CPU Air Cooler Mega Test

Test Rig Overview

Case

For the case we’ve selected the CoolerMaster MasterCase Pro5.  When we looked at this case a few months back we were perhaps a little hard on it.  It is in fact a very good case, but at the time it was released it just didn’t meet with the expectation of interchangeability the marketing hype would have you believe.  Skip forward in time and the options are all there, making it the perfect case for us to use in testing CPU cooling solutions. 

       

 

 

Motherboard and CPU

When looking for the main testbed solution we’ve mated the Intel SkyLake i7 6700K with the Asus Maximus Ranger VIII, as we feel not everyone is running this sort of gear it is at least representative of the kit that people are using.

       

 

GPU

For the GPU we selected the ASUS Strix R9 380 (4GB).  As we’re not testing graphics we don’t need a super powerful GPU, and as this is such a cracking little heat efficient unit we suspect the fans won’t even be turning when we’re running the GPU light, CPU heavy OCCT torture test.

       

 

RAM

Yes we know it’s not a lot of RAM by today’s standards, but 8GB of the excellent Corsair Vengeance LPX RAM will suffice for our needs

       

PSU

We don’t need a massive PSU, but we do need something that’s cool and reliable.  For that reason we’ve opted for the Semi-modular CoolerMaster V650.