Preview of the DeepCool AK620 Zero Dark Zoria
DeepCool has modified its successful AK620 Zero Dark cooler in line with the theme of Zoria: Age of Shattering. Thus, we can legitimately talk about a gaming cooler, as long as this designation refers to the visual design. It is literally a work of art, and one of the goals was to make sure that the cooling performance was not degraded in any way after this intervention. It was to remain at the level of the original design, so top-notch.
You have already encountered the DeepCool AK620 CPU cooler in our tests. Its Zero Dark variant (AK620 Zero Dark) later added a black coating on the fins and heatpipes and now the latest AK620 Zero Dark Zoria also features elements symbolizing the RPG game Zoria: Age of Shattering.
Structurally, it is a massive dual-tower cooler with a total weight of 1185 grams (it’s 824 without fans, only the heatsink). The towers are connected by a network of six 6 mm diameter heatpipes that transfer heat to the aluminum fins. And as evenly as possible, to keep the cooling efficiency as high as possible. Considering the top rankings among dual-tower coolers in our results database, they succeed in doing just that. In noise-normalized tests, the AK620 cooler is about on par with the Noctua NH-D15 at medium speeds.
Two 120-millimeter FK120 fans with speeds up to 1850 rpm are used to cool the heatsink. Unlike the “regular” variants we covered in our tests, these on the AK620 ZD Zoria cooler are specific with a yellow impeller to match the chosen “theme” (Zoria games).In terms of efficiency, the shape of the impeller is more important than the color scheme, and you already know that although this fan has some flaws (in the form of more aggressive tonal peaks at lower sound frequencies), it is one of the most efficient ones out there.
The dimensions of the cooler are 129 × 138 × 160 mm (W/D/H). The distance from the center of the CPU socket towards the PCI Express slots is 65 mm (including the protruding fan clips). This parameter is also mentioned in motherboard tests and based on it we can conclude that there is no risk of collision between the cooler and the graphics card on more modern ATX models (motherboards). It is only a question of how big or small the gap between them will be, which determines the convenience, especially when removing (a graphics card) on motherboards with traditional latches on the PCIe slots.
The outermost fan extends above all DIMM slots and can accommodate memory modules up to 40 mm in height. In the case of the first slot, this is +12 mm because of the shortened four fins from the bottom. It is also possible to install taller memory under the fan, but this already requires moving the fan upwards, which, of course, is associated with an increase in the overall height of the cooler and, in turn, an eventual clash with the side panel of the computer case.
It is also worth noting the combination of two different types of fins to create a square pattern on the walls of the radiator. The alternation of such recessed and raised ‘squares’, or such irregularity, also has the effect of shaping the acoustic profile and breaking up the tonal peaks that arise from airflow.
And more about the base: the dimension of the cold plate is 41.0 × 39.7 mm, where the longer side is usable for the regular vertical mounting. Anyway, in any orientation, there will be 100% contact even with IHS of Intel LGA 1700 platform processors. Besides it, Intel LGA 1200, 115x and AMD AM5 and AM4 are also supported.
The connection of the heatpipes with the copper block looks to be precise and from the structural details it is still worth mentioning the convex surface of the coldplate in both axes. This to exert more pressure in the middle. On Intel processors with centered chips, this ensures better contact at the locations with the greatest heat transfer rate requirements.
The key features are similar to the “regular” AK620, which we have already tested, so with the Zero Dark Zoria, we’ll stick to a preview. Although yes, some small differences due to different fin surface treatment or different material composition of the fans may be measurable. Either way we would probably come to the same conclusions.
As for the surface with drawings, it is worth adding that the print is extremely durable and even isopropyl alcohol will not damage it during cleaning.
The DeepCool AK620 Zero Dark Zoria has an MSRP of 80 EUR and is already available in stores, for example on Amazon. In addition to fans of Zoria, it can hopefully appeal to those who find other coolers too bland.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
