Valkyrie Surge SL125 CPU Air Cooler Review

Thermal Testing – Gaming

OC3D CPU Cooler Gaming Test

With this new CPU testing rig, we wanted to experiment with analysing the “gaming” performance of CPU coolers. After all, all-core stress tests are not a common workload for PC users. Games do not usually put huge levels of stress on all cores of your processor, especially if your CPU has a high core count. We also wanted to see if your choice of CPU cooler impacts GPU thermals under a GPU-focused stress test. After all, your CPU cooler can have a huge impact on the overall airflow pattern of your PC.

This testing procedure uncovered something. What we found was that AIO CPU liquid cooling solutions gave us lower GPU thermals. This makes sense, as these solutions pump hot air directly out of our test system and act as an exhaust. That said, the impact on GPU thermals was minimal. We only saw drops of 2-3 degrees during this test. Given this lack of difference, we will now focus exclusively on CPU thermals with this test.

For our CPU game test, we used Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker’s benchmarking tool for our gaming test. This test can run for a long time and moves between CPU and GPU-limited parts of the game. This test was used at a resolution of 1080p at maximum settings.

1,000 RPM Testing

With its fans set to 1,000 RPM, the Surge does a great job compared to its similarly priced counterparts. It bests the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo and the Arctic Freezer 36. Not bad for a CPU cooling newcomer.

1,500 RPM Testing

At 1,500 RPM, the SL125 continued to deliver strong cooling performance. That said, it is worth remembering that this is a light gaming load.

Max RPM Testing

Once again, the Surge SL125 continues to deliver strong performance within its performance category. Users need larger air coolers or liquid cooling solutions to best this small £30-ish heatsink. Not bad for budget gamers.