PCCooler CPS RZ620 – Successful entry to the big leagues

Results – 39 dBA

Today’s review will introduce you to the CPS RZ620 cooler from the Asian company PCCooler, which is the first product of this company that is about to hit the European market. This cooler falls into the premium class and thus should offer high cooling efficiency. However, it should be available at a relatively low price and thus offer an interesting price-performance ratio. I am therefore curious to see how it performs in stress tests.

Key features of the cooler

In terms of design, the CPS RZ620 is a classic dual-tower cooler of a symmetrical build. Two bundles of aluminum fins are connected by six 6 mm diameter copper heatpipes that dissipate heat from a copper base with a nickel-plated coldpate. Also part of the base is a sturdy crossbar with installation screws whose correct pressure is ensured by integrated springs. Overall, the workmanship of the entire cooler is of a very high standard and at first glance, it does not appear that the manufacturer has skimped unnecessarily.

   

Each tower is cooled by a single 120mm fan with a frame equipped with rubber pads to eliminate vibration. The fans are attached to the cooler with classic metal clips and each fan features minimalistic, non-distracting symbols showing the direction of impeller rotation and airflow. To optimize airflow and improve the acoustics of the entire cooler, both outer surfaces of the heatsink are provided with a serrated fin edge profile.

   

There is barely enough space between the two towers for the fan, which requires a bit of dexterity when installing, but at the same time does not cause unnecessary loss of air pressure behind the front tower and thus a decrease in the overall efficiency of the cooler. The top surfaces of both towers are fitted with aluminum covers, under which the ends of the heatpipes are hidden. However, these covers primarily serve a decorative function with interesting geometric elements in the corners that contrast with the unobtrusive manufacturer logos.

   

Inside the box, the RZ620 cooler is wrapped in a generously proportioned foam padding with cutouts for the heatsink and fans. The space between the heatsink towers is filled with a cardboard box containing all the necessary accessories for installation. Given the design of the cooler, some sort of longer shank screwdriver wouldn’t hurt here, but then again I understand that the manufacturer needed to lower the price to make their product more competitive. The universal mounting system for both Intel and AMD processors is complemented by a tube of EX90 thermal paste, the volume of which is enough for several applications. All this is rounded off by a speed controller for the fans, the function of which I discuss in detail in the following chapter under the parameters of the supplied fans.

   

Thanks to the universal system, mounting the cooler is really easy. For Intel processors, use the supplied backplate, AMD users can get by with the one supplied with the motherboard. However, the tightening nuts for attaching the crossbars to the posts could have been larger, and if you have larger hands like me, they will feel tiny and be a little harder to handle.

Cooler and fan parameters

The RZ620’s dimensions do not stand out from other similar dual-tower coolers with a pair of 120mm fans. With a height of under 160mm, it fits comfortably in most standard cases, and the maximum supported RAM height of 43mm also gives you some freedom in RAM selection without having to move the front fan to a higher position. With a price tag of 75 EUR, it’s also not an overly expensive product, especially if it shows solid results in tests and isn’t too noisy.

According to the specifications, the fans used are clearly oriented for higher static pressure, which is quite logical given the dense fin bundle. It’ll be interesting to see to what extent acoustic optimization of their operation was also successful. The included controller for these fans has a rather odd combination of a trio of modes. In Silent mode, the fans run at a fixed 1800rpm, which unfortunately can hardly be described as silent operation just because of the aerodynamic noise. Turbo mode then locks the speed at 2200 rpm. In Performance mode, you have regular PWM control in the range of 500–2000 rpm. Personally, I would be inclined not to use this controller at all (this is how I tested the cooler as well, with the included controller it was just an extra hassle). I would rather recommend to use PWM control directly from the motherboard, or adjust the t/rpm curve in software (for example in the very nice Fan Control application).

Today’s review will introduce you to the CPS RZ620 cooler from the Asian company PCCooler, which is the first product of this company that is about to hit the European market. This cooler falls into the premium class and thus should offer high cooling efficiency. However, it should be available at a relatively low price and thus offer an interesting price-performance ratio. I am therefore curious to see how it performs in stress tests.

Testing methodology

As a test processor and heat generator I use the Intel Core i7-11700K on the Asus TUF Gaming Z590-Plus WIFI motherboard. I always use the thermal paste that comes in the package because it is also part of the equation for the efficiency of the cooler. So each cooler is tested as supplied by the manufacturer. The entire build is mounted on a Streacom BC1 frame with no fans to provide airflow. Acoustic shielding (acoustic foam on OSB boards) is installed around the test rig to eliminate ambient noise. The Voltcraft SL-100 calibrated noise meter is placed perpendicular to the cooler in a fixed position relative to the motherboard at a distance of approximately 35 cm from the processor socket.

