Room Temperature was kept at a constant 25°C and all case fans were set to low. The computer was booted and allowed to idle for 15 minutes. Any fluctuation in temperature resulted in an addition 5 minutes of idle time. Temperatures were monitored using Lavalys Everest Ultimate edition as well as the OCCT temperature monitoring. OCCT and prime 95 ran for an hour and temperatures were recorded at that point. Tests were run three times and the average temperatures were recorded.

Conclusion

The results show that the Red Scorpion does a good job of keeping the processor cool. Although I did not test with a reference fan, I wonder how much better it would do with a slightly better fan. The fan that is included does the job fine, but I feel that it is a little weak. During testing I didn't see the RPM of the fan rise above 1000 RPM which means that there is a small amount of air actually flowing over the fins. This means that out of the box the performance of the Red Scorpion is right in line with similar coolers in this price range. At around $36.00 USD this cooler is quite affordable. Installation was a breeze, although in a cramped case getting to top right push pin can be a pain with the fan installed. Installing the fan in the case can also be troublesome, but that's no fault of XigmaTek. The air deflector can be used to either direct the air flow to hit the components on the motherboard or up and away from said components. Hitting the fan issue one more time, I honestly feel that with a better fan, the Red Scorpion could be leading the pack. The bottom line is this cooler performs well, but I feel is hampered by a mediocre fan. I would not have a problem recommending the Red Scorpion to anyone.