Acoustic, Power & Thermal Performance
Acoustic Performance
Sadly, the Intel stock cooler is quite loud when browsing the web, writing documents and completing other low-end tasks. The noise output is significantly higher than I would expect and becomes quite irritating if you’re accustomed to a silent desktop experience. Honestly, the volume levels don’t make a lot of sense given the processor’s locked multiplier and modest voltage. Once stressed, the noise output only increases by a tiny amount and you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference by ear. Thankfully, the load noise is acceptable and much quieter than lots of competing systems.
Power Consumption
The lower-end graphics card which doesn’t require any extra power from the PSU is paramount to the system’s exceptionally efficient power draw. Once stressed, the wattage is very stable and doesn’t fluctuate beyond the 130-133 range.
Thermal Performance
Despite the Intel stock cooler being a relatively basic solution, it’s perfectly capable of contending with the i5 6600’s thermal output. During the AIDA64 stress test, the CPU’s average was 54C and the hottest core peaked at 57C. This is well within the chip’s thermal limits and you shouldn’t encounter any problems even if the environmental temperature skyrockets. Also, the system’s GPU doesn’t heat up in a rapid fashion and remains under 50C throughout a wide range of demanding games.
