Testing
The test rig consists of the following parts:
Processor: Intel Core i5 2500K
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 EVO
Video Card: SPARKLE Calibre Series X480 GeForce GTX 480
Memory: Corsair Vengence 8 GB @ 1600mhz
Power Supply: High Power Astro PT 700w
Storage: OCZ Vertex 2 120 GB Running Windows 8 64bit
Cooling: XSPC RayStorm 750 RS240
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
Testing was done using Intel Burn Test (IBT) with the AVX instruction set. The reason I use this instead of Prime95 with this setup is that it pushes our i5 2500K a whole lot harder, giving us a better sense of load temps. Most of the testing was done at the high memory setting for a single pass. While admittedly this in no way would qualify the chip as stable when overclocking, it gives us a realistic idea of what temps it will be hitting.
Stock Intel cooler results:
Ambient temps: 22.22C/71.99F
Idle temps: 31.25C/88.25F core average
IBT temps: 78.5C/173.3F core average
And here are results from the Raystorm kit:
Ambient temps: 20C/68F
Idle temps: 31.75C/89.15F core average
IBT temps: 43C/109.4F core average
If you hadn’t noticed already this is one of the best performing cooling solutions we’ve tested! But these are simply idle temps. How does this loop compare when we crank up the voltage and clocks?
Well, what do you know, the best we’ve ever tested:
Ambient temps: 20C/68F
Max overclock: 5.0 ghz/1.504V vCore
IBT temps: 74C/165.2F core average with a the single highest core reaching 79C
It seems like you could possibly go to 5.1ghz with this cooler, but when I started to push, the chip wanted a lot more voltage. It just didn’t seem worth it for a negligible gain in performance.
As for noise I was a little concerned with the 1650 rpm fans. That speed tends to be a little noisy/borderline annoying. Fortunately for XSPC these were not too bad. I would say they are noticeable if you listen for them, but otherwise simply background noise.
The pump on the other hand is not very quiet as far as they go. Even for a stand alone water cooling pump it’s noisy. Compare it to say, the pump on the Swiftech H220 and it doesn’t hold a candle. Again though, it does blend into the background if you give it a chance.