Thermalright’s latest cooler proves
there’s still life in air cooling yet
Thermalright are well
known in the CPU cooling business for producing quality products, so it’s no
surprise to see them launch into the premium end of the market. At $83.05, the
Archon SE-E X2 is close in price to other high-end coolers like the Noctua NH-D
15 and the Phanteks PH-TC 14PE, so it’s got some tough competition.
Thermalright Archon SB-E X2
The Archon SE-E X2
features a pure copper baseplate, although the whole cooler has a nice silver
shine to it thanks to its nickel plating. A whopping eight heat pipes pass
directly through the baseplate, which leaves it every crowded, but should
ensure plenty of rapid heat transfer
Heat is passed up from
the baseplate via the heat pipes into a single dense aluminum fin stack. The
fin stack measures just 53.6mm across, so it’s actually relatively thin, but it
is 170mm tall, so you’ll need to ensure your case has the room to house it.
Everything about the cooler feels well machined and solidly constructed, just
as you’d expect from a Thermalright product. The warm air is moved by a pair of
Thermalright’s 140mm TY-141 fans, which fit onto the cooler in a push-pull
configuration. Both fans can be controlled on compatible motherboards via pulse
width modulation (PWM), and a Y-splitter cable is also included, so that both
can be connected to a single fan header, and the fan cables themselves are
nicely braided.
The Archon SE-E X2 features a pure
copper baseplate, although the whole cooler has a nice silver shine to it
thanks to its nickel plating
The fans themselves
are an odd blend of yellow and grey green, which is unlikely to prove a popular
combination. When attached, the fans extend the width of the cooler to just
under 110mm, and as such, the Archon SE-E X2 boasts full RAM compatibility with
all the sockets it supports, which is a real bonus for a large premium cooler.
The front mounting
bracket and the back plate are both solid metal, and easy to install, thanks to
the use of prefilled both and thumbscrews. After you’ve applied some of the
supplied thermal paste, the cooler is attached to the mounting plate with a
pressure plate and two screws.
The front mounting bracket and the back
plate are both solid metal, and easy to install, thanks to the use of prefilled
both and thumbscrews
Thermalright has also
introduced its Pressure Vault Bracket System with the Archon SE-E X2. This
consists of a bolt in the middle of the pressure plate that, using a supplied
wrench, you tighten to apply pressure down directly onto the middle of the
baseplate, thus increasing the mount pressure substantially. It can be tricky
to turn the wrench in a crowded enclosure, although it is possible, but you’ll
be better off installing the cooler outside of your case.
The performance of the cooler is
excellent
The performance of the
cooler is excellent. I tested the cooler on overclocked Intel LGA1155 and
LGA2011 systems, and it was able to produce temperatures on par with closed loop
coolers like the ANtec Kuhler H2O 920 and the Corsair H80i with their fans on full
speed. These two coolers are both more expensive and far louder than the Archon
SE-E X2, so it’s brilliant to see an air cooler finally able to give such
systems a real run for their money. Closed loop coolers based on larger 240mm
and 280mm radiators, however, still have more cooling power.
The cooler can keep CPUs at low
temperatures with minimal noise.
The eight heat pipes
combined with an excellent mounting system and two evidently capable fans
produce a fantastic air cooler. Some users may have issues with its height, but
the full RAM compatibility is a real bonus too. Most importantly, the cooler
can keep CPUs at low temperatures with minimal noise. $83.05 is more than many
will want to fork out for a CPU cooler, but if you’re chasing low temperatures
and are particularly interested in overclocking, it’s certainly a worthwhile
investment.
Well built, excellent performance and a
fair price too
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Details
·
Price: $85.78
·
Manufacturer: Thermalright
·
Website: www.thermalright.com
·
Required Spec: 170mm CPU cooler clearance
Ratings
·
Quality: 9/10
·
Value: 9/10
·
Overall: 9/10
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