Maingear Potenza SS: A Cool, Quiet, SFF Gaming PC

by Joshua Gulick — Thursday, March 14, 2013, 01:00 PM EDT

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Power Consumption and Noise

When it comes to system noise, the Maingear Potenza's closed-loop cooling really makes a difference. It draws the CPU's heat down to the bottom of the system, which houses a radiator and 140mm fan. Because it's so large, the fan moves air at up to 64.34 CFM without making much noise at all. The Potenza is nearly silent. Put it in a room with more than one person, and you probably won't hear the computer's light hum.

We also checked out the Potenza’s power consumption. To run this test, we first measure the system at idle, then load up Prime 95 and FurMark. The combined draw on CPU and graphics resources makes for substantial load, and that’s where we expect to see a real increase in power consumption. For all of these tests, we measure power consumption at the wall outlet.

At idle, the Potenza was neck-and-neck with its peers, but it took the lead (lower numbers being better) when loaded down with Prime 95 and FurMark. The power consumption here isn't likely to make or break a purchase decision for most buyers, but if you're thinking about buying a Potenza, put these results in the Pro column.