AMD Wraith Noise Comparison vs. Old CPU Cooler (Video)

We've got to give it to marketing – “Wraith” is a good name; certainly better than “Banshee,” which is what the previous AMD cooler should have been named for its shrill wailing. The Wraith cooler substantially improves the noise-to-thermals ratio for AMD's stock units, and is a cooler we hope to see shipping with future Zen products.

At its max 2900 RPM, the Wraith produces thermals that are effectively identical to what the old cooler accomplishes at ~5500 RPM (see below chart). Running the old cooler at a comparable 2900 RPM results in a delta of ~14.3% warmer than the Wraith. This is all noted in our thermal review of the Wraith. What we didn't note, however, was the dBA / noise output. In this video, we compare the noise levels of AMD's two stock coolers for the FX-8370 CPU -- the Wraith and the 'old' unit.

Our regular readers may be interested to hear that we've got high-end dBA equipment on order and are studying the math required to objectively analyze noise level output on PC hardware. In the meantime, the above video can serve as a noise comparison between the AMD Wraith and old AMD stock coolers. There is no dBA or spectrum analysis at this time – just a noise comparison test with a controlled environment, so what you hear in the two cooler recordings is a relative read-out. That is to say, because each test was identically conducted, you can confidently know that the videos are directly comparable to one another.

For this test, we ran our Zoom H6N mic with X/Y attachment on a tripod that was positioned one foot (diagonally) from the top of the CPU coolers. A shotgun mic and camera were also used for recording additional noise and video.

We ran the coolers at 100% speed (full power throughput). This was done through an elegantly jury-rigged solution: A silent PSU was connected to the wall, jumped with a paperclip, and connected via adapters to the CPU fans. We only tested at full speed. Running this in a real-world environment with SMART settings would reduce noise levels further, something we already discussed.

Take a listen to the video for your own comparison. Again, these two coolers were controlled within their environment and provide a relative, direct comparison between them. Because we are not running objective dBA tests yet, something we continuously talk about, there is no dBA or frequency spectrum plot at this time. Soon, though.

Editorial, Test Lead: Steve “Lelldorianx” Burke
Video Editing: Andrew “ColossalCake” Coleman