Testing

Test Rig:

AMD AM2 X2 3800 - Stock
Asus M2N-E
Leadtek 6600gt
OCZ PC6400 Gold Series
OCUK Value case, no System Fans
Enermax Liberty 400w (Has 120mm cooling fan)

To test this cooler I left my pc running for 30 minutes at idle and then tested the CPU temperature using Speedfan. I then ran Orthos (A program that runs dual instances of prime within the ease of one program) and left it running for half an hour, again taking the CPU temperature from the Speedfan application. These results were compared to the stock coolers results and a conclusion was drawn. I also judged the noise differences between the stock cooler and the OCZ tempest cooler along with the overclock I was able to reach before and after the Tempest was added to the system.

Stock Cooler

OCZ Tempest Cooler

The Tempest is the clear winner here. The temperatures at idle aren't much different, but there is a nice drop of 7 degrees C at full load. Both temperatures with the stock cooler and the OCZ cooler could have been improved if I had used a case with some system fans in it to increase airflow.

Noise

The original stock cooler that AMD provide is not deafening on the ears, neither is it silent. The OCZ cooler did improve slightly on the noise levels of the stock cooler but not by very much. The noise levels of this cooler are not horrendous, but those striving for a near silent PC will be a bit disappointed.

Overclockability

With the stock cooler I was able to overclock the CPU by 300mhz with 1.5vcore. I would have pushed for more but 54 degrees load at stock did make me take this overclock off quite quickly. However with the aftermarket OCZ solution in place I tried 1.6vcore just for a while to see what I could get and was able to reach a 400mhz OC. However, this was a bit of a suicide run of sorts as I did not plan to keep this OC. You will be happy to know with the Tempest in place I am able to keep my AM2 rig happy at 2.3ghz with no problems with temperature.