After Akasa, Arctic also updates a small, simple and inexpensive cooler for Intel LGA 1700. With the Alpine 17, it builds on the Alpine 12 design. The new Alpine (17) looks like a good option for 65-watt Alder Lake processors that ship without a cooler. The Intel The Alpine 17 will probably not outperform the Intel Laminar RM1, but it does have a few features that some may prefer it for. Read more “Arctic has an alternative to Intel box coolers, the Alpine 17 (CO)”
It could have been a very good, affordable fan with lighting. Moreover, the SickleFlow 120 ARB rotor design is efficient, at an excellent level, but all the good features are killed by one thing – an extremely noisy motor. It’s so noisy that a return trip from the factory output control would be appropriate. And it’s not just your everyday whir that you hear only from centimeters away. No one will ever miss this sound. Read more “Cooler Master SickleFlow 120 ARGB: If not for the horrible rattling…”
As is Scythe’s habit, the Fuma 2 cooler comes with support for a new platform (Intel LGA 1700) with a new revision (B). However, in addition to compatibility, the fan speed range has also been expanded. Instead of Kaze Flex 120 PWM, Kaze Flex II 120 PWM are used. The combination of a narrower fan in the front and a wider fan in the middle remains. The inverted fan blades are also retained, which rotate in an unconventional opposite direction. Read more “Scythe Fuma 2 in rev. B: LGA 1700 support and higher performance”
Coolers supplied with processors are treated with prejudice. Often they don’t even get a chance and are immediately replaced by something “better”. The new Intel Laminar RM1 cooler is improved in many ways and to give you the best image of it, we have compared it both with its predecessor and with the popular SilentiumPC Fera 5 cooler. Tests on a CPU with limited power draw or at full power? Both! Read more “Intel Laminar RM1 box cooler test. Why (not) throw it away?”
A new hero is coming to the world of minimalist computers. Its height is equivalent to average memory modules, and its cooling performance is supposed to handle even Ryzen 9 5000. This is just about trusting the specifications for now, but the Jonsbo cooler has the prerequisites for it. A small radiator with densely packed fins, even heat loss distribution by four heatpipes and a high-pressure fan. Read more “Tiny 36 mm Jonsbo HP400S is to handle up to 140 W processors”
What is better than one liquid AIO cooler? Two liquid AIO coolers. Today it’s time for the Gammaxx L360 V2 and Castle 360RGB V2 coolers. Both are among the top of DeepCool’s lineup, both use 360mm radiators, and both also feature Anti-Leak technology. However, our standardized noise methodology is generally very strict with AIO coolers. So I’m curious to see how Gammaxx and Castle perform in our stress tests. Read more “Gammaxx vs. Castle – Battle of DeepCool liquid coolers”
Finally, someone brings up the topic of metal backplates for liquid AIO coolers. There is an ingrained belief among manufacturers that plastic backplates are sufficient for liquid coolers. They are not enough though, for a number of reasons. It is therefore good news that Alphacool is releasing steel backplates as optional accessories for multiple coolers. And if you own any of the supported coolers, you can request one – free of charge. Read more “Alphacool has steel blackplates. Higher pressure, higher durability”
Every SilverStone Air Penetrator series fan includes an aerodynamic grille on the exhaust. This is firmly attached to the frame, but can be forcibly removed. The AP123 fan has gone through such a process and we will demonstrate the benefits of this grille. Whether it is good or bad cannot be noted briefly, but the way SilverStone communicates it to the public is again a bit unfortunate and misleading. Read more “We cut the grille out of the Air Penetrator. Better than the original?”
The LGA 1700 mounting hole change sent all the cheap alternatives to Intel’s box coolers into retirement. Akasa is starting to build a selection of third-party coolers from the ground up, with three different models. These, of course, were not created from scratch, and among the first batch of “revived” coolers with larger push-pin spacing, there is also a low-profile model with a height of only 27 mm. Read more “One of the first: Akasa’s new small top-flow coolers for LGA 1700”
We have tested a dust filter that combines the best features of plastic and nylon filters. It has high mechanical resistance, is easy to clean and yet also has low restrictiveness, so it does not significantly change the sound of the fan and does not increase its noise level. Compared to plastic filters, it does not even “hiss”. This addition thus extends the database of results with the latest type of dust filter, one with a metal grille. Read more “Akasa metal filter beat the “plastics” in tests by a good chunk”
Akasa’s latest CPU cooler doesn’t look bad at all. It oozes drive for the highest possible efficiency at the lowest possible price within the mid-range. And this particular segment doesn’t have a representative that clearly stands out. The Alucia H4 cooler has a very solid fan, as evidenced by our wind tunnel. We don’t have standard cooler tests yet, but unless there is some hidden bad news in the heatsink, your jaw might still drop. Read more “Cooling newcomer that may surprise – Akasa Alucia H4”
Thermalright has released a new Macho cooler, which has seen the most significant changes in fin geometry between generations. It is still a wide single tower cooler, but the intention seems to have been to increase the efficiency of the design. In other words, to make more sensible use of the available material from which the cooler is made. Macho Maxx does have a lower heatsink weight than its predecessor (Macho rev. B), but it will probably not be weaker. Read more “New Thermalright Macho Maxx: Lower weight, higher performance?”
A harsh headline, but a fair one. We always try to find mostly good things when testing, but sometimes it’s tricky. That’s the case here, where SilverStone is misleading its customers. The grille doesn’t significantly increase noise? We have no sympathy for hoaxes like this. Especially when it’s all “well thought out” and staged. Such practices do not shed a good light on the combination of three different blade shapes, which actually has something to it. Read more “The AP123 or how SilverStone’s been fooling people for years”
Less than a year into the MX-5’s existence, the first publicly known flaw is associated with this thermal paste for which it may achieve lower thermal conductivity than expected. This is due to the compound that makes up the paste not holding together properly, and the thermally conductive interface will harden before application, in the tube. Arctic has supposedly already withdrawn these batches from circulation, but one needs to be cautious. Read more “Beware, some Arctic MX-5 thermal pastes may dry out faster”
Scythe has followed up the original Big Shuriken 3 cooler with a new revision. It brings, in addition to native support for Alder Lake processors, a supposedly improved fan. The Kaze Flex II is said to achieve the same cooling performance at lower noise levels, which is nice in the inexpensive top-flow category. There are really few coolers like this, and the Big Shuriken 3 rev. B has all the prerequisites to sit on an imaginary throne in its price category. Read more “Big Shuriken 3’s revision B: LGA 1700 support and better fan”
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