Measuring Performance
If you’ve decided to give liquid cooling a go, you’re going to want to do some benchmarking, to see how much of an effect it has had on your build.
We recommend you download CPUID’s HWMonitor. It’s a neat piece of freeware that pumps out all sorts of system info, including temperatures of a whole variety of system components, including your CPU and GPU.
Next on our list is Prime95. Designed to search for Mersenne prime numbers, it’s one of the most aggressive torture tests out there for stressing your processor. Finally, for your GPU, grab FurMark—or, if you fancy dropping the cash, 3DMark’s Fire Strike.
First up, reboot your system, open up HWMonitor, and take note of the idle temperatures of your processor (you’ll want the “package” temperature) and your GPU. Next, load up Prime95, check the box that says “Just Stress Testing,” then select “Small FFTs” for your torture test. Run this for around 10 minutes, before hitting “Test” in the toolbar, then “Stop.” Note down the max temperature in HWMonitor, then click “View” and “Clear Min/Max,” to reset the figures for your GPU tests.
For your graphics card, keep HWMonitor open, start up FurMark, and run a single instance of your screen’s resolution, with x4 AA (do the same with Fire Strike, depending on what resolution you game at). Leave this for 10 minutes (or the duration of the run), note down the max temperature in HWMonitor, and close the applications.
Once your liquid cooling is set up, repeat the process to see the improvement. If you’re on air cooling prior to changing, run Prime95 until you hit your CPU’s max temperature (without thermal throttling), stop Prime95, and time how long it takes the CPU to return to its idle temperature.