INTRODUCTION

   Having 2 out of our 3 test rigs housed inside HPTX towers is perhaps the best indication that i personally have no intention of actually using an m-ATX or m-ITX PC case at least not any time soon (who knows how things may turn out in the following years?) but it really seems that the recent increase in m-ATX and m-ITX compatible PC Cases in the market has intrigued quite a few people out there (judging from all the messages we've been getting) so naturally it was only a matter of time before the leading CPU Cooling manufacturers found ways to further improve on their current solutions. Thermalright is amongst them and although the original AXP-100 low profile CPU Cooler released roughly 10 months ago proved to be very successful they didn't stop there and so recently they updated the AXP line with the AXP-200 which ended up on our test bench just less than a month ago.

   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.

   Usually when a manufacturer improves on a previously launched model what they do is strap a larger and faster fan (sometimes two) on the same exact heatsink, rename the product and be over with it in no time. That way they can improve the performance of the cooler without spending much for R&D in the process and that has actually proven quite successful in the past with several solutions. Of course Thermalright is not your average manufacturer so instead not only did they re-design the main heatsink body but they also added a larger fan in the process in order to launch the new AXP-200. Naturally a larger size automatically means the cooler needs more space so while we will undoubtedly notice increased cooling efficiency compared to the AXP-100 size will also play a part (probably will not fit everywhere the AXP-100 could). Of course the how much of a drawback that also depends on just how much better the AXP-200 is compared to the AXP-100 so let's find out.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The AXP-200 arrived once again in a plain cardboard box with the Thermalright logo at the top.

Again as always the model name is printed on both sides of the box.

3 pieces of foam envelop the heatsink and fan while the rest of the bundle sits ontop in a large white cardboard box.

Inside the box you will find the AXP-200 heatsink, TR-14013 fan, user's manual, thermal paste tube, case badge (first time we've seen this particular one), 120/140mm fan mount, instructions for fan mounting and all the mounting bits and pieces required for Intel 775/1150/1155/1156/1366/2011 and AMD AM2/AM3/FM1/FM2 mainboards.

THE AXP-200

The AXP-200 may share the same low-profile feature but it's actually quite larger than its predecessor the AXP-100. To be more specific while the AXP-100 measures 121.1mm in length, 105.47mm in width and 44.15mm in height while weighing 360g the AXP-200 measures 150mm in length, 140mm in width and 60mm in height with a weight of 475g.

On a side note i do enjoy the craftsmanship of Thermalright since they even engrave their logo at the front of the heatpipe covers.

The main heatsink body has 49 aluminum fins each 0.5mm thick and 2mm away from each other.

These holes allow you to use your screwdriver to mount the heatsink with ease onto your mainboard.

Much like its predecessor the AXP-200 features 6 nickel plated 6mm all-copper heatpipes that go through all 49 of the fins.

As you can see the heatsink extends bellow making the center part of it quite thicker thus increasing the total surface of the fins.

Thermalright loves the mirror-like surface on the base of their coolers and i have to say that i do too.

The TR-14013 is an 140mm wide 13mm thick fan with 13 blades (did they use the 13 in the name because of the thickness or blades that matters little) that can rotate with speeds up to 1300RPM and produce airflow of 64.52CFM at 30.6dBA.

Installing the fan is very easy so you just need to use the provided screws (you only need to use the fan mount with heavier fans. With the fan installed the AXP-200 now measures 73mm in height and weighs 566g.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   As we have stated in the past the Intel I7-3770k system is not placed in our lab and so it's not our primary choice when testing CPU Coolers. Still since HTPC oriented models shouldn’t be used with our overclocked Core I7-3930k we have decided to take this path whenever one such model lands at our doorstep. As always our first concern is ambient temperatures so once again we keep the room temperature to around 21-23 degrees (not really hard but unfortunately not 100% accurate as in our lab) and as always to successfully record the load temperatures we use the latest OCCT application (for around 6-10 minutes) to push the processor to its limits so we can record its temperatures. After that is done we wait 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. As many of you have pointed out time and again this procedure takes a lot more time than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can we deliver real world results based on real CPUs but we can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures are recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests are performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the CPU Cooler.

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   One of the things i like about testing CPU Coolers is that you just can't ignore or misinterpret the results so it's quite clear just by looking at our charts that the AXP-200 is a definite improvement over the AXP-100 in terms of performance. Certainly by using both a larger heatsink and a larger fan that didn't really come as a surprise however what i didn't expect was for the AXP-200 to be on par or even better than the AXP-100 paired with an TR-TY140 fan. The new TR-14013 PWM fan that made it debut with the AXP-200 was also a good surprise since due to the thin blades i was expecting more noise coming from it while at full RPM something which never happened so kudos to Thermalright for that. My only slight concern with the AXP-200 is that it may not fit where the AXP-100 can but at the end of the day we just can't have it all and so potential buyers should weight their options carefully.

   Thermalright cooling solutions have always been at the top of the charts both because of their excellent build quality and impressive cooling efficiency so naturally they don't come cheap. So as we speak the AXP-200 Low Profile CPU Cooler retails for USD82.90 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 49.99Euros inside the EU (PC-Cooling.de) a price tag which will most likely trouble our friends at the other side of the Atlantic (EU pricing is actually very good for a change). That being said Thermalright has once again proven themselves by delivering a very efficient Low Profile CPU Cooler designed especially for HTPC use and since currently there's nothing similar in terms of size in the market that can outperform it we are awarding it with our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Quality
- Size / Low-Profile
- Excellent Performance (Best In Size)
- Fan Mount For 140/150mm Fans
- Socket Compatibility
- Noise Levels
- Price (EU)

CONS

- Performance Suitable Mostly For ITX/HTPC Systems
- Price (USA)