Testing (continued):

The next system components we'll look at are the graphics cards. For this test we'll use temperature readings from the card in the first PCI Express slot for two reasons. First, the fan on this card not only has to dissipate the heat from its own card, but also a bit from the back of the card in the other slot. Secondly, because it is the main card, it will be the busiest and generate the most heat. At idle, the P280 was several degrees cooler than the Antec 300. The higher fan speed only increase the base temperatures minimally. After an hour of dungeon raiding, the P280 on low recorded the lowest overall temperatures, but the 300 case produced the best overall results at a 20 degrees differential.




The last system component we'll look at is the hard disk. Because the disks don't have any fans either blowing or pulling air into the rack, the only airflow is the air being pulled by the fans at the top and back of the case. At idle, the P280 at low speed has the lower temperature and the P280 on full speed had the highest. After a ton of fragging, the P280 records the same temperature no matter the fan speed, and the Antec 300 is only a few degrees warmer. The best performer was the P280 with the fans on high - it was the only combination where the temperatures actually went down.