Overclocking and noise
Pushing our test bed to its limit, we managed to maintain stability with the H60-cooled 980X running at a useful 4.29MHz.
That's a very healthy overclock on an already-fast chip, but the increase in voltage and frequency really stresses the H60 cooler.
Temperatures dip over 80ºC, and at this point you might want to consider adding a second fan to the H60 radiator.
The noise factor
A common complaint among users of the Hydro H50 was that its bundled 120mm fan could become loud at high speeds.
Is the H60 an improvement? Well, yes and no. With its fan set to rotate at its slowest speed, we measured system noise at a very quiet 32.4dB - that's practically silent from a few feet away. Great for users wanting to combine performance and quiet computing, but set fan speed to maximum for overclocking purposes and noise rises up to 43.9dB, at which point it's clearly audible.
Putting those numbers into perspective, Intel's reference DBX-B cooler hits 34.8dB at low speed and an obtrusive 48.2dB when turned up to performance mode.
