Thermalright Archon SB-E X2 CPU Cooler Review

[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

Let’s test the Thermalright Archon SB-E X2, a CPU cooler with a tower heatsink, eight U-shaped heatpipes, and two 140 mm fans.

Figure 1 shows the minimalist designed cardboard box of the Archon SB-E X2.

Figure 1: Package

Figure 2 shows the contents of the box: heatsink, fans, a syringe of thermal compound, a manual, a Y-harness for the fans, a wrench, a case sticker, and installation hardware.

Figure 2: Accessories

Figure 3 displays the heatsink of the Archon SB-E X2.

Figure 3: The Archon SB-E X2 heatsink

This cooler is discussed in detail in the following pages.

[nextpage title=”The Archon SB-E X2″]

Figure 4 illustrates the front of the Archon SB-E X2. Notice that the eight U-shaped heatpipes are distributed on six rows (three rows at each side) inside the radiator.

Figure 4: Front view

Figure 5 reveals the side of the cooler.

Figure 5: Side view

Figure 6 unveils the top of the heatsink, where the tips of the eight heatpipes are visible.

Figure 6: Top view

[nextpage title=”The Archon SB-E X2 (Cont’d)”]

Figure 7 shows the view of the base of the Archon SB-E X2. There is a plate of nickel-plated copper soldered to the heatpipes, and the surface has a mirror-like look.

Figure 7: Base

The Archon SB-E X2 comes with two 140 mm PWM fans, shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8: Fan

Figure 9 presents the Archon SB-E X2 with the fans installed. There are four rubber pads to help absorb vibration.

Figure 9: Fans installed

[nextpage title=”Installation”]

Figure 10 shows the backplate for use with AMD processors (on the left), the backplate for Intel systems (at the center), and the frame that goes on the component side of the motherboard (on the right). At the bottom of the picture, you can see the transversal bar that goes over the cooler base and attaches to the frame. This bar has a screw at the center that allows the user to adjust the pressure over the CPU.

Figure 10: Backplates and holders

Figure 11 reveals the four spacers on the solder side of the motherboard. Those spacers are fastened to the backplate’s screws.

Figure 11: Spacers installed

Over the spacers goes the frame, shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12: Frame

Put the cooler in place, and attach it to the frame using the transversal bar with two screws. Use the included wrench to fasten the center screws that increases the pressure between the cooler and the CPU.

Figure 13: Heatsink installed

The last step is to install the fans, as shown in Figure 14.

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 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.

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: 16 GB G.Skill Sniper (DDR3-1600/PC3-12800), configured at 1,600 MHz
• 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 ºC	51 °C
Corsair A70	23 °C	51 dBA	2000 rpm	66 ºC	43 °C
Corsair H100	26 °C	62 dBA	2000 rpm	64 ºC	38 °C
EVGA Superclock	26 °C	57 dBA	2550 rpm	67 ºC	41 °C
NZXT HAVIK 140	20 °C	46 dBA	1250 rpm	65 ºC	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
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
Phanteks PH-TC90LS	24 °C	47 dBA	2600 rpm	95 °C	71 °C
Rosewill AIOLOS	20 °C	40 dBA	1600 rpm	94 °C	74 °C
Corsair H60	20 °C	49 dBA	2000 rpm	64 °C	44 °C
Zalman LQ310	27 °C	51 dBA	2050 rpm	65 °C	38 °C
Noctua NH-L9i	24 °C	44 dBA	2500 rpm	95 °C	71 °C
NZXT Respire T40	20 °C	45 dBA	1850 rpm	76 °C	56 °C
NZXT Respire T20	21 °C	45 dBA	1900 rpm	77 °C	56 °C
Zalman LQ315	20 °C	52 dBA	1950 rpm	57 °C	37 °C
Corsair H80i (Quiet)	19 °C	44 dBA	1100 rpm	61 °C	42 °C
Corsair H80i (Maximum)	19 °C	57 dBA	2500 rpm	55 °C	36 °C
NZXT Kraken X40 (Silent)	25 °C	44 dBA	1050 rpm	66 °C	41 °C
NZXT Kraken X40 (Extreme)	25 °C	53 dBA	1650 rpm	62 °C	37 °C
Zalman LQ320	20 °C	52 dBA	2100 rpm	57 °C	37 °C
Corsair H100i (Quiet)	22 °C	45 dBA	1150 rpm	58 °C	36 °C
Corsair H100i (Maximum)	22 °C	61 dBA	2500 rpm	54 °C	32 °C
NZXT Kraken X60 (Silent)	26 °C	46 dBA	1000 rpm	62 °C	36 °C
NZXT Kraken X60 (Extreme)	26 °C	60 dBA	1650 rpm	60 °C	34 °C
Prolimatech Genesis Black Series	25 °C	46 dBA	1150 rpm	69 °C	44 °C
Phanteks PH-TC12DX	25 °C	51 dBA	1850 rpm	74 °C	49 °C
Corsair H90	23 °C	51 dBA	1550 rpm	61 °C	38 °C
Corsair H110	27 °C	58 dBA	1500 rpm	60 °C	33 °C
Evercool Venti	23 °C	49 dBA	2250 rpm	72 °C	49 °C
Thermalright Archon SB-E X2	22 °C	45 dBA	1400 rpm	68 °C	46 °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 Thermalright Archon SB-E X2 CPU cooler include:

• Application: Sockets LGA775, LGA1155, LGA1156, LGA1366, LGA2011, AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1, and FM2
• Dimensions: 6.1 x 2.1 x 6.7 inches (155 x 53 x 170 mm) (W x L x H)
• Fins: Aluminum
• Base: Nickel-plated copper
• Heat-pipes: Eight 6 mm copper heatpipes
• Fans: 2 x 140 mm
• Nominal fan speed: 1,300 rpm
• Fan air flow: 73.6 cfm
• Power consumption: 2 x 2.4 W
• Nominal noise level: 21 dBA
• Weight: 1.65 lb (750 g)
• More information: https://www.thermalright.com
• Average Price in the U.S.*: USD 90.00

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

[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]

The Thermalright Archon SB-E X2 is impressive in its construction. Eight heatpipes (actually working as if there were 16, since they are U-shaped) is not a common feature, and two 140 mm fans is the current standard for high-end air coolers.

Unfortunately, the cooling performance was good, but not at th
e level we expected in light of its excellent specifications. On the other hand, the Archon SB-E X2 is very quiet, which is nice.

Being a good cooler, with good cooling performance, but not a good buy due to its relatively high price, the Archon SB-E X2 receives our Bronze Award.