Final words and conclusion
Final words and conclusion
Not bad at all, a little pricy, maybe? The FK120 fan on DeepCool's AK500 remains extremely quiet even under the most taxing of workloads. The AK500 is one of the quietest coolers we have tested on this platform, with full-speed fan noise levels that are second to only the quietest coolers we have tested.
Performance
Performance is very satisfactory at the default clock frequency; nothing more and nothing less is required. Overclocking a CPU based on voltage still gives enough leash to fool around a bit. However, Intel bypasses their specified TDP by nearly doubling it for approximately a minute when under stress. For example, a 125 Watt TDP processor can even run at 250 Watts for 60 seconds if given the opportunity. Because of this, we always recommend purchasing a cooler with at least double the capacity of the TDP of your processor.
Acoustics
Good, we can put this discussion to rest right there! Deepcool employs their quiet FK120 fan on the AK500, which surprisingly provided the Noctua NH-U12A an intense performance battle. As 120mm fans go, pushing them to their maximum RPM of 1200RPM does not result in a significant increase in noise.
Final Words
We're pretty impressed by the DeepCool AK500. The tower cooler's clean processing quality, robust mounting method, and excellent performance speak for themselves. Based on Wattages we tested the DeepCool AK500 has left us impressed. The tower cooler's pristine manufacturing, sturdy mounting method, and top-notch performance speak for themselves. The AK500 from DeepCool will work well with even Alder Lake processors like the i9-12900K, keeping the CPU cool and operating quietly despite loads of over 200W. For a high-end Rocket Lake or Ryzen 7000 processor that would now be the same conclusion. But up to six performance cores for Intel or eight AMD cores, you should be fine with the last gen procs. The AK500 offers an indomitable combination of silence ad performance for its MSRP of $59.99. I'd not hesitate to pick one up.
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