James Dawson 4 weeks ago Cooling, Featured Tech Reviews, Reviews
Lately we have been inundated with CPU air coolers to review, but to do individual reviews of them all would take the best part of the next few months – so like we did recently in our AIO cooler roundup, this article will be in a similar format but looking at a bunch of new air coolers and testing their performance against some well-known opposition. So now you know what this is all about, let's take a quick look at each of these coolers and get on with some testing. cpu heat sinks and led heat sinks
00:00 Intro 00:41 The coolers 01:25 Endorfy Fera 5 Black 03:38 Accessories and Install 05:04 Arctic Freezer 36 ARGB White 07:46 Accessories and Install 09:10 Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White 11:20 Accessories and Install 12:39 Cooler Master Hyper 622 Halo 15:15 Accessories and Install 16:35 be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 19:55 Accessories and Install 21:14 be quiet! Dark Rock Elite 24:37 Accessories and Install 25:58 Corsair A115 28:15 Accessories and Install 30:25 DeepCool Assassin 4S 34:04 Accessories and Install 35:26 Recap and more details 35:55 Performance and noise test results 41:11 Closing thoughts
In this multi-review, we take a look at several recently launched CPU air coolers. We split them into two categories for testing, to give the smaller coolers a fighting chance they are tested on a new Ryzen 5 7600X test system while the larger dual tower coolers are tested on our current AIO cooler Ryzen 9 7950X test system.
We've rounded up all the specs, features, and the usual pro's and con’s, as well as the performance charts below for you to browse through. However, if you want to see the coolers in all their glory make sure you check out the video in the YouTube link at the top of this page. There's a lot to get through so let's get cracking.
We reviewed the original Fera 5 previously when the company was still named SilentiumPC but the new Endorfy Fera 5 has a completely blackout makeover now.
Price and availability: MSRP – €35.00 UK availability is uncertain – Endorfy plans for it to be available via Amazon.co.uk eventually.
Features: Equipped with an Endorfy Fluctus 120 PWM Fan. Asymmetrical heat sink with dense fin arrangement. Four 6mm diameter direct touch copper heat pipes. A universal Mounting frame covering both Intel and AMD socket installation.
Specifications: CPU Socket Compatibility: Intel LGA 1700/1200/115X/2066/2011/1366/775 – AMD AM5/4/3/2, FM2, FM1 Dimensions: 155 x 127 x 77 (mm) Heat Sink Material: Aluminium Heat Pipes: 4 x direct touch Cold Plate: Aluminium Fan Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25 Fan LED: N/A Fan Speed (PWM): 250 – 1800 RPM Fan Max Airflow: N/A Fan Max Air Pressure: N/A Fan Noise: N/A Fan Bearing: Fluid dynamic bearing Fan Connector: 4-pin PWM Warranty: 6-Years
Pros: Very quiet operation at max fan speed. Simple installation. Universal mounting bracket for Intel and AMD. Excellent thermal performance.
Cons: Heat sink looks a little bent.
Price and availability: Launched with a 3-month anniversary deal price. MSRP – £44.99 Amazon – £23.09 currently 48% off with an anniversary deal HERE.
Features: Innovative click system to quickly mount fans. Two Arctic P12 ARGB fans included are designed for high static pressure and low noise. Included Intel LGA1700/1851 CPU contact frame mounting solution. Available in black or white with or without ARGB fan options.
Specifications: CPU Socket Compatibility: Intel LGA1700/1851, AMD AM4/AM5 Dimensions: 104 (L) x 126 (W) x 159 (H) (mm) (fans attached) Heat Sink Material: 59 x 0.4mm thick Aluminium Fins Heat Pipes: 4 x Ø6 mm, Copper Cold Plate: Direct Touch heat pipes, Aluminium block Fan Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25 (mm) Fan LED: 3-pin 5v ARGB Fan Speed (PWM): 200 – 2000rpm, (0rpm below 5% PWM) Fan Max Airflow: 48.8 cfm Fan Max Air Pressure: 1.85 mmH20 Fan Noise: N/A Fan Bearing: Fluid Dynamic Bearing Fan Connector: 4-pin PWM Warranty: 6-Years
Pros: Easy to install. Good RGB lighting. Unique fan installation method. Superb performance and value.
