Chassis Benchmarks

YEP, WE’RE FINALLY going to introduce chassis testing. System-building is hugely important to us, and we feel it’s about time we introduce our own case testing.

Not only are we going to test these cases in their stock, shipped configurations, with whatever fans are (or are not) included, but we’ll also test them in an optimized configuration too. So how will we do it? Well firstly it’s all about hardware. Since we’ll be testing everything from ITX cases to full towers and beyond, we’re going to need two very similar test beds at two different form factors. Before we test, we’ll manually “overclock” the CPU to 4.5GHz @1.2V, and set the GPU to run at a fixed max clock speed of 1,750 MHz. This will eliminate fluctuations in temperature output at lower or higher ambient temps.

For cooling, our “stock” configuration is going to use a Noctua NH-U12S airtower equipped with twin Corsair ML120 Pro fans. In very extreme ITX cases we’ll be swapping that out for a Noctua NH-L9i, which is a super-slim cooler, although

those cases will only ever be compared against other L9i-tested chassis.

Once temperature testing is completed at stock, we’ll swap out the cooler for a Corsair Hydro H100X 240mm AIO, and install the cooler with those same two fans for consistency. Then we’ll install up to eight 120mm ML120 fans in what we consider to be the best orientation.

For temperature tests for the CPU we’ll note the ambient temperature and humidity, before running an instance of Prime95 for an hour, and noting down the max CPU temperature. We’ll then let the system idle for 30 minutes, before performing a Fire Strike “Combined” loop test for an hour, noting the max GPU temperature. We’ll then use a phone app to measure dB(A) during 50% system fan RPM under load in an empty room from three feet away. Including temperature deltas against ambient for both components will account for fluctuation in ambient heat.