Deepcool ICE BLADE PRO V2.0 CPU Cooler Review

[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

Let’s test the Deepcool ICE BLADE PRO V2.0 CPU cooler, which has a tower heatsink with four direct-touch 8 mm heatpipes and one 120 mm fan with blue LEDs. Check it out!

We already tested the first version of the ICE BLADE PRO but this V2.0 version is a completely different cooler, sharing only the basic characteristics, such as the four 8 mm heatpipes and the 120 mm fan.

The ICE BLADE PRO V2.0 comes in a white cardboard box, as seen in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Package

Figure 2 shows the contents of the box: heatsink, fan, a small tube of thermal compound, a manual, and installation hardware. The cooler comes with only one fan, but it supports up to two 120 mm fans.

Figure 2: Accessories

Figure 3 displays the ICE BLADE PRO V2.0 heatsink.

Figure 3: The ICE BLADE PRO V2.0

This cooler is discussed in detail in the following pages.

[nextpage title=”The ICE BLADE PRO V2.0″]

Figure 4 illustrates the front of the heatsink. The fins are not plain; they have small folds to avoid a perfectly laminar airflow inside the heatsink that could spoil the heat transfer.

Figure 4: Front view

Figure 5 reveals the side of the cooler. Notice the four 8 mm heatpipes connecting the fins to the base.

Figure 5: Side view

In Figure 6, you can see the top of the cooler.

Figure 6: Top view

[nextpage title=”The ICE BLADE PRO V2.0 (Cont’d)”]

Figure 7 illustrates the well-polished base of the cooler. The four heatpipes touch the CPU directly, but there are small gaps between the heatpipes. The bigger problem with this is that, while the heatpipes in the middle receive heat directly, the outer heatpipes don’t completely touch the CPU.

Figure 7: Base

Figure 8 shows the PWM-compatible 120 mm fan (with blue LEDs) that comes with the ICE BLADE PRO V2.0.

Figure 8: Fan

Figure 9 reveals the heatsink with the fan installed.

Figure 9: Fan installed

[nextpage title=”Installation”]

To install the Deepcool ICE BLADE PRO V2.0, first prepare the backplate. You must install the four screws in the holes that match your CPU socket, and then place it on the solder side of the motherboard. Figure 10 shows the backplate with the screws installed in the socket LGA1155 position.

Figure 10: Backplate with screws

After that, install four spacers, and then the metal bars shown in Figure 11, holding them with four thumbnuts.

Figure 11: Metal bars installed

Place the heatsink over the CPU and hold it, fastening the two screws at the transversal bar.

Figure 12: Heatsink installed

The last step is to install the fan, as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13: 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 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 page. Every cooler was tested with the thermal compound that comes with it.< /p>

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 Prae ton	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
Arctic Freezer i30	13 °C	42 dBA	1350 rpm	63 °C	50 °C
Spire TME III	8 °C	46 dBA	1700 rpm	70 °C	62 °C
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Performer	11 °C	54 dBA	2000 rpm	49 °C	38 °C
Arctic Alpine 11 PLUS	11 °C	45 dBA	2000 rpm	82 °C	71 °C
be quiet! Dark Rock 2	10 °C	41 dBA	1300 rpm	58 °C	48 °C
Phanteks PH-TC14CS	16 °C	47 dBA	1300 rpm	58 °C	42 °C
Phanteks PH-TC14PE	16 °C	48 dBA	1300 rpm	57 °C	41 °C
SilverStone HE01 (Q)	19 °C	44 dBA	1150 rpm	63 °C	44 °C
SilverStone HE01 (P)	20 °C	57 dBA	2050 rpm	62 °C	42 °C
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Extreme (S)	17 °C	44 dBA	1250 rpm	52 °C	35 °C
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Extreme (E)	17 °C	53 dBA	1900 rpm	50 °C	33 °C
Deepcool Neptwin	11 °C	46 dBA	1500 rpm	56 °C	45 °C
SilverStone HE02	19 °C	49 dBA	2000 rpm	64 °C	45 °C
Zalman CNPS9900DF	23 °C	45 dBA	1400 rpm	68 °C	45 °C
Deepcool ICE BLADE PRO V2.0	22 °C	43 dBA	1500 rpm	67 °C	45 °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 ICE BLADE PRO V2.0 CPU cooler include:

• Application: Sockets LGA775, LGA1155, LGA1156, LGA1366, LGA2011, AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1, and FM2
• Dimensions: 2.8 x 4.9 x 6.3 inches (70 x 125 x 161 mm) (W x L x H)
• Fins: Aluminum
• Base: Direct-touch heatpipes
• Heat-pipes: Four 8-mm copper heatpipes
• Fan: 120 mm
• Nominal fan speed: 1,500 rpm
• Fan air flow: 60.29 cfm
• Power consumption: 3.0 W
• Nominal noise level: 32.1 dBA
• Weight: 2.16 Lbs (981 g)
• More information: https://www.deepcool-us.com
• MSRP in the U.S.: USD 45.00

[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]

With its stock fan, the ICE BLADE PRO V2.0 is an efficient CPU cooler, with a good cooling performance and a very low noise level. The installation is easy and reliable, which is a good characteristic for a tower cooler.

It could probably perform even better if you install a second fan, or replace the quiet fan that comes with it for a stronger (and louder) one.

Being a quiet, beautiful, well-made, and good performance CPU cooler, the Deepcool ICE BLADE PRO V2.0 receives our Silver Award.