AMA Aragon 900

Testing

Methodology

To test CPU coolers we boot the PC up with a freshly installed copy of Windows Vista and measure temperatures under idle and load states. The onboard temperature sensor is disregarded and instead the CPU’s own diode is used.

For idle testing, we simply let the rig sit doing absolutely nothing for 30 minutes and take the most representative temperature of the last 10 minutes. The same is used for the load testing, but instead of letting the PC do nothing; we load all four cores to 100% using Prime95

The thermal paste used on all the coolers was Noctua NT-H1 and all temperatures were recording using Core Temp. Temperature readings for both idle and load were taken with the i7 920 at stock speed (2.66GHz) and overclocked to 3.6GHz. In order to achieve the overclock, the base clock was set to 180 with Vcore and QPI voltages of 1.35 and also an IOH voltage of 1.24.

As no other WC kits were available for comparison, the Noctua NH-U12P was used for comparison purposes.

Results

Cooling

@ 2.66 (stock)

@ 3.6 (Overclocked)   

Click to enlarge

Whilst at idle temperatures there is not much between the top end air cooling and the Aragon 900 WC kit, at load there is a much bigger difference and this is what overclockers and enthusiasts will be most interested in.

At stock speed, the water cooling has a 9 degree margin and a slightly lower 8 degree margin at 3.6Ghz – clearly the i7 CPUs get very hot when overclocked and so the use of water cooling for getting to higher speeds isn’t a bad plan.

If using the i7 920 at stock speeds, then water cooling is probably not necessary but when you start to increase the base frequency and CPU voltages, the temperatures do get pretty high and so if you are intended for any significant overclock, I would definitely give water cooling a go. The AMA Aragon 900 is a great starter kit but you can always customize the kit a little once you have it.

Noise

The fans are really very quiet indeed and I was very impressed especially as the radiator was externally mounted and so I was more likely to notice the noise produced.

Of course 2 x 120mm fans will produce a bit but not nearly as much as the stock GPU fans inside the case and the pump does vibrate a little. Please note that for the first time you use the setup, it will be quite noisy until the air bubbles escape the system which will take about an hour to completely calm down.

Cost

The kit is priced at $210 which a quick conversion made for about £125 – clearly this a lot of money for simply cooling for CPU but if the GPU water block is used too then it is much more effective

Coolers