Test System Specifications:
AMD Test Bench
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
- Motherboard: Gigabyte X670 Aorus Elite AX
- Memory: 32GB Kingston Fury FK560C36BBEAK2-32 DDR5-6000
- Graphics card: Gigabyte RX 6700 XT Gaming OC
- Storage: 500GB Corsair MP600 PCIe Gen4 NVME M.2 SSD
- Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1000
- Chassis: Open Test Bench
- Thermal Compound: Arctic MX-6
- O/S: Windows 11 Version 22H2
Intel Test Bench
- CPU: Intel Core i9-13900K
- Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Master
- Memory: 32GB (2 X 16GB Modules) Kingston Fury DDR5-6000
- Graphics card: Gigabyte RX 6700 XT Gaming OC
- Storage: 500GB Crucial P3 NVMe M.2 SSD
- Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1000
- Chassis: Open Test Bench
- Thermal Compound: Arctic MX-6
- Operating System: Windows 11 Version 22H2
Testing Methodology:
We are primarily focussing on the performance of each cooler at 100% fan speed and also when locked to 40dBA noise output. We will focus on cooling performance using a manual overclock with all-core frequency and VCORE locked to 5.2GHz/1.3v and Precision Boost Overdrive performance.
- The test data is logged using HWINFO and the final 10 minutes of the data is calculated to find the average CPU temperature and CPU clock multiplier (PBO Test) and then plotted in the charts.
- For testing, we use a 30-minute looped run of Cinebench R23 and record the steady-state CPU temperature at the end of the test. This ensures that the CPU has had ample time to warm up and reach a steady state under all of the coolers.
- The ambient is maintained at 19-21 degrees Celsius. Where there is variation beyond this temperature range, we add extra repeated tests to ensure consistency. However, this is well controlled now with A/C.
- We also test each cooler with at least two fresh installs (typically three) to mitigate the likelihood of poor mounting spoiling results.
- Ambient temperature and humidity are controlled via a mini split air conditioning system inside the test room. Ambient temperature is maintained between 19-21C, Temperature delta figures are shown in the charts (ambient temperature is deducted from the measured component temperature).
Test Results:
Acoustics
Thermal Performance
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X:
In the first of three tests on the AMD 7950X test bench we look at the thermal performance with the CPU frequency and voltages fixed and the radiator fans and pump speed all fixed at maximum RPM to test the cooler’s raw performance.
In this configuration, the DeepCool Mystique 360 shows great brute-force raw thermal performance by displacing the EK-Nucleus from the top spot in the chart by 3°C, while using an equal fan speed as the EK-Nucleus.
Tuning fan speed to 40dBA can harm some AIO cooler's performance, but the Mystique 360 holds on very well. In fact, at 40dBA the Mystique even outperforms the recently reviewed Arctic Liquid Freezer III by a couple of degrees.
In the PBO test the important metric is clock speed. Again the Deepcool Mystique 360 scores well here with an average clock multiplier of 51.6 x which is the highest average PBO clock speed we have seen while testing the 7590X, so overall it's great performance from the Mystique 360 on AMD AM5.
Intel Core i9-13900K:
We are still adding coolers to our Intel 13900K test bench so right now we don’t have the extensive list we do on our AMD test system, however, we can compare the performance of the DeepCool Mystique 360 against some other 360mm AIOs.
With fan speed maxed out on the 13900K the Mystique 360 performance is mid-table but solid. It beats other 360mm coolers by a close margin but it doesn’t have the brute force performance of some other coolers with high fan speed which is to be expected.
But when noise is normalised to 40dBA the Mystique 360 closes up on the competition and is just a few degrees behind the top Intel coolers.
It's a similar story when all cooler fans are limited to 1400 RPM, performance looks average with the cooler only sitting in mid-table but it's only a couple of degrees off the top 3 which is within margin of error. So on AMD AM5 or Intel LGA1700, you can expect very good performance from the Deepcool Mystique 360.