   

Stress tests are performed using Prime95 with a duration of 30–35 minutes. Coolers are tested at four standardized noise levels (39, 42, 45 and 48 dBA) and at maximum speed. I did not measure the data for the 45 and 48 dBA noise levels initially, they were only incorporated into the methodology later. Because of this, results for these noise levels are only available for some (usually newer) coolers. The tests are run in two sets corresponding to the thermal output of the processor.

The first set of tests is at 125 W, the forced PL1 limit of the processor. The second set is then at a power draw of about 210 W (4500 MHz at 1.285 V). However, this level represents a very high heat concentration given the overall small die area. Thus, not all coolers can be expected to pass this set of tests at all noise levels.

The highest temperature reached is always recorded after the test. All data regarding temperatures and thermal output of the processor are obtained from HWiNFO64. The measured values are then adjusted against the temperature in the room as the resulting Delta T. The test success limit is set to 75 °C. Any higher value means a risk of processor temperature above 95–100 °C and a risk of thermal throttling. Therefore, if the cooler does not pass the load with a Delta T value below 75 °C, such a test is marked as a failure.

Today’s review will introduce you to the CPS RZ620 cooler from the Asian company PCCooler, which is the first product of this company that is about to hit the European market. This cooler falls into the premium class and thus should offer high cooling efficiency. However, it should be available at a relatively low price and thus offer an interesting price-performance ratio. I am therefore curious to see how it performs in stress tests.

Results – 39 dBA

Today’s review will introduce you to the CPS RZ620 cooler from the Asian company PCCooler, which is the first product of this company that is about to hit the European market. This cooler falls into the premium class and thus should offer high cooling efficiency. However, it should be available at a relatively low price and thus offer an interesting price-performance ratio. I am therefore curious to see how it performs in stress tests.

Results – 42 dBA

Today’s review will introduce you to the CPS RZ620 cooler from the Asian company PCCooler, which is the first product of this company that is about to hit the European market. This cooler falls into the premium class and thus should offer high cooling efficiency. However, it should be available at a relatively low price and thus offer an interesting price-performance ratio. I am therefore curious to see how it performs in stress tests.

Results – 45 dBA

Today’s review will introduce you to the CPS RZ620 cooler from the Asian company PCCooler, which is the first product of this company that is about to hit the European market. This cooler falls into the premium class and thus should offer high cooling efficiency. However, it should be available at a relatively low price and thus offer an interesting price-performance ratio. I am therefore curious to see how it performs in stress tests.

Results – 48 dBA

Today’s review will introduce you to the CPS RZ620 cooler from the Asian company PCCooler, which is the first product of this company that is about to hit the European market. This cooler falls into the premium class and thus should offer high cooling efficiency. However, it should be available at a relatively low price and thus offer an interesting price-performance ratio. I am therefore curious to see how it performs in stress tests.

Results – maximum speed

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Today’s review will introduce you to the CPS RZ620 cooler from the Asian company PCCooler, which is the first product of this company that is about to hit the European market. This cooler falls into the premium class and thus should offer high cooling efficiency. However, it should be available at a relatively low price and thus offer an interesting price-performance ratio. I am therefore curious to see how it performs in stress tests.

Spectral analysis of noise

This is a simple analysis at noise levels of 39 dBA, 45 dBA and at maximum speed of the cooler. For the analysis I use the UMIK-1 microphone from miniDPS in conjunction with True Audio’s TrueRTA application. The resolution of the analysis is 1/24 of an octave and the shape of the spectrogram is an average of 100 samples acquired over 20–30 seconds.

Today’s review will introduce you to the CPS RZ620 cooler from the Asian company PCCooler, which is the first product of this company that is about to hit the European market. This cooler falls into the premium class and thus should offer high cooling efficiency. However, it should be available at a relatively low price and thus offer an interesting price-performance ratio. I am therefore curious to see how it performs in stress tests.

Conclusion and evaluation

So, another very interesting cooler is coming to the European market, offering solid cooling performance, high-level workmanship and all this at an affordable price. The supplied fans are slightly noisier than would be desirable, but with proper regulation they don’t stray too far from the normal average.

Out of curiosity, I also tested the CPS RZ620 with a pair of the high-end Noctua NF-A12x25 fans, which resulted in only a very slight improvement in overall performance, but the acoustic response of the cooler was significantly more pleasant. So there is certainly room for acoustic optimization here. The presence of a speed controller, which instead of regulating the speed range locks the fans at a fixed value, seems a bit unnecessary. Personally, I rather recommend not to use it and rely on automatic speed control using the PWM signal from the motherboard.

Apart from minor shortcomings, I was satisfied with the CPS RZ620 cooler overall. Compared to its established European competition, it offers virtually the same cooling performance, but at a lower price. I can therefore recommend it without any qualms and look forward to testing other products from this company.

Where to get your hands on this cooler? For example on Amazonu (for 69,90 EUR).

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš

• Contents
• Key features
• Measurement methodology
• Results – 39 dBA
• Results – 42 dBA
• Results – 45 dBA
• Results – 48 dBA
• Results – maximum speed
• Spectral analysis of noise
• Conclusion and evaluation