Test System and 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

At idle, Deepcool's Gamer Storm Lucifer does poorly at stock, coming in near the back of the pack, but the situation is reversed when the CPU is overclocked.

Typical Load Temperatures

In Wprime, the first typical load test, Deepcool's Gamer Storm Lucifer does very well. While it may be a monolithic single-tower cooler, it performs extremely well at both stock and overclocked, keeping temperatures as low as far more expensive coolers, such as the Phanteks PH-TC14PE and be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3.


Firing up Aida64's CPU benchmark also has the Gamer Storm Lucifer dropping down the charts. While by no means the best performance, the Lucifer manages to stay within 2°C of the top-performing air coolers that cost nearly twice as much.

Max Load Temperatures

Now to the torture test. Using Aida 64 to maximize the amount of heat by loading up the CPU's FPU, we again see the Gamer Storm Lucifer doing exceptionally well, only falling 2°C behind the Phanteks PH-TC14PE and 1°C behind the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 when the CPU is overclocked. Passive cooling performance at such intense loads was terrible, though. That, however, is due to two key factors: The terrible thermal conductivity of the TIM used on Intel's Haswell processors and the lack of active cooling on my test bench. For passive cooling to be viable, a case with adequate airflow is necessary, which makes more fans a must and, as such, defeats the purpose of a silent and passively cooled option. For those that must run a passive system, I would suggest using a low-wattage CPU, an Intel i3, for example. Regardless, I would recommend using the UF 140 fan Deepcool provides as it is relatively quiet and makes this cooler one of fantastic value.