Cons: Only a tiny amount of thermal compound is supplied. The black clamp bar doesn’t suit the otherwise all-white look.
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White
Price and availability: Amazon – £28.97 HERE. OverclockersUK – £39.95 HERE.
Features: Compact 154mm height for a wide range of chassis compatibility. Halo2 fans are equipped with redesigned hybrid frames for stability and ARGB auto detection for compatibility with default ARGB spectrum or ARGB Gen 2 customisation. Also features a clean white finish with polished aluminium detail on the top cover and upgraded installation brackets for a speedy install.
Specifications: CPU Socket Compatibility: LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA1151, LGA1150, LGA1155, LGA1156, AM5, AM4 Dimensions: 124 x 73 x 154 mm Heat Sink Material: Aluminum Fins Heat Pipes: 4 Heat Pipes Cold Plate: Aluminium, direct touch heat pipes Fan Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25mm Fan LED: Addressable RGB Fan Speed (PWM): 650-2050 RPM ± 10% Fan Max Airflow: 51.88 CFM Fan Max Air Pressure: 2.89 mmH₂O Fan Noise: 27 dBA (Max) Fan Bearing: Rifle Bearing Fan Connector: 4-Pin (PWM) Warranty: 2 years
Pros: Quick installation on AMD sockets. Available in black or white.
Cons: Quite loud at maximum fan speed Average thermal performance. Rating: 6.
Cooler Master Hyper 622 Halo Black
Price and availability: OverclockersUK – £64.99 HERE. Amazon – £62.56 HERE.
Features: Dual tower aluminium heat sink with six copper heat pipes. Equipped with Redesigned Halo2 fans with ARGB auto-detection. At just 157mm tall it is compatible with a broad range of cases. Black aluminium top covers with Cooler Master Halo logo accents.
Specifications: CPU Socket Compatibility: LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA1151, LGA1150, LGA1155, LGA1156, AM5, AM4 Dimensions: 125 x 137 x 157 mm Heat Sink Material: Aluminum Fins Heat Pipes: 6 Heat Pipes Cold Plate: Copper Fan Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25 mm Fan LED: Addressable Gen 2 RGB Fan Speed (PWM): 650-2050 RPM ± 10% Fan Max Airflow: 51.88 CFM Fan Max Air Pressure: 89 mmH₂O Fan Noise: 27 dBA (Max) Fan Bearing: Rifle bearing Fan Connector: 4-pin (PWM) 3-pin 5v ARGB Warranty: 2 years
Pros: Available in black or white. AMD installation is straightforward. Fan height can be adjusted for RAM clearance
Cons: The RGB split connector for the fans is a bit fiddly. Poor thermal performance. Rating: 6.
Be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5
Price and availability: OverclockersUK – £84.95 HERE. CCL – £78.99 HERE.
Features: Seven high-performance copper heat pipes for optimal cooling power. Two silent wings PWM fans for quiet operation. A fan speed switch allows users to swap between high-performance and quiet fan modes. Height adjustable front fan allows for generous RAM and VRM heatsink clearance. Special black coating with ceramic particles creates maximum heat transfer and elegant aesthetics.
Specifications: CPU Socket Compatibility: Intel LGA 1700/1200/115x/1155, AMD AM4/AM5 Dimensions: 145 x 136 x 168 (overall L x W x H) RAM Clearance: 45 – 65mm Heat Sink Material: Aluminum fins, copper heat pipes Heat Pipes: 7 x 6mm diameter Cold Plate: Copper Fan Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25 & 135 x 135 x 25 Heatsink LED: N/A Fan Speed (PWM): Q: 1500, 1300 / P: 2000, 1700 Fan Max Airflow: 52.5 / 89.1 | 68.7 / 116.6 CFM Fan Max Air Pressure: 2.48 / 1.82 mmH₂O Fan Noise: 23.3 dBA max Fan Bearing: Fluid Dynamic Bearing Fan Connector: 4-pin PWM Warranty: 3 years
Pros: The adjustable front fan allows for RAM clearance. High build quality. Premium looks. Excellent thermal performance and low noise.
