Performance Increase From Overclocking
All three TEC coolers reached the same maximum stable clock speed of 4.33 GHz, so all three are represented together. Meanwhile, the Scythe Ninja Plus Revision B's maximum overclock of 4.12 GHz is represented as "Big Air" in the charts below.
Overclocking is all about performance gains, and the Extreme Edition 955 puts up some embarrassing benchmark scores compared to modern Intel Core Architecture processors. Thus, the performance differences are shown below, rather than individual test scores.
A 25% overclock for a scorching Pentium Extreme Edition 955 resulted in an astounding 26% increase in average system performance, using any of the three TEC-equipped CPU air coolers. Editor Darren Polkowski has noted in the past that the 8800GTX requires a powerful CPU, and the largest performance gains were seen in average game frame rates.
The Scythe Ninja Plus Revision B was no slouch either, considering the processor chosen. Though it only allowed a 19% overclock on this particular CPU, the EE955 was specifically chosen for its ability to stress coolers to their maximum capabilities. The Ninja Plus Revision B is certainly more than adequate for cooling a more energy-efficient CPU, and every Core 2 processor is more efficient than the Presler-core EE955.
