Iceberg Thermal IceFLOE T65 and T95 Review: Small System Cooling

A pair of compact coolers give system builders OEM alternatives.

By Garrett Carver
published
IceFloe T95 and T65
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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For our CPU cooling tests, we use the same hardware, overclock and configuration for each test to minimize environment variables in testing.  This allows for all results across all coolers tested on the platform to be viable as a side-by-side examination.

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CPUIntel i3-8350k LGA1151 (Coffee Lake), all 4 cores 4.0 Ghz
MotherboardASRock H370M-ITX/ac
MemorySuperTalent DDR4-3000 (2x8GB)
StorageInland m.2 2280 NVMe, 256GB
GraphicsGigabyte GTX 1050Ti
Power SupplySilverstone SX800-LTI (SFX-L)
ChassisSilverstone LD03
MonitoringCrystalFontz CFA-633-TMI-KU, 4x Dallas One Wire WR-DOW-Y17 sensors
Fan ControlCorsair Commander Pro, 100%/50% PWM Speed profiles (liquid cooling pump always @100%, if applicable)
OSWindows 10 Pro 64bit
NetworkingDisconnected, not used
Thermal CompoundArctic MX-4

Comparisons are based on data collected from testing performed on our Intel i3-8350K system.

Prime95 v29.4b8 (no AVX) is used for two-hour intervals, one managing fans at 50% PWM and the other at 100% PWM with RPM measurements being taken every 3 seconds and averaged across the duration of each 2-hour capture.  Omitting AVX instruction sets allows for accurate, 100% loads at chosen clock speeds, while allowing AVX instructions would provide higher, albeit unrealistic, synthetic CPU loads and excessive heat production, less indicative of real-world use. 

HWInfo64 is used for real-time core temperature readout, thermal throttling alerts, motherboard power consumption, CPU speed and logging of data. A CrystalFontz CFA-633-TMI-KU is used to monitor and later average both ambient room (2 probes) and motherboard voltage regulator heatsink (2 probes) temps.

Garrett Carver
Garrett Carver
CPU Cooling Reviewer

Garrett Carver is a contributor for Tom’s Hardware, primarily covering thermal compound comparisons and CPU cooling reviews; both air and liquid, including multiple variations of each.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • closs.sebastien
    it could be tested and compared with intel stock cooler for i5. This comparison would have been nice and useful.
    Reply
  • damric
    You should have included some stock coolers in comparison. Also no AVX? That's weak. Leave the CPUs at stock, sure, but let them stretch their legs to the fullest to see if this actually an adequate cooling solution. Adequate = no thermal clock throttling or shutdown. This review tells me no useful information at all.

    As for the product, looking at the poor quality extruded aluminum, I doubt it performs better than the freebie low TDP stock coolers from Intel or AMD. If it does, then I doubt it costs less than what you can get the higher TDP stock coolers from Ebay, like the Intel ones with the copper core and Wraith Spire/Prism. A lot of people give those away on the forums for free +shipping.
    Reply
  • CompuTronix
    damric said:
    Also no AVX? That's weak. Leave the CPUs at stock, sure, but let them stretch their legs to the fullest to see if this actually an adequate cooling solution.
    The Author's test methodology is correct.

    Prime95 Small FFTs (all AVX test selections disabled) is ideally suited for testing thermal performance, because it conforms to Intel's Datasheets (see page 90, section 5.1.1, 1st paragraph, 2nd sentence)as a steady-state 100% TDP workload with steady Core temperatures. No other non-proprietary utility can so closely replicate Intel's thermal test workload, however, OCCT Small Data Set (Steady Load), SSE Instruction Set is very nearly identical.

    When heavy "real-world" AVX workloads are at "peak" load, such as video transcoding apps (which are fluctuating workloads), the workload will typically approach, but not exceed P95 Small FFTs without AVX. The CineBench R23 CPU Render Test shown below is a good example of a utility which replicates real-world AVX transcoding workloads. Prime95 Small FFTs (all AVX test selections enabled) is nearly a 130% workload, which is unrealistically higher than real-world AVX workloads.

    Utilities that don't overload or underload your processor will give you a valid thermal baseline. Here’s a comparison of utilities grouped as thermal and stability tests according to % of TDP, averaged across six processor Generations at stock settings rounded to the nearest 5%:


    CT :sol:
    Reply
  • Flayed
    One thing I don't get with the temperature chart is it looks like the ambient temperature is 37 degrees?
    Reply
  • damric
    CompuTronix said:
    The Author's test methodology is correct.

    Prime95 Small FFTs (all AVX test selections disabled) is ideally suited for testing thermal performance, because it conforms to Intel's Datasheets (see page 90, section 5.1.1, 1st paragraph, 2nd sentence)as a steady-state 100% TDP workload with steady Core temperatures. No other non-proprietary utility can so closely replicate Intel's thermal test workload, however, OCCT Small Data (Steady Load), SSE Instruction Set is very nearly identical.

    When heavy "real-world" AVX workloads are at "peak" load, such as video transcoding apps (which are fluctuating workloads), the workload will typically approach, but not exceed P95 Small FFTs without AVX. The CineBench R23 CPU Render Test shown below is a good example of a utility which replicates real-world AVX transcoding workloads. Prime95 Small FFTs (all AVX test selections enabled) is nearly a 130% workload, which is unrealistically higher than real-world AVX workloads.


    CT :sol:

    Be a man or be in the band.
    Reply
  • Co BIY
    R&D challenge: Find a more off-putting color than Noctua for our cooling solution.

    Mission accomplished.

    Maybe they got a deal on bulk plastic originally made for the Lego "Friends" sets.


    I would like to see a full-on review of this newer intel OEM cooler.

    https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Heatsink-Assembly-Cooling-BXTS15A/dp/B013U542QE/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=intel+cooler+oem&qid=1613840100&sr=8-8
    Reply