Akasa Venom Voodoo Cooler Review

Aftermarket cooling products is a massive market with numerous companies fighting for enthusiast money. Akasa is one of the companies fighting for position in this overcrowded market. Back in October of 2010 we looked at their original Venom cooler and today we are going to check out the new Akasa Venom Voodoo. Akasa have extensive design and development capability in Europe, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Their thermal engineers are equipped with sophisticated computer modelling software for measuring noise and case vibrations, airflow, static pressure and temperature control. They are specifically developing advanced expertise in energy saving and silent operation technology. New products are subject to rigorous testing before committing them to market. Let's see what type of engineering expertise the makers of the Venom Voodoo have brought to the table. Features: six high capacity heatpipes with direct CPU contact dual 12cm viper fans for extreme performance award winning S-Flow fan providing 30% more airflow high grade aluminum profiled fins ensure optimum heat dissipation silicon rubber fan mounts for easy installation and ultra quiet performance rapid heat transfer from CPU to aluminum fins Specifications: Socket type Intel LGA775, LGA1155, LGA1156, LGA1366 & LGA2011 AMD Socket AM2, AM2+, AM3 & FM-1 Cooler dimensions 131 (W) x 129.5 (D) x 163.5 (H) mm Heatsink material High grade aluminium fins, copper heatpipes (6mm x 6) Weight 1065g Installation Screws and backplate (Intel & AMD) Fan dimension 120 x 120 x 25mm Fan speed 600-1900 RPM (PWM controlled) Max airflow 83.63 CFM (141.75 m³/h) Max air pressure 2.98 mm H2O Noise level 6.9 – 28.9 dB(A) Current rating 0.17A Voltage rating 12V DC Bearing type HDB (Hydro Dynamic) Fan life expectancy 50,000 hours Fan connector 4pin PWM Product code AK-CC4008HP01 The Venom Voodoo is packaged in a predominately black cardboard shell with green and yellow accents. The front of the box contains a picture of the top of the Venom Voodoo cooler. Turning the box to the opposite side we find the specifications of the cooler listed in a variety of languages, other than English. One end of the packaging features a full image of the Venom Voodoo with the features and specifications posted in English, while the opposite end features a number of images that show off some of the key features. Akasa have provided a full set of mounting hardware capable of supporting the latest and greatest from both Intel and AMD. The Venom Voodoo supports the following: Intel LGA775, LGA1155, LGA1156, LGA1366 & LGA2011 AMD Socket AM2, AM2+, AM3 & FM-1 Akasa have provided 2 x 120mm black and yellow Viper fans that will have the chore of getting rid of the unwanted heat generated by our processor. These particular fans have a noise level rating of 6.9 -28.9 dB(A) and they spin between 600 and 1900 RPM. They use Akasa's new S-FLOW fan blade design that is said to provide 30% better airflow. The Venom Voodoo uses a tower design with an aluminum block that the 6 copper heatpipes pass through. The heatpipes make direct contact with the CPU surface for a quick and efficient way to remove heat. The heatpipes that contact the CPU are U shaped, traveling up through the rows of aluminum fins before exiting out the top of the last row of fins. Akasa has covered the heatpipes on the top of Venom Voodoo with a sturdy black plastic shroud. The centerpiece of the shroud is cut out and replaced with yellow mesh featuring the Venom insignia to allow heat to escape from the top. The base of the Venom Voodoo is made up of the 6 copper heatpipes with thin pieces of aluminum inserted between the heatpipes to fill the gaps and assist with heat transfer. There is also the precautionary label covering the base that needs to be removed before using the cooler. To finish the setup we need to attach the 2 Viper fans. Akasa made this simple by adding a black molding that attaches to the heatsink. There are 2 small extensions on either side of the molding that fit into the grooves cut into the aluminum fins. These are used to secure the fan in place and make for easy changing if required. The two images above show the fully assembled Venom Voodoo. We think the cooler looks great, thanks to the contrasting black color with yellow highlighting. To install the Venom Voodoo in our test system we have to remove the default retention bracket and backplate so that we can use the ones Akasa have provided for this purpose. With the originals removed we simply line up the 4 threaded pins on the Akasa backplate and insert them through the 4 mounting holes on our motherboard. Our next step involves attaching the X shaped bracket to the base of the heatsink using the 4 provided screws from our hardware kit. Once that is complete we can peel off the protective layer from the base of our cooler. We