DeepCool AK500 CPU Cooler Review

1. Deepcool AK5002. 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) Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600MHz 16-18-18-36 DDR4 @ 1.35V
• 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.

Running at 1850 RPM top speed, DeepCool’s single 120mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing fan operated at 42 dBA in our test setup. That’s practically the same noise output as the AK400 which uses the same fan.

I would call this level of noise output mediocre for a cooler priced at £50 in the UK. It’s perhaps a bit less than mediocre to be honest, but the cooling performance will give us a better indication.

Getting down to 40 dBA noise operation on the AK500 required reducing the fan speed to 85% of its PWM duty cycle. This was reported as 1650 RPM according to the UEFI reading.

Interestingly, this was a lower speed percentage than the AK400 that uses the same 120mm fan. Perhaps the way in which the airflow interacts with the AK500’s physically larger heatsink has an influence here.

85% fan speed to hit 40 dBA is not particularly great for a premium air cooler, but we will have to see how the performance stacks up.

Thermal Performance

Performance from the DeepCool AK500 running at full fan speed on our overclocked Ryzen 9 5950X test system was positive. The £50 unit managed to offer up stellar performance for an air cooler that put it close to 240mm AIO levels of cooling.

In fact, this chunky boi from DeepCool is up there with the best air coolers that we have tested on our 200+W Ryzen-based system.

40dBA noise-locked performance on the AK500 is also excellent.

Once again, we see this single-tower air cooler offering up highly competitive performance versus even noise-locked 240mm AIO liquid coolers. And the performance of DeepCool’s higher-end AS500 Plus is also matched by the AK500.

Of course, Arctic’s cheaper Freezer A35 A-RGB is not far behind DeepCool’s £50 unit. But as we saw from the unrestricted noise performance of the AK500, it has some more performance left in the tank if you ramp up the fan speed.

Firstly, 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 at full fan speed continue the trend that we have seen thus far. The DeepCool AK500 offers up strong cooling performance that makes it competitive against our other air coolers and some cheaper 240mm AIOs.

Managing to cool 220W of AMD Ryzen 9 package power to allow a 4.37GHz clock speed is promising. This is a little better than what the dual-fan DeepCool AS500 Plus managed.

VRM temperatures are unimpressive though. Here, we see DeepCool’s AK500 sitting at the bottom of our chart. The ability of that 120mm fan to disperse airflow around the VRM heatsink is clearly limited.

So, that’s something to bear in mind when comparing against other air coolers.

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