INTRODUCTION

   Well CES is once again over and all that really remains is to see just how many of the prototypes presented there will actually make it to manufacture at least without serious compromises (either in features, performance or quality). Overall during this year’s CES we saw the introduction of a lot more impressive and innovative products than we did last year so that fact alone is more than enough for me to consider the entire show as a huge success. In any case some of you may recall us testing the latest NH-L9i low-profile CPU Cooler by Noctua a few weeks back with very good results (for its size always). Well it seems that very small low-profile CPU Coolers aimed mostly towards ITX/HTPC owners are really popular nowadays since we received many emails asking from us to test the latest AXP-100 low-profile CPU Cooler released just days ago by our friends over at Thermalright (and we did).

   Thermalright is an elite design house that manufactures cooling products for computer components for the best quality and performance your money can buy. In 2002, AMD released its first generation Thunderbird CPU and since then we have been there every step of the way to counter high voltage and high heat with innovative design and highly acclaimed cooling solutions not only for AMD but for Intel as well. One of early well known solutions was the SK-6. With many positive and rave reviews under its belt Thermalright bolted to the top as the heat sink manufacturer mostly preferred by Overclockers and enthusiasts around the World. To this day, innovation never left our vocabulary as we keep coming up with leading edge designs staying ahead of the competition.

   Just like the NH-L9 series the AXP-100 may be a solution which should easily put to shame the stock Intel/AMD HSFs but that doesn't mean that it can go up against larger CPU Coolers and so naturally only people with really small PC Cases should ever consider using it. Surprisingly however Thermalright has given the AXP-100 full CPU compatibility so even people with high end Intel Core i7 CPUs (3930k/3960k/3970k) can use it (of course i really can't seem to come up with a single reason as to why they should and even if they did the AXP-100 would have a really hard time keeping them within the recommended temperature levels). Regardless however supporting virtually every CPU model by both Intel and AMD was a good move by Thermalright and so once again today we had to call upon to our friend with his Core i7-3770k to see just how it compares with the NH-L9i by Noctua and the results were quite impressive (although as you can see quite expected).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Thermalright rarely uses colorful boxes for their products and so once again the product arrived in a plain cardboard box with the Thermalright logo at the top.

The model name is written on both sides of the box.

The CPU Cooler is placed between 3 pieces of foam while the rest of the bundle sits ontop in a small white cardboard box.

The box contains the AXP-100 heatsink, TR-TY100 fan, user's manual, thermal paste tube, 120/140mm fan mount and all the mounting bits and pieces required for Intel 775/1155/1156/1366/2011 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/FM1/FM2 sockets.

THE AXP-100

The AXP-100 heatsink is very small measuring just 44.15mm in height, 105.47mm in width and 121.1mm in length while weighing a total of 360g.

The heatsink body is made up by a total of 39 aluminum fins (also notice the two large holes used to mount the heatsink on the socket with ease).

Thermalright has placed their logo at the front of the 6 heatpipe caps.

I was a bit surprised to see that such a small CPU Cooler featured a total of six 6mm nickel plated heatpipes.

There are also two pieces of aluminum leaving the other side of the base (probably to support the extra weight of 120/140mm fans, if used).

As always Thermalright has used a mirror like finish on the base of the cooler.

The 9 bladed 100mm TR-TY100 PWM fan can spin with speeds of up to 2500RPM±15% and output airflow of up to 44.57CFM at 30dBA.

With the TR-TY100 fan mounted the AXP-100 now measures 58.15mm in height, 105.47mm in width and 121.1mm in length.

I felt it would be a nice touch to showcase just how large the Thermalright AXP-100 is compared to the Noctua NH-L9i (and it is).

What i really like about the AXP-100 is that by using the bundled fan mount you can use 120mm/140mm fans for better cooling and reduced noise levels.

We used the quite large TR-TY140 PWM fan for a second test to see what gains you can get when using a larger fan.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Since these tests were not performed in our lab we didn't have many CPU Coolers to test the 3770k with (we had tested the stock Intel HSF, Antec Kuhler 920 and the Noctua NH-L9i in the past) but we did manage to keep the room temperature to around 21-23 degrees (not really hard this time of the year but unfortunately not as accurate as in our lab) and as always to successfully record the load temperatures we used the latest OCCT application (this time for around 6-10 minutes) to push the processor to its limits and after that was done and the temperatures were recorded we waited for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record the idle temperatures. This is done to allow time for the thermal conductive material to achieve the optimal performance level. Same procedure was then repeated with the Passmark BurnIn Test as a failsafe just in case the OCCT results were off. This procedure takes a lot more time than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can we deliver real world results to our readers based on real CPUs but we can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures were recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests were performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the CPU Cooler.

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   When the first test results begun to come in i was quite surprised to see that the AXP-100 managed to surpass the Noctua NH-L9i by a quite large percentage without producing more noise. However just by looking at both solutions the performance part was not really something we didn't expect. I guess after working so long with "hot" and power hungry CPUs watching the i7-3770k being kept at such low temperatures just with something like the AXP-100 and under load was what really surprised me. Regardless of that what i stated earlier still stands and solutions like the AXP-100 and the NH-L9 are not really suitable for anything over the Core i7-3770k (and not even that with higher overclocks). Such solutions however are mostly aimed at people who want sufficient cooling for their ITX/HTPC systems and for that specific job the AXP-100 is really a great product.

   Although the AXP-100 Low-Profile CPU Cooler by Thermalright just got released its availability around the world is in satisfactory levels and currently retails for around USD55 inside the USA and 44Euros inside the EU (Overclockers.co.uk) a price tag which may seem as a bit too much at first (always after taking into account the performance of the unit) but with other similar solutions such as the NH-L9 series that cost the same or more i don't think that's the case. Well not really more to say is there? The AXP-100 Low Profile CPU Cooler by Thermalright performs better than its immediate competition (the NH-L9) at the same price tag and with less noise (marginally less but still less) and that's why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Quality
- Size / Low-Profile
- Performance (Compared To The Competition)
- Fan Mount For 120/140mm Fans
- Socket Compatibility
- Noise Level
- Price (For Some) 

CONS

- Performance Only Suitable For ITX/HTPC Systems