now turn the heatsink upright and carefully place the heatsink and bracket in place over the 4 threaded pins of the backplate. Once in place we then put the 4 black washers in the proper spot and tighten the heatsink in place with the 4 threaded silver nuts. We suggest these four nuts be tightened in a diagonal pattern to ensure even pressure is applied. The first of the 2 images above shows that clearance will be an issue with this particular motherboard if low profile memory is not used. The final image shows the cooler mounted in a Thermaltake Overseer chassis. Today we are going to test the Akasa Venom Voodoo with the AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition CPU. The AMD PII X6 1090T Black Edition ships at 3.2ghz but can hit 4.0 GHz (and above) when paired with the right cooling system. We like to try and mirror ‘realistic’ conditions when possible, so instead of the ‘open bench concept’, we are mounting the build inside the NZXT Switch 810. Room ambient temperatures were maintained at a steady 20c throughout testing. AMD System: Processor: AMD PII X6 1090T Black Edition Coolers: Akasa Venom Voodoo, NZXT Havik 120 Motherboard: MSI 990FXA-GD80 Thermal Paste: Arctic MX-4 Power Supply: Corsair HX 850W Chassis: NZXT Switch 810 Memory: 16GB Mushkin Enhanced Silverline Stiletto DDR3 1333mhz Cas 9-9-9-24- 1T Graphics Card: Sapphire 6950 2 GB (1536 unified shaders) There are several different applications available that will load a processor to the limit while running through a series of complicated calculations. For today’s testing we are going to use the latest version of Prime 95. Prime95 is a popular freeware application that can be used to stress test the CPU. Validation Link When testing at stock speed the Venom Voodoo does a fine job cooling our Phenom II X6 1090T keeping our maximum temperature below 50c with the fans running just over 50% or 1000 RPM. After increasing the fans to full speed they become rather annoying but do manage to take another 2c off the Prime 95 test results. Now we are running at 4.0 GHz. The Akasa Venom Voodoo survives at 4.0 GHz but the temperatures are getting to the point that I would not be comfortable with for long periods of time. With fans @ 1000 RPM the CPU peaked at 61c and with the fans @ 100% we still reached 59c. While this is not immediately going to cause our system to fail we would prefer lower temperatures under load. To test the noise levels generated by the Akasa Venom Voodoo we use a Type 2 Digital Sound Level Meter. We place the unit about 1 meter away from our chassis on a 4 foot high tripod to simulate a real world situation. KitGuru noise guide 10dBA - Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves 20-25dBA – Whisper 30dBA - High Quality Computer fan 40dBA - A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator 50dBA - Normal Conversation 60dBA - Laughter 70dBA - Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer 80dBA - City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal 90dBA - Motorcycle or Lawnmower 100dBA - MP3 player at maximum output 110dBA - Orchestra 120dBA - Front row rock concert/Jet Engine 130dBA - Threshold of Pain 140dBA - Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range) 160dBA - Instant Perforation of eardrum At 1,000 RPM (or just above half their rated maximum) the Viper fans used on the Venom Voodoo generated a dBA level of 38.9, which is easily tolerated. Once we increase the speed of the these fans the noise level raises considerably. With the fans running at 1900 RPM they registered 51.4 dBA on our digital sound level meter. Quite painful really. The Akasa Venom Voodoo in an interesting, eye catching cooler. It combines solid build quality, great styling and a simple installation process. When we tested the cooler on our stock speed Phenom II X6 1090T the noise levels were pretty good, as was the cooling performance ... clinging to the heels of the NZXT Havik 120 that we reviewed not that long ago. When we overclocked the system to 4.0 GHz the Venom Voodoo was not able to perform to the level of the Havik 120, increasing processor temperatures by 6 degrees Celsius at 1,000 rpm and by 4 degrees Celsius when the fans were cranked to the limits. We wouldn't be able to tolerate the noise at full fan speed either so we don't include this as a useable 'real world' result. Pros: great looks. easy to install. reasonable price. high build quality. Cons: fans are noisy at higher speeds. many other quality products at this price. With a retail price of £44.99 inc VAT, the Venom Voodoo would be a good purchase for those looking to replace a stock cooler or to run a modestly overclocked system. Unfortunately for Akasa there are very strong alternatives under £50, some of which perform equally as good, if not slightly better. Kitguru says: The Venom Voodoo is a good cooler at a reasonable price point.