Corsair H110i GT vs NZXT Kraken X61 Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅23-04-15
Test Setup & Methodology


Test System
CPU - Intel Core i7-3930K (3.6GHz)
Motherboard – GIGABYTE X79-UP4
Memory - 8GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600MHz CL9
Graphics – Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 1GB
PSU - NZXT Hale90 650W
Hard Drive - Kingston HyperX 240GB SATA III SSD
Case - Corsair Carbide 760T

CPU Coolers
Alpenfφhn K2 (120mm Wingboost: 500-1500RPM, 140mm Wingboost: 300-1100RPM)
Thermalright SilverArrow SB-E Extreme (Dual TY-143 fans – 600-2500RPM)
Corsair Hydro Series H100i (Dual 120mm fans – up to 2700RPM Push Config)
Noctua NH-U14S (Single 140mm cooling fan – 300-1500RPM)
Corsair H75 (Dual 120mm cooling fans - 600-2000RPM)
CRYORIG R1 Ultimate (Dual 140mm cooling fans – 700-1400RPM)
Corsair Hydro Series H105 - (Dual 120mm fans – up to 2700RPM Push Config)
Noctua NH-D15 (Dual 140mm cooling fans – 300-1500RPM)
LEPA LV12 (Single 120mm cooling fan – 300-2200RPM)
CRYORIG H5 Universal (Single 140mm cooling fan – 600-1400RPM)
Fractal Design Kelvin S24 (Dual 120mm cooling fans – 800-1700RPM)
Noctua NH-U9S (Single 92mm cooling fan – 800-2000RPM)
Corsair Hydro H110i GT (Dual 140mm cooling fans – 800-2200RPM)
NZXT Kraken X61 (Dual 140mm cooling fans – 800-2000RPM)



Program Suite
Real Temp – Maximum temperature analysis
LinX 0.6.4 – Applies thorough stress test to CPU
CPU-Z – Confirmation of CPU frequency/voltage
AIDA64 Extreme Edition – Confirmation of temperatures/fan speeds

Testing Methodology

For this special feature article and since we’re testing both coolers head-to-head, we’ll be setting both coolers up with two settings – 100% fan speed/RPM and then PWM mode (auto) to establish a fair test. This will demonstrate the true champion of cooling!

Testing will be based on temperatures recorded by Real Temp after 20 passes of LinX stress test. The maximum absolute temperatures will be recorded after the test and averaged over the 6 cores. The delta is then calculated by subtracting the temperature recorded near the intake fans from the average temperature calculated. Tests are conducted with the Intel i7 3930K at its default 3.6GHz stock speed and overclocked to 4.6GHz @ 1.42V. The tests are done inside the Corsair Graphite 760T chassis to simulate real world conditions. To keep the tests standardised we are using Noctua's NT-H1 thermal paste on all coolers.

CPU coolers are reviewed as they come out of the box – with their factory cooling fans, as the manufacturer intended and as the consumer expects.

Additional tests include a passive test where the cooling fans are taken away from the heatsink and a comparison between the cooler used with stock thermal paste against our Noctua NT-H1 paste.

A kind thank you to Noctua for supplying us with NT-H1 thermal compound.

15 pages « < 9 10 11 12 > »

Comments