Test System & Test Results

Testing with the Lenovo took a bit of creativity. The Intel T5900 processor is quite a warm chip. So after a bit of fooling around, I found that using Prime95 for stress testing combined with CoreTemp for a temperature reading we could get some good information to go by.

To run the testing, I allowed the Lenovo to sit for fifteen minutes, allowing the processor to find its base temperature. This will be shown in the CoreTemp window, under the "low" box. Then I started the testing. I allowed Prime95 to run the first series of 8 tests and took the number from the "high" box to get my maximum loaded temperature.

Due to the heat the Midwest is experiencing, I had no choice but to do the testing at 29 degrees Celsius. While it is a little on the warm side, it should allow the Designer a lot of room to show its potential. There is also the thought that these are portable units, so the ambient would be very similar if I was doing something like typing on my front porch.

Without the Designer, I started the testing after a brief cool down. The CPU started at 44 degrees idle and jumped right up to 80 degrees under the stress of eight rounds of Small FFT testing.

With the Designer in place and plugged into the Lenovo, I immediately saw a two degree drop in idle temperatures. That same gap kept the notebook at 78 degrees for a maximum load temperature. Not a great result, but there are other benefits to be had other than just CPU temperatures.

It was very hard to do sound testing. At idle, the Lenovo and the Designer are both below the scale. Under load, the fan speed of the Designer stays the same so there is no change. It is indeed silent cooling!