Deepcool Fiend Shark CPU Cooler Review

[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

The Fiend Shark is a huge CPU cooler from Deepcool. It has a horizontal heatsink, six heatpipes, and a 140 mm fan. Let’s test it.

The box of the Fiend Shark is huge and sturdy, using a minimalist graphic design, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Package

Figure 2 shows the contents of the box: the cooler itself, a syringe of thermal compound, power adapters, and installation hardware. Everything comes well accommodated in plastic trays.

Figure 2: Accessories

Figure 3 displays the Fiend Shark.

Figure 3: The Deepcool Fiend Shark

This cooler is discussed in detail in the following pages.

[nextpage title=”The Deepcool Fiend Shark”]

Figure 4 illustrates the front of the cooler. The heatsink is 2.1 inches (55 mm) high from the CPU. The six 6 mm heatpipes connect the base to the heatsink.

Figure 4: Front view

Figure 5 reveals the side of the cooler. Here you can see how the heatpipes connect to what seems to be the center of a one-piece heatsink.

Figure 5: Side view

In Figure 6, you can see the top of the cooler. The 140 mm fan doesn’t completely cover the heatsink.

Figure 6: Top view

Figure 7 shows how the heatpipes are distributed on the base. Here you can notice that the Fiend Shark has not one, but two independent heatsinks.

Figure 7: Heatpipes

[nextpage title=”The Deepcool Fiend Shark (Cont’d)”]

Figure 8 illustrates the base of the cooler. The heatpipes don’t touch the CPU directly; there is a nickel-plated copper plate at the base. The base surface does not have a mirror-like finishing.

Figure 8: Base

Figure 9 reveals the Fiend Shark without the fan. Here it is clear that the two heatsinks are completely independent.

Figure 9: Without the fan

Figure 10 shows the 140 mm PWM fan that comes with the Fiend Shark. The blades are blue, and the frame is covered by a rubber coating.

Figure 10: Fan

[nextpage title=”Installation”]

Figure 11 shows the backplates for installing the Fiend Shark. The left one is for use with AMD processors, the middle one is for socket LGA775 Intel CPUs, and the right one fits socket LGA1155/1156 Intel CPUs. On socket LGA1366 systems, the cooler is installed without a backplate, and socket LGA2011 systems don’t require one.

Figure 11: Backplates

You must install two brackets on the base of the cooler. Figure 12 reveals the brackets for use on Intel CPUs; there is another pair of brackets for AMD processors.

Figure 12: Brackets installed

The next step is to install four thumbscrews/nuts on the solder side of the motherboard, as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13: Holders

Put the cooler in, fastening the thumbscrews to secure it. The access to the screws is narrow, so you may have to remove the motherboard from the case. In our system, we had to remove the video card in order to reach the screws.

Figure 14: Installation finished

[nextpage title=”How We Tested”]

We tested the cooler with a Core i5-2500K CPU (quad-core, 3.3 GHz), which is a socket LGA1155 processor with a 95 W TDP (Thermal Design Power). In order to get higher thermal dissipation, we overclocked it to 4.0 GHz (100 MHz base clock and x40 multiplier), with 1.3 V core voltage (Vcore). This CPU was able to reach 4.8 GHz with its default core voltage, but at this setting, the processor enters thermal throttling when using mainstream coolers, reducing the clock and thus the thermal dissipation. This could interfere with the temperature readings, so we chose to maintain a moderate overclocking.

We measured noise and temperature with the CPU under full load. In order to get 100% CPU usage in all cores, we ran Prime 95 25.11 with the “In-place Large FFTs” option. (In this version, the software uses all available threads.)

We compared the tested cooler to other coolers we already tested, and to the stock cooler that comes with the Core i5-2500K CPU. Note that the results cann
ot be compared to measures taken on a different hardware configuration, so we retested some “old” coolers with this new methodology. This means you can find different values in older reviews than the values you will read on the next page. Every cooler was tested with the thermal compound that comes with it.

Room temperature measurements were taken with a digital thermometer. The core temperature was read with the SpeedFan program (available from the CPU thermal sensors), using an arithmetic average of the core temperature readings.

During the tests, the panels of the computer case were closed. The front and rear case fans were spinning at minimum speed in order to simulate the “normal” cooler use on a well-ventilated case. We assume that is the common setup used by a cooling enthusiast or overclocker.

The sound pressure level (SPL) was measured with a digital noise meter, with its sensor placed near the top opening of the case. This measurement is only for comparison purposes, because a precise SPL measurement needs to be made inside an acoustically insulated room with no other noise sources, which is not the case here.

