DeepCool AK400 CPU Cooler Review

1. DeepCool AK4002. Test Results3. Closing Thoughts4. View All Pages

Test System:

• Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
• Overclocked Settings: 4.45GHz all-core @ 1.312V (UEFI), Medium LLC – around 1.3V delivered
• Motherboard: Gigabyte B550 Aorus Master
• Memory: 32GB (2x16GB) 3600MHz DDR4
• Graphics Card: Gigabyte RTX 2060 Super 0dB Mode
• Chassis: Fractal Design Meshify 2
• Chassis Fans: 2x140mm 1000 RPM Fractal Front Intake, 1x140mm 1000 RPM Fractal Rear Exhaust, 1x140mm 1000 RPM be quiet! Pure Wings 2 Roof Exhaust (for air cooler testing)
• Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1000
• Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Testing Methodology:

• 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 steady state under all of the coolers.
• Ambient is maintained around 22-24 degrees Celsius. Where there is variation beyond this temperature range, we add in extra repeated tests to ensure consistency.
• We also test each cooler with at least two fresh installs (typically three) to mitigate the likelihood of a dodgy mount spoiling results.

Test Results:

Acoustics

Let’s start off with noise performance at 100% fan speed. This is important for getting an indication of where our performance expectations should lie based on noise output.

DeepCool’s single 120mm FDB fan running at its 1850 RPM top speed registers 42dBA noise output in our test.

This is a mediocre result at best, particularly when the direct competitors in the form of Arctic’s Freezer A35 and some of the SilentiumPC units are run notable quieter.

Getting the AK400 down to 40dBA noise operation required the fan speed to be set at 90% duty cycle. This registered around 1750 RPM according to the UEFI readings.

This is a modest drop in the running speed and duty cycle percentage, so we do not expect to lose notable amounts of cooling performance by running at the lower noise output. But it is important to note that some direct competitors already run quieter than this reduced fan speed level out of the box.

Thermal Performance

Performance from DeepCool’s budget AK400 is solid when tasked with a manually overclocked Ryzen 9 5950X processor.

We saw a delta temperature reading of 68C at full fan speed, which puts its performance at the same level as Arctic Freezer A35 A-RGB. That Arctic cooler is running quieter and with an LED-equipped fan, though.

The performance improvement in favour of DeepCool’s offering versus some of the SilentiumPC competitors is clearly positive.

40dBA noise-locked performance drops by a tiny margin; the delta grows from 68C at 100% fan speed to 69C at the required 90% fan speed.

While this is a small – almost immaterial – drop in cooling performance, it does have to be viewed through the lens of the competition. Arctic's competitor does not drop any performance here as it is already operating at 40dBA or below.

Nevertheless, this is a strong thermal result for DeepCool when its new AK400 is running at perfectly tolerable noise levels.

As always, it is critical to note that small difference in the displayed delta temperatures are not as important for our PBO testing because the clock speed and cooling power achieved are more important metrics.

PBO numbers are good for the AK400. Yet again, we see a 100% fan speed versus 100% fan speed performance tie between DeepCool’s cooler and the Arctic Freezer A35 A-RGB – the latter of which is slightly more expensive in its LED-equipped form.

Managing 220W of CPU package power is strong from the AK400. Arctic’s similarly performing cooler is quieter whilst managing the same thermal performance, but the DeepCool unit manages to outperform the full fan speed SilentiumPC competitors.

VRM temperatures when running the AK400 are uninspiring. But that seems to be the case for most 120mm-class air coolers as they simply do not performance particularly strongly for directing incidental airflow to the VRM on our motherboard.

As always, your mileage may vary. We simply didn’t see evidence of the AK400 being particularly potent in terms of incidentally cooling the VRM, but that’s the same for its direct competitors too.

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