For the purpose of testing we used an Athlon XP 1800+, and a SOYO
KT400 Dragon Ultra mainboard. The CPU cooler used was the NOVASONIC
we reviewed recently and the RD7-CA was connected to the CPU fan and
GPU fan. The graphics card used was an Albatron
GeForce 4 Ti4200P Turbo which was running at 316/700. To heat
up the whole system, 30 minutes of Commanche 4 was good enough. Temperature
readings were taken every 30 seconds for a five minute duration which
was what the unit was set to.
CPU temperatures with and without RD7-CA;
Conclusion
As the graph shows, the RD7-CA certainly does make a considerable
improvement to the cooling down of the CPU. Since the unit was tested
on a Lian Li aluminum case the temperature lowered much faster, however
if you're using a metal case leave the timer on for the full 10 minutes
for best protection. Once the system is off and the RD7-CA pumps into
action the fans do not operate at full speed. They operate at a much
slower speed so you don't need to worry about noise in case you're
using a high powered delta. The fans do not need to work on its normal
operating capacity since the CPU no longer is generating new heat;
rather it's trying to dissipate the heat that has been already generated.
For users with AMD setups this unit is very useful due to the simple
fact that as soon as you switch off the system the temperatures rocket
up instantly. Take a look at the graph for the figures without the
RD7-CA, you'll notice that the CPU temperature went up to 49C within
the first 30 seconds of shut down. If your CPU is running at a much
higher temperature, expect the temperature to rise up at least 5C
above the normal operating temperature. Say for example your CPU works
at 55C during normal operation. Once the system is switched off, it's
very likely that the temperature will go to around 60C or more which
could damage the CPU if this goes on for a long period. So you can
clearly see the benefits of having a device like the RD7-CA.
Only drawback to the RD7-CA is its price; at around US$20 this isn't
that cheap for a small unit, however considering the performance benefits,
I would consider it a worthwhile investment; particularly if it'll
improve the life of your PC components. Overall it's a very well designed
product and does its intended job without any hiccups, and is definitely
worth giving a look at.
