Quiet Cooling AKASA Style, AK 821Q and Silver Mountain 2Q

Author : Wayne Date : 12th August 2002

Test Rig :

Epox 8K3A+ Motherboard
AMD Athlon XP (Throughbred) 2200+
Chieftech Black Dragon Full tower case, 2x80mm case fans, closed.

For testing I can at last say that I relied the internal temperature diode readings of the 2200+ which is now read quite happily by the Epox 8K3A+. Temps were logged using Motherboard Monitor 5.1.9.1 which also supports the thermal diode readings of the 8K3A+. Because the internal diode is used temperatures will certainl;y be higher than would be experienced using an external thermistor mounted below the CPU.

For heat generation I used the excellent Hot CPU Tester Pro v3.3 which ramps up CPU useage to a full 100% and keeps it there until your system begs for mercy. System temperature as indicated by MBM was 32 Celsius and room temperature was 24 Celsius.

To give an idea of performance I tested the AK-821QQ against the AMD approved Taisol CGK760172 which features very similar specs even down to the copper heatplate insert. When I say the Taisol is AMD approved I should point out that this is the cooler AMD supply with the Tbred 2200+ so it's no slouch, not in mainstream terms that is. Just to balance the results out a bit I've also, perhaps unfairly included the results from Cooler Master's HHC-001 heatpipe copper cooler. The HHC-001 has the unfair advantage of a much higher rated fan, an all copper contruction and twin heatpipes (you can see the review of the HHC-001 HERE). The HHC-001 was a stunning performer when we tested it but it really seems to shine when used with the smaller contact area of the new Tbred core, perhaps we need to retest all our coolers on this new smaller surface area!

The Contenders

Taisol CGK760172 Fan Rated Speed 4800 RPM Fan Air Flow 21.19 CFM
AKASA AK-821Q Sanyo Denki Fan : Fan Rated Speed 4,300 RPM. Fan Air Flow 23CFM Pabst Fan : Fan Rated Speed 6,850 RPM. Fan Air Flow 33 CFM
Cooler Master HHC-001 Fan Rated Speed 6800 RPM Fan Air Flow 36.11 CFM

Initially I started testing by running Hot CPU Tester for a full 45 minutes but as it seemed the temperatures were not altering after around 8 minutes I decided to cut the testing time to 15 minutes plus enough time after testing to see how quickly the cooler brought the CPU temps back to idle levels. I tested the AK-821Q with both the stock 23CFM Sanyo Denki fan and also with a 33CFM Pabst.

One thing that should be immediately apparent from the graph below is that (not surprisingly) neither the Taisol nor the AKASA can come close to contending with the HHC-001. Keep in mind though that the HHC-001 outperformed such greats as the Swiftech MCXC370, Thermalright SK6 and Arkua 6228 to name but three so it's really not in the same league.

Far more interesting is the fact that even with its stock 23CFM fan the AK-821Q betters the Taisol and does it with a much quieter fan despite them having similar CFM ratings. It also brings the CPU back to starting temperatures marginally quicker than the Taisol. With the higher rated 33CFM Pabst fan the improvements in performance were actually a little lower than I would have expected but it was probably a good two degrees cooler on average.

Setting those results out in a simpler format makes the performance seem less impressive but again I need to remind you (and myself) that the AK-821Q isn't aimed at the enthusiast sector and at a price of just £17, the fact that it copes with the kind of demands that come with cooling the 2200+ Throrougbred core is one hell of an endorsement and the fact that noise is so well controlled is an even greater bonus. With a decent 60mm fan tipping the scales at between £5 and £10 you have to admire what AKASA have pulled off in value for money terms.

But the AK 821Q is aimed firmly at the value end of the cooling sector, for those who want a bit more performance without having to add massively to overall noise levels AKASA have introduced the Silver Mountain 2Q. Again the "Q" denotes "Quiet" achieved by use of the same 23CFM Sanyo Denki fan as we've just seen on the AK 821Q. Let's take a closer look at it.

 

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