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Our overclocked test is the main stress test and represents a very tough challenge for these CPU coolers. As we are locking the voltage and clock speed, the temperature figures are directly comparable between competing coolers.
We see package powers in the order of 220W for the CPU and wall power levels that exceed 300W for the system. There is a caveat whereby lesser performing coolers force the CPU to run at higher temperature levels. This, in turn, reduces the operating efficiency and dictates that the CPU draws more power. This increased power draw results in higher operating temperatures, thus further negatively affecting the thermal performance.
This small degree of thermal runaway – albeit very limited in system divergence terms – is important with our manually overclocked 5950X CPU. It perhaps seems unfairly weighted against the lesser performing CPU coolers. But it is the reality of real-world operation whereby higher performing CPU coolers can sometimes show disproportionately better temperature performance at the higher thermal load levels.
Note the use of delta temperature data in our charts and factor in your own ambient conditions for reference.
With the pump and all fans – including the 60mm embedded fan – at full speed, the ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 delivers strong cooling performance for our overclocked Ryzen 9 5950X.
We see the 3x120mm Asetek 7th Gen-based cooler coming in towards the top of our chart, with only the 360mm units from Fractal and Phanteks performing better. Both of those coolers benefit from higher speed pumps and/or faster fans.
Performance is tied with that of the G.SKILL ENKI 360 AIO, though that competitor may have slightly superior long-duration cooling potential thanks to its higher speed pump.
