Fractal Design Kelvin T12, S24 and S36 Cooler Review

[section_title title=”Test Setup”]

Test Setup

CPU: Intel Core i7 4770k
Motherboard: MSI Z97I Gaming AC
Memory: 16GB (2x8GB) Team Group 1800MHz
Graphics: MSI Gaming G1 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti
Cooler: Fractal Design Kelvin range
Thermal Paste: Noctua NT-H1
Storage: Sandisk Ultra II 240GB
PSU: XFX XTR 850

Installation

During the installation process, I swapped over from the above testbench system to an MSI Z97 XPower AC motherboard and Thermaltake Suppressor F51 case using otherwise identical components, so some images will feature the cooler in that environment. I will state which use case is relevant for each observation or measurement.

Thermal performance

Thermal performance is judged on four factors overall; the idle temperature at stock and overclocked speeds, as well as the loaded temperatures at stock and loaded speeds. During the testing, whether that be the idle or loaded testing, the system is either at idle or full load for a duration of five minutes before any readings is taken. The average temperature across all four cores is then noted down and used as the results. All room temperatures are recorded beforehand as well as during the test to ensure that the delta temperature is as accurate as possible.