Introduction and Technical Specifications
We take a detailed look at one of SilverStone’s Argon series CPU air cooling solutions, the AR01…
Introduction
Courtesy of SilverStone
SilverStone Technology is a well known brand in the computer component space, offering high quality solutions for everything from cases to case-mounted fan controllers and displays. Their CPU air-coolers are some of the best in the industry with the latest incarnation being part of the Argon Series. The Argon Series AR01 CPU cooler is made for optimal cooling of your Intel socket 115X or AMD-based systems, comprised of a single aluminum radiator tied to a copper base-plate via a set of copper heat pipes with a 120mm fan for heat dissipation. To prove out the performance of the AR01 unit, we tested put it up against other high-performance liquid and air-based coolers. At a retail MSRP of $34.99, the AR01 cooler has a great performance to price ratio for its cooling potential.
Courtesy of SilverStone
Courtesy of SilverStone
Courtesy of SilverStone
Courtesy of SilverStone
SilverStone designed the AR01 to optimally transfer the heat from the processor, integrating the heat pipes directly into the base so that the copper heat pipes come in direct contact with the CPU surface. They chose to use larger 8mm-based heat pipes for transferring heat to the aluminum radiator with a disruption airflow design internally to optimize heat transfer to the air medium. In a genius move, SilverStone used rubber based fan holders to fix the unit's fans to the radiator, which also act to absorb fan vibration and noise. The base plate is polished to a mirror-like finish, ensuring optimal mating between the integrated heat pipes and CPU surface.
Courtesy of SilverStone
SilverStone includes mounting hardware for all current AMD and Intel sockets with a universal under-board mount to fit them all. They also include a single SilverStone-branded 2200RPM 120mm fan, thermal paste, and eight fan mounts for use with up to two fans with the unit.
Technical Specifications (taken from the SilverStone website)
|
Model No. |
SST-AR01 |
|
Material |
Copper heat pipes with aluminum fins |
|
Application |
Intel Socket LGA775/1150/1155/1156/1366/2011 AMD Socket AM2/AM3/FM1/FM2 |
|
Heat Pipe Type |
08mm heat-pipe x 3 |
|
Cooling System |
120mm x 120mm x 25mm fan |
|
Noise |
16.4-33.5 dBA |
|
Bearing |
Sleeve Bearing |
|
Net Weight |
420g (without fan) |
|
Voltage Rating (V) |
12V |
|
Start Voltage (V) |
≤7V |
|
Air Flow (CFM) |
37.2~81.4CFM |
|
Speed (R.P.M.) |
1000~2200RPM |
|
Life Expectance (hrs) |
40,000 hours |
|
Dimension |
120mm (W) x 50mm (D) x 159mm (H) (without Fan) |
The cooler is for Intel and
The cooler is for Intel and AMD CPUs. Have you run any tests on any AMD test beds? I have Cooler Master Hyper 212 on an AMD FX8350, and I’m curious to see how the cooler does with some AM3 socket silicon.
Unfortunately, the cooler was
Unfortunately, the cooler was only tested against Intel CPUs. However, you should be able to extrapolate the performance you would see on the AMD side based on the results provided.
I use the Cooler Master Hyper
I use the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO in all my client builds, and this cooler doesn’t sway me from continuing to use it. I am curious though as how this SilverStone cooler would compare to Cooler Master though.
$35 MSRP single fan
$35 MSRP single fan aluminum/copper value oriented heatsink.
Not measured against the Hyper 212 Evo.
Instead measured against the likes of the XSPC Raystorm 750 EX240 and the H100i.
Come on PCPer.
We measured against what we
We measured against what we had on hand at the time.
Thanks for the feedback…