Hardware Configuration

• Processor: Core i5-2500K
• Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z
• Memory: 6 GB OCZ (DDR3-1600/PC3-12800), configured at 1,600 MHz and 8-8-8-18 timings
• Hard disk: Seagate Barracuda XT 2 TB
• Video card: Point of View GeForce GTX 460 1 GB
• Video resolution: 1920×1080
• Video monitor: Samsung SyncMaster P2470HN
• Power supply: Seventeam ST-550P-AM
• Case:  Cooler Master HAF 922

Operating System Configuration

• Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit SP1

Software Used

• Prime95
• SpeedFan

Error Margin

We adopted a 2°C error margin, meaning temperature differences below 2°C are considered irrelevant.

[nextpage title=”Our Tests”]

The table below presents the results of our measurements. We repeated the same test on all coolers listed below. Each measurement was taken with the CPU at full load. In the models with a fan supporting PWM, the motherboard controlled the fan speed according to core load and temperature. On coolers with an integrated fan controller, the fan was set at the full speed.

Cooler	Room Temp.	Noise	Speed	Core Temp.	Temp. Diff.
Cooler Master Hyper TX3	18 °C	50 dBA	2850 rpm	69 °C	51 °C
Corsair A70	23 °C	51 dBA	2000 rpm	66 °C	43 °C
Corsair H100	26 °C	62 dBA	2000 rpm	64 °C	38 °C
EVGA Superclock	26 °C	57 dBA	2550 rpm	67 °C	41 °C
NZXT HAVIK 140	20 °C	46 dBA	1250 rpm	65 °C	45 °C
Thermalright True Spirit 120	26 °C	42 dBA	1500 rpm	82 °C	56 °C
Zalman CNPS12X	26 °C	43 dBA	1200 rpm	71 °C	45 °C
Zalman CNPS9900 Max	20 °C	51 dBA	1700 rpm	62 °C	42 °C
Titan Fenrir Siberia Edition	22 °C	50 dBA	2400 rpm	65 °C	43 °C
SilenX EFZ-120HA5	18 °C	44 dBA	1500 rpm	70 °C	52 °C
Noctua NH-L12	20 °C	44 dBA	1450 rpm	70 °C	50 °C
Zalman CNPS8900 Extreme	21 °C	53 dBA	2550 rpm	71 °C	50 °C
Gamer Storm Assassin	15 °C	48 dBA	1450 rpm	58 °C	43 °C
Deepcool Gammaxx 400	15 °C	44 dBA	1500 rpm	60 °C	45 °C
Cooler Master TPC 812	23 °C	51 dBA	2350 rpm	66 °C	43 °C
Deepcool Gammaxx 300	18 °C	43 dBA	1650 rpm	74 °C	56 °C
Intel stock cooler	18 °C	41 dBA	2000 rpm	97 °C	79 °C
Xigmatek Praeton	19 °C	52 dBA	2900 rpm	83 °C	64 °C
Noctua NH-U12P SE2	18 °C	42 dBA	1300 rpm	69 °C	51 °C
Deepcool Frostwin	24 °C	46 dBA	1650 rpm	78 °C	54 °C
Thermaltake Frio Advanced	13 °C	56 dBA	2000 rpm	62 °C	49 °C
Xigmatek Dark Knight Night Hawk Edition	9 °C	48 dBA	2100 rpm	53 °C	44 °C
Thermaltake Frio Extreme	21 °C	53 dBA	1750 rpm	59 °C	38 °C
Noctua NH-U9B SE2	12 °C	44 dBA	1700 rpm	64 °C	52 °C
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Pro	15 °C	54 dBA	2000 rpm	52 °C	37 °C
Deepcool Fiend Shark	18 °C	45 dBA	1500 rpm	74 °C	56 °C

In the graph below, you can see how many degrees Celsius hotter the CPU core is than the air outside the case. The lower this difference, the better is the performance of the cooler.

In the graph below, you can see how many decibels of noise each cooler makes.

[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]

The main specifications for the Deepcool Fiend Shark CPU cooler include:

• Application: Sockets 775, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011, AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, and FM1 processors
• Dimensions: 6.2 x 6.1 x 5.2 inches (157 x 156 x 131 mm) (W x L x H)
• Fins: Aluminum
• Base: Nickel-plated copper
• Heat-pipes: Six 6-mm copper heatpipes
• Fan: 140 mm
• Nominal fan speed: 1,400 rpm
• Fan air flow: 80.28 cfm
• Maximum power consumption: 2.04 W
• Nominal noise level: 32 dBA
• Weight: 2.68 lb (1.216 kg)
• More information: https://www.deepcool-us.com
• Average price in the U.S.*: USD 71.00

* Researched at Amazon.com on the day we published this review.

[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]

Because of its size and wonderfully crafted heatsink, we expected excellent performance from the Deepcool Fiend Shark; we were disappointed by the mediocre cooling performance it provided.

On the other hand, this cooler is quiet. And like any horizontal cooler, it can help cool the components surrounding the CPU, such as the memory modules, chipset, and the voltage regulator circuit.

It’s a shame that a big, beautiful cooler like the Deepcool Fiend Shark couldn’t deliver a good cooling performance.