Inside Compact there are two 180mm cooling fans – placed as front intakes. We would have liked to see a push-pull configuration out of the box as this would typically yield better results, but if we only have the choice of intake or exhaust, intakes are more favourable for cooling.

To discover the thermal performance of Compact we will record idle temperatures after 20 minutes from a cold boot. We will then stress the system and temperatures will again be monitored after 30 minutes have elapsed.

For the purpose of accurate analysis, the idle and load temperatures for CPU will be recorded and the range between idle and load will be calculated to determine how efficient cooling is.

NOTE: Ambient temperature is 20C

The below system configuration is different to that which is displayed/installed within the pictures. We use this below configuration for historic comparison.

System Components


Noise

The noise emitted from Compact is noticeable but certainly not disruptive.