Performance Results
Going in, you should be clear that these charts are going to be an unfair fight. The only coolers we've reviewed so far are this stack of Deepcool air coolers alongside a very healthy number of closed loop liquid coolers, so some perspective does need to be applied.
With that in mind, though, I'm keen to point out that the Corsair H55 is an entry-level Asetek-based CPU cooler. While its current price is actually higher than we'd like, there are closed loop Aseteks available from different vendors on NewEgg for as little as $49. That means that the H55 can be very much representative of the kind of competition mid-to-high-end air coolers are going to come into contact with.
Note that Intel's stock cooler is only at the top of the charts because it actually failed load testing. The Deepcool Assassin isn't a horrible cooler, but it definitely underperforms for what should be a high end, powerful air cooler. And if you have space for the Assassin, chances are you have space for an H55 or competing equivalent.
The air coolers are all pretty middle of the road acoustically, but note that for how much performance you can get out of liquid coolers, they're certainly capable of making quite a racket. Deepcool's coolers are actually all fairly good citizens where noise is concerned, and it's clear that Deepcool has prioritized low noise.
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