Temperature behavior
As I had evaluated the thermal behavior of the regular version of the Fractal North using an air cooler, this time I wanted to use an AIO to test what the spacious case is capable of. Fractal Design provided us with the Lumen S36, a 360mm AIO with discreet lighting and a focus on the essentials.
Test system:
The usual B550 / Ryzen 9 3900X RX 7700XT system was again used as the test system.
General conditions:
AIO fans: 800rpm
Case fans: 600rpm
Pump: 2500rpm
CPU Torture
For the CPU stress test, I again used Cinebench R23 in continuous loop. Over the entire test, 145W was applied to maintain an allcore boost of ~4050-4100MHz (PBO on). The average temperature of the 3900X was 74.5°C, which definitely puts the North XL at the top of the list.
Gaming workload
Borderlands 3 was again used for the gaming test, as it practically fully utilizes the graphics card throughout and therefore generates a lot of waste heat. Especially with AIOs mounted in the lid, this has a significant effect on the CPU temperature, as the waste heat from the graphics card is transported outside through the radiator. When starting a game, a lot obviously has to be compiled, which is why there was a brief rise in temperature to around 70°C, after which the CPU stabilized in the mid 50°C range.
The graphics card also kept a cool head in the North XL. Although it remained at the specified temperature limit of 60°C for almost the entire duration of the test, the fans only had to run at just over 1500rpm.
The HotSpot was nailed down and absolutely harmless.
Bonus measurement
During the gaming measurement, I noticed that very warm air was blown upwards out of the radiator. Logically, the heat from the graphics card has to be dissipated somewhere if the fans on the radiator are the only exhaust fans in the system. Out of interest, I then installed an additional 140mm fan in the rear to remove the waste heat from the graphics card from the case before it is drawn through the radiator. The result: 3°C lower average temperature of the CPU and considerably cooler air out of the top of the case!
Interim conclusion
Basically, the temperatures in the Fractal Design North XL can be described as very decent. Thanks to its size and the generous perforation, very good results can be achieved. Unfortunately, the pre-assembled case fans are only really quiet at very low speeds, which is why they were only set to approx. 600rpm in the test. At a sitting distance of approx. 1m, they are then only very slightly audible. It’s a shame that Fractal doesn’t fit a fan in the rear as standard, as this could definitely reduce the CPU temperature when using an AIO in the lid and, considering the price of around €200, this would definitely have been possible.
77 Antworten
Kommentar
Lade neue Kommentare
Urgestein
Veteran
Moderator
Veteran
Urgestein
Veteran
Urgestein
Veteran
Urgestein
Veteran
Veteran
Veteran
Veteran
Urgestein
Urgestein
Veteran
Urgestein
Veteran
Veteran
Alle Kommentare lesen unter igor´sLAB Community →