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Maximum Noise Levels
In terms of maximum volume, the noise levels of Montech’s HS01 Pro can reach up to 47.2 dBA, on the higher end of the chart. One thing my charts don’t, however, is the pitch of the fans, which isn’t particularly annoying here (at least to me). So I would say that the noise doesn’t “feel” as loud as the dBA measurements would indicate. But your ears may give you a different opinion.
Thermal Paste testing
Because the main difference between this case and the previously tested HS02 Pro is the ability to install front intake fans, we’re going to test it a little differently. If we performed our normal case tests, the results would likely be about the same as the previous review.
For the first set of benchmarks, we'll show a preview of this year’s paste testing – which was performed a little differently than last year’s. The first change is that we’re using Montech’s HS01 Pro case for this testing.
For the cooler, we’ve selected Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III Pro as it is currently the best AIO we’ve tested. One other change we’ve made is the CPU. Rather than using an IntelCPU, we’re using AMD’s sixteen-core Ryzen 9 9950X.
Much like last year’s testing on an Intel platform, we’re seeing pastes like Arctic’s MX-6, ID-Cooling’s Frost X45, and Corsair’s XTM70 perform near the top. A result that surprised us is our top performer with this year’s testing, Thermal Grizzly’s Kryosheet, which beat our best result from a paste by a solid 2.4 degrees C!
This product is an alternative to commonly used thermal greases, made of a specially designed graphene sheet. While this material is electrically conductive, it is made of a solid material, so the electrical risks are smaller compared to liquid metals.
How much does adding intake fans help?
Because the only difference – in its default configuration – between the HS01 Pro and the previously reviewed HS02 Pro is the use of a mesh filter for the front instead of a glass panel, we don’t expect results in our typical benchmarks to be much different from the HS02 Pro – so for that information, you can check our review of Montech’s HS02 Pro.
Instead, I wanted to see how much – or little – might be gained by adding front intake fans to Montech’s HS01 Pro. For this, I decided to use ASUS’ TUF Gaming TR120 fans.
For this test, I ran a stress test on our GPU – an MSI RTX 4070 Ti Super – using OCCT. Concurrently, I also ran Cinebench R23 Multi-core on this system’s CPU – AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X – while implementing a 230W power limit.
First, we’ll look at the peak CPU temperatures. Adding intake fans to the front dropped peak temperatures from 95.2 degrees C down to 92.9 C, a reduction of 2.3 degrees.
The average CPU temperature was reduced even further, dropping from 92.8C down to 90C – a reduction of 2.8 degrees C. So if you want lower temperatures, consider adding front fans with this case.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for the best possible GPU thermals, Montech’s HS01 Pro is the case you’re looking for. Its bottom intake and dual exhaust fans provide chart-topping graphics card temperatures, which also means a quieter-running GPU. Users who want the best possible airflow also have the option of installing three front-intake fans.
