Review Argon Series AR11 SilverStone : Compact, No-Frills Performer
Ditulis pada: September 09, 2018
SilverStone's latest addition to Argon Series from the CPU cooler takes one of the more challenging parts in building an HTPC or ultra-compact gaming rig: Size. Shrinking a build usually makes it difficult to find a CPU cooler that provides proper cooling without making tons of noise or disrupting other components on the motherboard such as RAM and PCI-express slots. Fortunately, AR11 is budget friendly and also cool and compact.
Verdict
At only $40 the AR11 is a rock-solid cooler that will fit in all but the smallest of cases. Still, builders with extra room may potentially find better performance-to-dollar value in larger coolers.
With an MSRP of only $ 40, the performance of the AR11 package is without bells and whistles such as RGB lighting and stacked fan arrangements, which are usually found on larger and more expensive coolers. The hardware is equally simple, and includes a short manual, small package of thermal paste, and a set of washing machines and nuts to secure the cooler to the board.
Specifications
With a height of only 47mm, AR11 is the second after the IS-VC45 ID-Cooling steam room as the shortest compact cooler we have tested in recent years. This low altitude, coupled with a 95W TDP rating, provides the flexibility needed to cool most of the formations that you usually find in most compact games and home theater PCs.
The cooler itself consists of an aluminum heatsink connected to four, 6 mm thick direct contact heat pipes, topped by a 9-blade 92mmx15mm PWM fan. The simple AR11 mounting system is Intel specific, and only supports motherboards with Intel 115x sockets including: LGA1150, 1151, 1155, and 1156. For those of you who have or are looking to build an AMD-based system, SilverStone still has you covered similarly, even though Krypton KR01 is slightly higher.
Without the hardware to be installed on the motherboard, installing the AR11 is as simple as it gets. After applying thermal paste to the CPU, you place the cooler over the CPU and secure it by installing and tightening the washers and nuts provided on the back side of the board.
After a quick and easy installation, AR11 remains in place and ready to be tested.
Comparison Cooling
We have maintained the hardware configuration from previous reviews while comparing the AR11 Argon with its compact competitors. We have included the NH-L12 Noctua results to function as a basic reference and to illustrate the performance benefits of a larger cooler.
As usual, we maintain the temperature around the test at 26 ° C (78.8 ° F) and record a noise level of 0.25 m from the front corner of the case on the open side. Next, we corrected it to a 1m industry standard by subtracting 12 decibels.
Test results
Although 11mm shorter than its higher cousin AR06, AR11 succeeded in largely following temperatures that match 50% of fans and only with a small gap at full fan speed. Unfortunately, this gap widened when we compared AR11 to the ID-Cooling steam room cooler, and the draft cooling style dropped to greater than Reeven and Noctua.
The increased AR11 fan speed and more aggressive fan design unite to produce ideal air flow through the cooler of 55.76 CFM compared to 40.2 CFM from AR06. This increase in airflow allows the AR11 to maintain a temperature performance that is approximately the same as AR06 even though the heatsink is much smaller.
The AR11 is a compact rock cooler whose compact size provides the ability to keep your CPU cool all over the place except for the smallest gaming or HTPC. However, even with solid performance and value for its size, those who have space to spare will find that AR11 performance lags behind its larger competitors. That said, those who have space to spare may be able to find better performance or value by moving to larger coolers such as $ 30 Brontes Reeven.
