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Review: Fractal Design Kelvin S24

by Parm Mann on 9 December 2014, 12:00

Tags: Fractal Design

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Performance

High-end coolers are a must for most overclocked CPUs - the high temps observed with the Intel reference cooler are testament to that.

Unsurprisingly, the Fractal Design Kelvin S24 tops the chart with the best delta temperature. The improvement over the 120mm Zalman LQ135 is minimal, and we're putting that down to the Corsair Graphite Series 600T chassis, which as mentioned earlier in the review has a tendency to stifle any top-mounted fans.

Cooling performance is very good, though there is a trade-off in terms of noise. During use, we found the Kelvin S24 pump to be audible at all times. The constant hum probably won't be noticed in an enthusiast rig, but if you're trying to build a PC that's as close to silent as possible, Fractal's pump isn't going to be ideal.

Reducing the pump voltage via BIOS does minimise and almost eliminate the noise, but in doing so performance is sacrificed and Fractal's recommendation is to stick to the default 12V. "Changing the pump speed or voltage may hinder performance as it may result in the pump not working forcefully enough to run the system as best it can," says the company's official documentation.