Performance

To test the Symphony Mini I used two different systems. The specs are:

System 1:

• Intel Celeron D 2.53 @ 3.15 GHz
• ASrock 775i65PE
• 2× 256MB PC3200

The temperatures with the stock cooler are already quite low, I wonder how much lower they can get.

System 2:

• Intel Xeon 2.8 (Nocona core)
• ASUS PC-DL
• 2× 256MB PC3200

A real hothead. We can expect a nice improvement here.


I installed Windows 2000 Professional on a left over harddisk and used SysTool and SiSoft Sandra to stress the CPU. In the first test the stock cooler was used, then I tested the Symphony Mini after that. I ran the motherboards bare, with no case around them. I did this because I am extremely lazy and didn't feel like removing the motherboard four times. Both systems were connected to the same hardware (HDD, CD, PSU, etc) so these components could not influence the results.

Celeron D

As you can see the stock temps are quite low already. I didn't expect much of an improvement, though the Symphony Mini still took a few degrees off. Personally I wouldn't bother buying watercooling for such a system to get the temperatures down. The stock temperatures are already fine, even with some overclocking.

Xeon 2.8

The differences for the Xeon are another story. The stock temps are near the maximum safe operating temperature already when the CPU gets stressed. The Symphony Mini makes the temperatures a lot more acceptable. Since the Nocona core is basically a Prescott core results should be similar for a Prescott. However, I have my doubts about the Symphony Mini cooling two of these processors in a SMP configuration. Unfortunately I can't test this since I don't have a second waterblock.