Acoustic Tests

We measured the level of noise generated by our today’s testing participants from a 3cm, 1m and 3m distance. The results are given on the diagram below:

What can we say here? Thermaltake DuOrb turned out not that quiet at all, since its noise lies beyond subjective comfort zone. I believe the new cooler could use some fans with PWM support and maybe even with higher maximum rotation speed of ~2500RPM or even ~3000RPM. Of course, it would be ideal if they included a rotation speed controller with the bundled accessories, so that the user could find his or her best balance between rotation speed and noise level.

Conclusion

According to our today’s tests, Thermaltake DuOrb didn’t prove to be a super efficient air cooler and cannot be included into the Super-cooler group. Nevertheless, it will have its place in the cooling solutions market. It should not be regarded only as an efficient cooling solution for your CPU, memory and around-the-socket area. These are indeed important aspects, but not all the users and not all the time need maximum processor overclocking and maximum cooling efficiency of the CPU cooler. Such aspects as exterior looks, original design that can surprise your friends, even LED highlighting determine the buying preferences. And if the cooler is also efficient enough, it will certainly find its way into transparent system cases or open testbeds of computer stores attracting potential customers. The only really disappointing fact is an uncomfortable level of generated noise, even though we can’t say it is too high.