|
Noise levels were measured in open air. 3°C
was subtracted from the results of the Duorb as the ambient temperature
was 3°C lower at the time the other coolers were tested.
|
The Duorb, with two heatpipes and two fans, more or less matched the performance
delivered by the Zalman VF1000, with its four heatpipes and one fan. The noise
levels between the two were comparable as well. The Xigmatek Battle-Axe edges
them by a small margin, keeping the GPU at about 70°C no matter how fast
the fans were spinning. To date the only cooler that has broken 70°C at
load on our test VGA card is the Arctic
Cooling Accelero S1 paired with a Nexus 120mm fan.
| Help support this site, buy the ThermalTake CL-G0102 DuOrb VGA Cooler from one of our affiliate retailers! |
|