Cons: The front fan spring clip is a dated design.
Be quiet! Dark Rock Elite
Price and availability: OverclockersUK – £109.99 HERE. CCL – £94.99 HERE.
Features: Two Silent Wings 135mm PWM fans for maximum cooling performance. The innovative front fan design allows maximum adjustment for RAM clearance. Seven high-performance 6mm diameter copper heat pipes. Swappable quiet and performance modes are controlled by a button on top of the central fan. Top cover features ARGB LED lighting. The heatsink is covered with a special black coating containing ceramic particles for perfect heat transfer and great looks.
Specifications: CPU Socket Compatibility: Intel LGA 1700/1200/115x/1155, AMD AM4/AM5 Dimensions: 145 x 136 x 168 (mm) (overall L x W x H) RAM Clearance: 32 – 63mm Heat Sink Material: Aluminium fins, copper heat pipes Heat Pipes: 7 x 6mm diameter Cold Plate: Nickel plated copper Fan Dimensions: 135 x 135 x 25 (mm) Heatsink LED: 5v ARGB Fan Speed (PWM): Q: 1500 / P: 2000 Fan Max Airflow: 80.2 / 136.2 CFM Fan Max Air Pressure: 2.41 mmH₂O Fan Noise: 25.8dBA Fan Bearing: Fluid dynamic bearing Fan Connector: 4-pin PWM Warranty: 3 years
Pros: Quick installation on AMD sockets. Front fan adjustment is easy thanks to sliding brackets. Very high-quality feel. Great thermal performance
Cons: A tiny amount of thermal compound supplied. Fans are specific to the cooler and can't be swapped out for other fans easily. Quite expensive at some retailers.
Price and availability: OverclockersUK – £99.95 HERE. Amazon – £99.95 HERE.
Features: 6 x 6mm sintered copper heat pipes and a precision-engineered copper convex cold plate designed for modern CPUs. Equipped with two Corsair AF140 Elite fans with Corsair AirGuide technology mounted on innovative slide and lock height adjustable ratcheting brackets. Corsair Holdfast 2.0 retention system provides a secure and reliable fit on the latest Intel and AMD platforms.
Specifications: CPU Socket Compatibility: Intel 1700, 1200, 115x (1150, 1151, 1155, 1156), AMD AM5, AM4 Dimensions: 153mm x 155mm x 164.8mm RAM Clearance: N/A Heat Sink Material: Aluminium fins, copper heat pipes Heat Pipes: 6 x 6mm Sintered Copper Cold Plate: Nickel-plated copper Fan Dimensions: 140 x 140 x 25 mm Heatsink LED: N/A Fan Speed (PWM): 400 – 1600 RPM ±10% Fan Max Airflow: 84.5 CFM Fan Max Air Pressure: 1.73 mm-H2O Fan Noise: 33.9 dBA Fan Bearing: Fluid Dynamic Bearing Fan Connector: 4-pin PWM Warranty: 5 years
Pros: Heat sink retention is quick to install on AMD platforms. Lots of front fan adjustment for RAM height clearance. The sliding fan mechanism is good.
Cons: The second fan/bracket is not pre-assembled which increases the overall installation time. No additional thermal compound for re-installation. Quite loud at max fan speed.
Price and availability: Amazon – £79.99 HERE.
Features: Armed with seven 6mm diameter heat pipes. A redesigned Deepcool 140mm FDB fan. The Assassin 4S is almost identical to the Assassin 4 but it eliminates the rear 120mm fan. Can swap between performance and quiet modes with a simple flip of the switch mounted on top of the cooler.
