Thermaltake V14 Pro CPU Cooler

Test Setup

In order to test the Thermaltake V14 Pro, I have decided to target the two main areas that should cover our broad spectrum of readers here at Overclock3D. I will be assessing the Thermaltake V14 Pro under the following conditions:

* Cooling performance (Overclocked idle and load)
* Noise

The test setup for today’s performance review will be comprised of:

I have explained my testing methodology for each phase of the performance review below:

Cooling performance

I will be testing the Thermaltake V14 Pro on my Q6600 (G0 Stepping) processor to assess the CPU cooler’s ability to handle the heat-load of a quad-core’. The CPU will be overclocked to 3.6GHz and load will be simulated using 2 x instances of Stress Prime 2004 ORTHOS Edition. Idle temperatures were taken after allowing the system temperatures to settle after 20 minutes.

Ambient temperature will be taken using a standard mercury thermometer and allowing it time to normalise. Processor idle and load  temperatures will be obtained using Core Temp 0.99, and an average taken over the four cores…purely to make plotting the chart a little easier to read. All testing will be conducted 3 times and an average taken to ensure the uniformity of results. The Intel reference cooler; Scythe Orochi and the V14 Pro will be tested, removed, and then re-installed a total of three times to ensure the elimination of any poor mounting issues.

While I would have liked to have included some larger heatsinks like the Mugen, Noctua NH-U12P and TRUE into the comparison, they weren’t available at the time of testing.

Ambient temperatures during testing was a warm 30.0 degrees Celsius.

Results

As we can see from the comparison charts above the Intel reference heatsink is outclassed by the both the Thermaltake V14 Pro (full and medium fan speed) and the exceptionally large Scythe Orochi. Testing was interrupted during the Intel reference heatsink’s testing due to temperatures escalating into the low 80’s.However, the Thermaltake V14 Pro whilst also being trumped by the Scythe Orochi, manages to keep the overclocked Q6600 cool at idle, although things get a little toasty at load. It’s interesting to note that when we adjusted the fan speed of the Thermaltake V14 Pro, temperatures only increased by a few degrees.

The Scythe Orochi is without a doubt the quietest of the three heatsinks tested here today, but the Thermaltake V14 Pro with the fan turned down to a medium setting is very quiet. As is to be expected, the Intel reference heatsink again manages to take the ‘wooden spoon’ when it comes to dBA levels.