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Cooler Master V10 Heatsink Review
Author: William West
Published: Saturday, May 09, 2009
Benchmarks
The Cooler Master V10 is designed for all Intel 775, 1366 and Athlon 64 processors; here is an overview of the system and testing methodology.
The system as it was tested
Foxconn Bloodrage X58 Chipset
Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.66GHz
Cooler Master V10
OEM Heatsink
Real Temp 3.0 was used to obtain and record system temperature data and being that this is a quad core processor with Hyper Threading enabled. We need something that will work across all four of the cores at once. For this task we're using a new version of Prime95 (p95v255a) that will allow you to spawn (n) instances to test with.
In our case we choose 8.
Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.66GHz
Cooler Master V10
OEM Heatsink
Real Temp 3.0 was used to obtain and record system temperature data and being that this is a quad core processor with Hyper Threading enabled. We need something that will work across all four of the cores at once. For this task we're using a new version of Prime95 (p95v255a) that will allow you to spawn (n) instances to test with.
In our case we choose 8.
Editors note: Even though the Windows Vista task manager reported 100% processor usage we could never attain a 100% of the rated heat output as documented by Intel (see below) when using Prime95 as a basis for that heat production. Knowing this we ran the stress test until the maximum temperature was attainted and stabilized.
Other things to consider when judging software induced heat output.
a) Clock throttling by the processor at high temperatures.
b) Normal software isn't designed to produce maximum heat output.
c) Variances of cooling temperature.
d) Variances in CPU load.
e) Inaccuracies in thermal diode readouts.
Of course the list goes on..
Our testing methodology is aimed to provide a real world look into this heatsink given the test system provided.
Other things to consider when judging software induced heat output.
a) Clock throttling by the processor at high temperatures.
b) Normal software isn't designed to produce maximum heat output.
c) Variances of cooling temperature.
d) Variances in CPU load.
e) Inaccuracies in thermal diode readouts.
Of course the list goes on..
Our testing methodology is aimed to provide a real world look into this heatsink given the test system provided.
A C/W rating can quickly be calculated using this formula.
C/W = (CPU temp - Ambient temp)/(Variance(%) * CPU Watts)
Allowed variance for this test = 85%
CPU Watts = 130W
0.33 C/W = (58C - 21C)/(.85(130W))
C/W = (CPU temp - Ambient temp)/(Variance(%) * CPU Watts)
Allowed variance for this test = 85%
CPU Watts = 130W
0.33 C/W = (58C - 21C)/(.85(130W))
For this next test the FSB was cranked up to 160Mhz and the test was re-run.
To calculate a new C/W rating for this test we will need to factor in the increased processor wattage. The formula and constants for this are listed below.
ocC/W = dCPU Watts * (ocMhz / dMhz) * (ocVcore / dVcore)2
ocMhz = 3200
dMhz = 2660
ocVcore = 1.30
dVcore = 1.20
The variance still applies for our C/W calculation
Allowed variance for this test = 85%
CPU Watts = 183.5W
0.34 C/W = (74C - 21C)/(.85(216W))
To calculate a new C/W rating for this test we will need to factor in the increased processor wattage. The formula and constants for this are listed below.
ocC/W = dCPU Watts * (ocMhz / dMhz) * (ocVcore / dVcore)2
ocMhz = 3200
dMhz = 2660
ocVcore = 1.30
dVcore = 1.20
The variance still applies for our C/W calculation
Allowed variance for this test = 85%
CPU Watts = 183.5W
0.34 C/W = (74C - 21C)/(.85(216W))
Benchmark Conclusion
In our heatsink and waterblock tests we don't really focus on overall load temperatures but rather how well the product can remove heat given a specified heat load. Since this is a real world testing method we need to take into consideration real world variables and estimate tolerances. This is why we normally only apply 85% of the total wattage output to our heat calculations.
The resulting C/W number is used to rate how efficient a heatsink or waterblock is based on the given heat load. These numbers can be used to determine heat capacity, the larger the difference the less efficient the heatsink is. (aka not good for overclocking)
Cooler Master V10 is a great cooler for keeping the stock temps down however when you start adding some overclocking and additional voltage kicks the numbers start to speak for themselves. The temperature jump is just horrible. When Cooler Master speaks of the V10s 200 watt cooling limit it should have stated that is a “serious absolute CPU killing limit.” The way Cooler Master V10 goes about using the TEC seems to not help all that much. The TEC is attached to four heatpipes on the side of the CPU mounting plate. If the TEC was directly over the mount area these numbers might look much better.
Keep in mind these calculations are provided for demonstration purposes only and may not reflect the actual lab tested C/W rating, but we're pretty close.
The resulting C/W number is used to rate how efficient a heatsink or waterblock is based on the given heat load. These numbers can be used to determine heat capacity, the larger the difference the less efficient the heatsink is. (aka not good for overclocking)
Cooler Master V10 is a great cooler for keeping the stock temps down however when you start adding some overclocking and additional voltage kicks the numbers start to speak for themselves. The temperature jump is just horrible. When Cooler Master speaks of the V10s 200 watt cooling limit it should have stated that is a “serious absolute CPU killing limit.” The way Cooler Master V10 goes about using the TEC seems to not help all that much. The TEC is attached to four heatpipes on the side of the CPU mounting plate. If the TEC was directly over the mount area these numbers might look much better.
Keep in mind these calculations are provided for demonstration purposes only and may not reflect the actual lab tested C/W rating, but we're pretty close.