Specifications: CPU Socket Compatibility: Intel LGA2066/2011-v3/2011/1700/1200/1151/1150/1155, AMD AM5, AM4 Dimensions: 116 × 147 × 164 mm(L × W × H) RAM Clearance: Unobstructed Heat Sink Material: Aluminium fins, copper heat pipes Heat Pipes: Ø6 mm × 7 pcs Cold Plate: Copper Fan Dimensions: 140 × 140 × 25 mm (L × W × H) Heatsink LED: N/A Fan Speed (PWM): P: 500~1800 RPM±10%, Q: 500~1450 RPM±10% Fan Max Airflow: P: 25 CFM Q: 48.55 CFM Fan Max Air Pressure: P: 3.76 mm-H2O, Q: 2.46 mmAq Fan Noise: P: ≤29.3 dB(A), Q: ≤22.6 dB(A) Fan Bearing: Fluid Dynamic Bearing Fan Connector: 4-pin PWM
Pros: Slick installation process on AMD CPUs. Clever sliding fan mechanism. Completely Unobstructed RAM clearance.
Cons: Threading the central fan cable through the cooler can be tricky. Central fan cable can easily get trapped between the fan and heat sink. Average thermal performance, just buy the original Assassin IV.
Test System Specifications: CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X / AMD Ryzen 5 7600X Motherboard: Gigabyte X670 Aorus Elite AX Memory: 32GB Kingston Fury FK560C36BBEAK2-32 DDR5-6000 Graphics card: Gigabyte RX 7900 XT Gaming OC Storage: 500GB Corsair MP600 PCIe Gen4 NVME M.2 SSD Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1000 Chassis: Open Test Bench Thermal Compound: Arctic MX-6 O/S: Windows 11 Version 22H2
We are primarily focussing on the performance of each cooler at 100% fan speed and also when locked to 40dBA noise output. We will focus on cooling performance using a manual overclock with all-core frequency and VCORE locked and Precision Boost Overdrive performance. The test data is logged using HWINFO and the final 10 minutes of the data is calculated to find the average CPU temperature and CPU clock multiplier (PBO Test) and then plotted in the charts. For testing, we use a 30-minute looped run of Cinebench R23 and record the steady-state CPU temperature at the end of the test. This ensures that the CPU has had ample time to warm up and reach a steady state under all of the coolers. The ambient is maintained at 19-21 degrees Celsius. Where there is variation beyond this temperature range, we add extra repeated tests to ensure consistency. However, this is well controlled now with A/C. We also test each cooler with at least two fresh installs (typically three) to mitigate the likelihood of poor mounting spoiling results. Ambient temperature and humidity are controlled via a mini split air conditioning system inside the test room. Ambient temperature is maintained between 19-21C, Temperature delta figures are shown in the charts (ambient temperature is deducted from the measured component temperature). Test Results: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
Let's take a look at the performance of the smaller coolers first and start by looking at noise output as this gives us a good indication of performance based on noise.
With just one fan running at maximum speed the Arctic Freezer 36 is the quietest out of all, just edging out the Noctua NH-U12S. The U12A with one fan, the Freezer 36 with two fans, the Endorfy Fera 5 and the Cooler Master Hyper 212 are close behind.
We added the Cooler Master Hyper 622 to the smaller cooler tests due to its performance on the higher power system, you will see why later.
With all coolers running at maximum fan RPM the Arctic Freezer 36 (Two Fans) produces very impressive thermal performance, at 30°C over ambient it matches the much larger Cooler Master Hyper 622 while running slower fan speed and with much lower noise output.
The Freezer 36 also trades blows with the much more expensive Noctua NH-U12A with both fans running at maximum speed. However, the Endorfy Fera 5 is just 1°C over ambient higher while using just one fan, which is equally impressive. However this test is only a thermal load of approximately 50 Watts, the PBO test later will be double the thermal load.
Still with the CPU at a fixed frequency of 4.7GHz and locked voltage, we limit the fan noise output to 40dBA and run the same thermal load test again.
