Corsair A500 CPU Cooler Review

Unboxing and First Look

The Corsair A500 cooler arrives packaged inside a thin cardboard box, sporting the traditional Corsair yellow and black colour scheme. On the front of the packaging is a large glossy image of the cooler with Corsair and A500 printed in the top and bottom corners. On the rear, key features and specifications are listed along with images of the cooler, with detailed dimensions included.

Inside the cardboard box, Corsair has further protected the cooler from potential damage during shipping with a corrugated plastic cover. Included in the packaging is a smaller box that contains mounting hardware, cables and instructions. Corsair has also included a Philips screwdriver to help with installation and an extra tube of its XTM50 thermal compound in addition to the pre-applied thermal compound on the base of the cooler, which is a nice touch.

Inside the smaller yellow box is all the mounting hardware required to install the A500 on either AMD or Intel desktop platforms, as well as an installation manual, fan splitter cable and a few zip ties for good measure. Mounting hardware is sorted into bags that are labelled to represent the socket type each part is for. Once removed from the bags, we can see exactly what is included.

So onto the cooler itself – let’s start from the top. A removable panel manufactured from aluminium with a brushed finish provides both an understated and premium appearance. The top panel is removable for installation purposes and is located on top of the heatsink via plastic push-fit fittings.

No tools are required to remove the top panel and it can be orientated two ways around, so the Corsair logo will always face the correct way no matter how the cooler is installed.

With the Aluminium top panel removed, we can see that the heatsink links the dual tower design together, unlike similar coolers from other manufacturers that have completely separated heatsinks. This cut out in the centre is necessary to gain access to the screws during installation and provides plenty of access to the screw heads.

At their lowest point of adjustment, the fans provide approximately 45mm of RAM clearance, which should be adequate for plenty of memory modules. Taller memory modules with large heatsinks and RGB lighting will require more clearance, which isn't a problem for the A500. As we can see clearance is almost unlimited, however, the higher you adjust the fans, the less efficient at cooling they become. Internal dimensions of the PC case would determine the maximum height too.

With the fans removed completely, we can get a closer look at the heatsink design. The heatsink fins are manufactured out of aluminium and are finished in a dark silver anodised effect. We can see the size difference between the inner and outer heat pipes which also sport the same anodised finish, which continues onto the thermal transfer base plate.

The base plate comes with mounting brackets pre-installed, as well as a pre-applied coating of Corsair XTM50 thermal compound in a grid pattern. With the thermal compound removed, we can see the base plate has a machined finish. There are some small ridges where the heat pipes join – this should fill in with thermal compound and will hopefully not adversely affect thermal transfer performance.

Overall, we like the understated and premium appearance of the Corsair A500 – the fan mounting and adjustment mechanism looks very good which should make installation a simple process compared to the fiddly spring clip system we are used to. The lack of RGB lighting may not appeal to everyone, but we think it suits this design and the audience Corsair are targeting with this product.