Test System
| Test System Specs | ||||
| Mainboard | Gigabyte X670E AORUS Master Bios Version F10a |
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| CPU | Ryzen 9 7950X3D | |||
| GPU | Galax GeForce RTX 4060 EX | |||
| NVMe | XPG GAMMIX S50 Lite 1TB | |||
| RAM | XPG Lancer DDR5 (2 x 16GB) 6000MHz | |||
| Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G7 | |||
| CPU Cooler | NH-D15S chromax.black | |||
| Case | What is under test! | |||
| Ambient Temperature | 25°C ±0.1°C | |||
| Drivers | AMD Chipset: 5.02.19.2221 NVIDIA: 537.13 |
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I used a modded Gigabyte X670E AORUS Master as the testing mainboard, with three thermal probes (K-Type) installed on its VRMs, chipset, and NVMe drive. Although I use a climate chamber, I also monitor the ambient temperature and have another thermal probe at the PSU’s exhaust and one at the chassis’ exhaust. I obtain the rest of the system temperatures, CPU, and GPU through the custom-made software I use for conducting all thermal measurements.
Please note that I use a different system for shooting photos, for the assembly page, and the aforementioned one for thermal testing.
I use a Powenetics v2 kit to monitor power consumption and every other important aspect of the system.
Pages:
While it will add more time to the review process, I think it would be great if you could add a section for noise normalized and fan normalized measurements. I imagine a 1 front intake and 1 exhaust 120mm fan would be suitable for 90% of cases while providing good data for those who plan to use aftermarket fans.
Thank you for your suggestions! Noise normalized, I do already, using the fans of the chassis. Fan normalized is a huge pain for me. Only if I find someone here to completely handle chassis since they are killing me.
It would be good to have a section on memory cooling as well. Heavy memory OC is greatly affected when temps get too high.
Thorough, spot on review, as usual. Every review I’ve seen on this site so far is superb, even preferable to most found on some of the more ubiquitous sites.
This flagship Dark Base chassis from beQuiet!, even if a tad pricey, is likely their best, & one of the best on the market. The only disappointment (for me), is unlike their Silent Base & Pure Base series chasses, the Dark Base has no choice for a solid, non tempered glass solid side panel. While said choice is important to some, for most its a non-issue.