Results are very similar as most of the coolers don’t exceed our 40dBA limit at max fan speed, but it is worth pointing out that the Arctic Freezer 7 X which only uses a 100mm fan and a smaller heat sink, isn’t far off the performance of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 which uses a larger heatsink and bigger 120mm fan, which is disappointing from the Hyper 212.
In the PBO test the important metric is clock speed, the thermal load in the PBO test is doubled from the previous test at around 100W.
The larger coolers such as the Noctua NH-U12A, DeepCool AK500 and the Cooler Master Hyper 622 Halo are expected to do better in this test so it's no surprise to see them topping the charts with the higher clock multiplier.
But again it's very impressive to see the Arctic Freezer 36 (Two Fans) holding the same average clock multiplier as the much bigger and louder Cooler Master Hyper 622. It is astonishing to think that this cooler can be purchased for around £20 currently which is more than half the price of the Hyper 622 but thermal performance is equal.
The Endorfy Fera 5 again shows great performance in this test with a clock frequency to match the larger and more expensive coolers but the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo is rather disappointing considering it’s running a similar size heatsink and 120mm fan like the Fera 5. Test Results: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Again looking at noise levels first with the dual tower coolers, the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 lives up to its name with low noise output at maximum fan speed, but it is a couple of dBA louder than the outgoing Dark Rock Pro 4, which is noticeable but still very tolerable.
The two larger fans running at higher speeds of the Dark Rock Elite increase noise output by another 4dBA, which starts to become more noticeable in an open frame chassis, but by far the loudest of the dual tower air coolers that we tested is the Corsair A115 at 51dBA, which makes it considerably louder at maximum fan speed than some 360mm AIO liquid coolers.
Running maximum fan speed tests the cooler's raw thermal performance. The Corsair A115 converts its high fan speed and high noise output into good thermal performance at max fan speed but it’s the two be quiet! coolers that impress the most here. Both are considerably quieter than the Corsair cooler but they match the A115 in performance at maximum fan speed.
What's even more interesting is that the Dark Rock Pro 5 almost matches the performance of the Elite while having a smaller front fan running lower RPM and quieter, which seems to point that be quiet! has a very efficient heatsink design.
The performance of the Cooler Master Hyper 622 Halo is disappointing, to say the least.
Tuning fan speeds to 40dBA creates a level playing field as it stops any cooler from brute forcing its way to top performance by using high fan speed with lots of noise.
But pegging both of the be quiet! coolers back to 40dBA noise output reaffirms their claims as top performers as both the Dark Rock Elite and Dark Rock Pro 5 are the top performers of all the dual tower coolers which is very impressive.
The Corsair A115 matches the legendary Noctua D15 performance at 40dBA which is good but the D15 has been around for a long time and its due to be replaced soon with a new revision.
The performance of the DeepCool Assassin 4S is OK considering it only has a single fan but again it's quite a poor showing from the Cooler Master Hyper 622 Halo.
In the PBO test the important metric is the clock multiplier, as the CPU adjusts clock speed based on a target temperature so the CPU temperature between coolers will be very close.
The top AIO liquid coolers produce the best clock multiplier in the PBO test but as we saw in the noise normalised test both of the be quiet! coolers are next in the chart giving a fractionally higher clock multiplier than the other air coolers.
The Corsair A115 can claw back performance in this test as it uses its brute force high fan speed to cool the CPU again, giving it a slight clock speed advantage over the Noctua NH-D15, but the lowest clock speeds are from the single fan DeepCool Assassin 4S and the Cooler Master Hyper 622 Halo black.
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KitGuru says: We are very impressed by the low noise output and excellent thermal performance from both be quiet! Dark Rock coolers, however, the Elite can be a little expensive so it's worth shopping around for that one. The Endorfy Fera 5 black is a solid choice but the best performance and value choice has to be the Arctic Freezer 36.
Tags best cpu cooler CPU Air cooler review CPU Air cooler roundup dual tower heat pipes Endrofy Fera 5 multireview
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