Deepcool Gammaxx 300 CPU Cooler Review

[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

The Gammaxx 300 is a CPU cooler from Deepcool. It has a tower heatsink, three U-shaped heatpipes, and a 120 mm fan. The Gammaxx 300 is the “smaller brother” of the Gammaxx 400, which we tested recently. This cooler is also sold under the name MC3002GX.

The Gammaxx 300 comes in a white cardboard box, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Package

Figure 2 shows the contents of the box: the cooler itself, manual, and installation hardware. The heatsink seems to support a second fan, but it comes with only one fan and there are no clips for installing another one.

Figure 2: Accessories

Figure 3 displays the Gammaxx 300.

Figure 3: The Gammaxx 300

This cooler is discussed in detail in the following pages.

[nextpage title=”The Deepcool Gammaxx 300″]

Figure 4 illustrates the front of the cooler, where the blue fan covers it all. Here and in the following pictures, you see that this fan has a conic frame, which directs the airflow to the center of the heatsink.

Figure 4: Front view

Figure 5 reveals the side of the cooler. The heatsink is open at the sides.

Figure 5: Side view

Viewed from behind, you notice that one of the heatpipes is shifted away from the others, so  the three are not in a single row.

Figure 6: Rear view

Figure 7 shows the top of the cooler, where you can see the tips of the heatpipes and the rectangular shape of the fins.

Figure 7: Top view

[nextpage title=”The Deepcool Gammaxx 300 (Cont’d)”]

On the base of the Gammaxx 300, the heatpipes are exposed in order to make direct contact with the CPU. This cooler comes with a layer of thermal compound pre-applied on the base. However, in this particular sample, it seems like the plastic cover that protects the base moved during transportation, and some compound was wiped off by the inner side of the box. First, we tested the cooler with its pre-applied thermal compound, which was partially removed. The performance was very poor. We then removed the stock compound, applied some Arctic Silver 5 compound, and retested. The cooler achieved better results, so those were the data we used on our comparison.

Figure 8: Base

The 120 mm PWM-compatible fan is shown in Figure 9. As we mentioned before, the fan frame is conical instead of squared.

Figure 9: Fan

Figure 10 shows the heatsink of the Gammaxx 300 without the fan.

Figure 10: Heatsink

[nextpage title=”Installation”]

As seen on its bigger brother, the installation system of the Gammaxx 300 is simple and uses holders similar to the stock ones on both AMD and Intel platforms. Figure 11 shows the clips for use with AMD processors, while the clips for Intel processors are shown in Figure 12.

Figure 11: AMD clip

Figure 12: Intel clips

Due to the stock-like clips, installing the cooler is very easy. Figure 13 shows the Gammaxx 300 installed on our system.

Figure 13: Cooler installed

[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. Note that the results cannot 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 pag
e. 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

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 Gammaxx 300 CPU cooler include:

• Application: Sockets 775, 1155, 1156, 1366, AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, and FM1 processors
• Dimensions: 4.8 x 3.0 x 5.7 inches (121 x 75.5 x 144 mm) (W x L x H)
• Fins: Aluminum
• Base: Aluminum, with heatipes directly touching the CPU
• Heat-pipes: Three 6-mm copper heatpipes
• Fan: 120 mm
• Nominal fan speed: 1,600 rpm
• Fan air flow: 55.5 cfm
• Maximum power consumption: 1.56 W
• Nominal noise level: 21 dBA
• Weight: 1.04 lb (473 g)
• More information: https://www.deepcool-us.com
• Average price in the U.S.*: USD 19.00

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

[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]

The Gammaxx 300 is one of the quietest CPU coolers that we have tested, even at full load, while maintaining a decent cooling performance. The strong point of this cooler, however, is that it is inexpensive.

This cooler may not be the best choice for the extreme overclocking enthusiast, but if you want a quiet CPU cooler that fits a narrow budget, the Gammaxx 300 is a good option. That’s why we are giving it our Silver Award.