Testing
Installation
Even those of you who tend to have no problems with a screw style install, you may be in for some hiccups during the installation process. Yes, the Z600 was far easier to install than the Coolscraper 3.0 but it still took a somewhat frustrating 10 minutes to get this one on my mobo. This is partly to do with its size and the screw mounting system (entirely necessary in this instance as I don’t think any push pins would be able to hold its weight) and partly to do with the fact that its weight put so much strain on the motherboard during installation that it became a delicate business installing it.
Also of note is the height of the cooler. When installing it into our test case – Lian Li PC-C32 – it was quite clear that it was simply too tall as we were unable to completely close the top case panel. While this case is quite shallow compared to some others, potential buyers need to take the dimensions of the Z600 into account before purchasing.
Methodology
To test we simply boot the PC up with a freshly installed copy of Windows XP, 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 both cores to 100%.
| Processor | Intel C2D E6750 |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | XFX 790i Ultra SLI |
| RAM | 2GB Crucial Ballistix 1600mhz |
| Graphics Card | XFX 9800GX2 |
| Power supply | Coolermaster MPower 1000w |
| OS | Windows XP Pro x86 |
| Case | Lian Li PC-C32 |
All of the testing was carried out with the side panels on and with one front and rear 120mm fan attached. Ambient temperatures were at 22 degrees C. The processor was loaded using CPU Burn In.
Results were taken while the CPU was under stock, and overclocked states. When at stock, the CPU was at 2.4ghz with a Vcore of 1.3v. When overclocked, the CPU was at 3.2ghz and had a Vcore of 1.45v.
Speedfan was used to take all temperatures.
The Z600 was compared to the Intel stock cooler, and the Asus Triton Amazing. Test were carried out with the cooler in passive and fan assisted modes.
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