Gamerstorm Lucifer CPU Cooler Review - Testing

Details: Mar 16; Hits: 13937

CPU cooling one of the prime considerations in any build. Once a new system builder decides if they’re going to use air or water for the purpose the next step is usually research. If they’re smart they’ll look at reviews online, from both tech sites like ours and from actual users on sites like Newegg and Amazon to learn what they need to know about the specifics of a potential cooler. They’ll most likely start with the names that most of us in the game know already, names like Noctua, Cooler Master, Zalman and Prolimatech. These are all great names in the business and they’ve gotten that way for a reason. I’ve had the privilege of testing coolers from all of these companies and I was impressed with them all, but once in a while a company comes along that I’ve never heard of and offers their product for testing.

I was recently offered the chance to put the Gamerstorm Lucifer CPU cooler from Deepcool through our torture test. I had heard of Deepcool but rarely, and never with any fanfare. It turns out they’re a huge name in the business that is only now coming into the U.S. market. I gladly agreed to abuse their cooler and show you guys the results. First, let’s take a look at the cooler.

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Testing

In order to keep test results equal across the board, all cooling testing is done with the following setup, conditions and methods:

Test System:

AMD Phenom II 1100T at stock 3.3GHz (125-watt TDP)
Asus M5A99FX Pro mainboard
4GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 RAM
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Radeon HD4870 video
Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 850-watt PSU
Thermaltake Spedo Advance full-tower case
120mm intake case fan (x2)
120mm exhaust case fan

Ambient temp in the testing environment is brought as close to previous testing levels as possible and recorded at the beginning of the test. For this test ambient was 24C and remained stable within .2 degrees for the duration of the testing.

Before testing begins, BIOS power/performance settings are set to "balanced" mode and the system is allowed to idle for 30 minutes to get a stable idle temp.

Stress testing is done with OCCT 4.4.0, running 30 minutes on each set, with large data set and a 1-minute idle time recorded at the beginning and end of each test. If a cooler has multiple modes (high and low fan speeds, for instance), the test is run for each mode and all results recorded.

Tests are performed using Noctua NT-H1 thermal interface material for equal comparison with other cooling solutions.

So how did the Lucifer fare in holding the temps down on this hot 6-core processor?

Not bad at all! We can see the temps only spiked above 60 a couple of times and only for a very brief period. Aside from those couple of spikes the temps topped out at a very respectable 59 degrees.

Noise levels

The fan that comes with the Lucifer is not only pretty, it’s effective. As mentioned, it’s a 4-pin PWM fan, and is very quiet. In our test system the case fans are tuned with a Sunbeam rheobus fan controller to be just below the audible level, thus providing a real-world environment for testing while not interfering with the noise level of the product in testing. Until the temperatures hit 58 degrees I was completely unable to hear the fan on this cooler, and even when it was spinning at its highest rate (for this test) it was very quiet and the noise it did make was a lower-pitched hum rather than the high-pitched whine we all know so well in PC fans. Absolutely outstanding acoustic performance.

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Gamerstorm Lucifer CPU Cooler Review - Testing

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