CoolIT Freezone Elite

The test setup

The watercooling tests are conducted on our watercooling test bench, which features the following components, chosen for maximum stability with maximum overclockability:

• Motherboard – Gigabyte P35C-DS3R
  
• CPU – Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz (unless noted)
  
• RAM – OCZ FlexXLC PC-9600 DDR2 @ 1066MHz (unless noted)
  
• GPU – OCZ GeForce 8800 GTX
  
• HDD – Seagate 1TB 7200.11 SATA
  
• PSU – OCZ 1,000W ProXStream

All clocks are at manufacturer stock speeds unless specifically noted as part of an overclocking test.

Along with the hardware, some amount of watercooling gear is chosen. This can vary by the testing setup depending on what is being tested at the time. In the case of this test we are using:

• Waterblock – Danger Den TDX CPU waterblock for Intel LGA775 Processors
  
• Radiator – BlackIce GTX 240mm
  
• Fans – two 120mm AC Ryan Blackfire 4 Kameleon
  
• Pump – Laing Vario D5 12v @ max setting
  
• Tubing – 1/2" ID Clearflex
  
• Coolant – Feser One UV Blue

The above watercooling setup was tested against the CoolIT Freezone Elite.


Important Note
I have had several questions regarding why I chose a 240mm radiator setup to go against the Freezone Elite, which only uses a single 120mm fan. First of all, the Freezone Elite's radiator is by no means shaped like any old traditional 120mm radiator, which immediately alters its direct comparison.

However and more importantly, as you will see reiterated in the conclusion, I am choosing this system based on the price class that the Freezone Elite is in. An enthusiast will look at this product for what performance he or she gets with similar money, and so the watercooling system is chosen to be as close in cost as possible while still providing a fair comparison (i.e., I didn't use two 360mm radiators or anything, even if they would have fit in the cost discrepancy).

In my view, about the only thing that the Freezone Elite shares with a 120mm radiator setup is the fan on the back, which is also nearly double thickness to a standard setup. I hope that this will clear up confusion about the chosen setup. However, if you have any further questions regarding it, feel free to post them in our forums or email me directly!

~Brett

Testing Methodology

Understanding the test methods is vital to understanding the results of a test, as well as allowing maximum repeatability. Here at bit-tech we strive to make our tests fair, unbiased, and repeatable by anyone with the time or inclination to do so. The following methods and assumptions were used in this test:

The test setup is built in a climate controlled room free of unnecessary clutter. Once assembled, the system was started on air cooling and the operating system (Windows Vista SP1) was patched fully. Speedfan 4.34 was used to measure the temperature of the CPU cores before, during and after testing as prescribed below. Ambient temperatures were also taken from a digital thermometer on the wall approximately one metre from the test setup.

The system was booted with the watercooling setup first and left to idle at the desktop (no screen saver) for one hour to allow the fluid temperatures to come to equilibrium, and temperature was then recorded.

Prime95 was then started on each core using Small FFT to assure maximum CPU usage, which was also monitored via a sideboard widget to assure proper load. Temperatures were recorded at 10, 20, 30, and 60 minutes and averaged. No cores showed any significant change in temperature (greater than one degree) after 20 minutes with either system. Once 60 minutes passed, Prime95 was stopped on all cores and the system was allowed to return to idle. Temperatures were recorded at 10, 20 and 30 minutes though no readings showed deviations past 10 minutes.

The system was then shut down, the CPU waterblock removed and the heatspreader and surrounding area were cleaned to remove all Arctic Silver Ceramique. The CoolIT Freezone elite was then mounted per its manual instructions (the included thermal paste was used). Testing was then performed as above.

Because the CoolIT Freezone Elite allows for some configuration, fluid temperature was set to match ambient air temps of 16 degrees Celsius.

Results were averaged across the two runs to develop the reported findings on the next page.