Test System & Temperature Results

Test System

Testing Procedure

All testing is done at a room temperature of 23°C (73°F), with a 1°C margin of error. The coolers are tested with Turbo, EIST, and C1E enabled, which will allow the CPU to clock down to a low 1.6 GHz while idle, or clock up to proper speeds under stock and overclocked conditions. The retail Intel Core i7-4770K I use for testing at stock is set to load-optimized defaults with the CPU's voltage at a static 1.15 V. Overclocked, the processor is running at 4.2 GHz on the CPU and 3.9 GHz on cache, with respective voltages set to 1.20 V and 1.15 V. During all these tests, fans are set to run at 100% in the BIOS, with temperatures being recorded by AIDA64.

The idle test will consist of the CPU sitting idle at the desktop for 15 minutes. This will allow for a stable temperature reading that will be recorded at the end of those 15 minutes.

Wprime's and AIDA64's CPU test represent typical multi-threaded loads. Both offer consistent results, with one being a benchmarking application and the other a stability test. Both are run for 15 minutes before the peak reading during the test is recorded and taken as the result. This test lets enthusiasts know what temperatures they can expect to see with games and applications. Wprime is set to eight threads while AIDA64 is configured to stress the CPU, FPU, cache, and system memory.

AIDA64 offers maximum heat generation when set to stress just the FPU in the stability test, which will really push the CPU. This test represents extreme loads much like LinX, Prime95, and other extreme stress tests many users are familiar with.

Idle Temperatures

Compared to the competition, cooling performance at idle is lackluster. At stock, the Dragonfly 4 takes the second-to-last spot, just above NZXT's Respire T40, and it falls all the way back into last place with the overclock applied. Granted, its temperatures are not terrible, but the slim design and slim fan won't take top honors in idle.

Typical Load Temperatures

The Dragonfly 4 performs similarly in Wprime, taking the second-to-last spot at both stock and overclocked settings. This may look bad, but keep in mind that it is only 1-2°C behind the ever popular Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO.


Nothing changes during the AIDA64 test. Temperatures rise, but the Titan cooler keeps its spot. It once again trails the larger Hyper 212 EVO by 1-2°C.

Max Load Temperatures

At maximum load, the Dragonfly 4 does well at stock, beating the NZXT Repire T40 by 6°C and falling just 2°C behind the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO at stock. With the system overclocked, the punishing load forces temperatures sky high, with Titan's cooler only barely avoiding the dreaded thermal throttle point. For those wondering, anything over 96°C will cause thermal throttling to kick in. The CPU cooler would have failed the overclocked FPU test in a warmer case. Still, the simple fact to take away from this is that Titan's Dragonfly 4 managed to only fall 1°C behind the Hyper 212 EVO, a cooler that is nearly double the size and 100 g heavier.