Thermalrigth AXP-100 showed up today!

doyll

doyll

doyll

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I managed to get one of the new AXP-100 cooler today so thought I would give you all a quick look at it. Haven't had a chance to mount it up yet but hope to tomorrow. Won't be a fair test as will be on Intel i7 920 and only thing I have for comparison is Macho HR-02. But at least it's a cooler that has other reviews to use as reference.

Here are the first pics and my initial feelings
Opened box and here this little beauty. It looks so small in real life!
AXP-1002boxfan_zpsdac356ea.jpg


Cooler in bag. Typical well packed in foam for protection
AXP-1003boxcooler_zps999ffc80.jpg


Cooler and fan are so nice! Quality is excellent but I didn't expect anything less.
AXP-1004coolerfan_zps68e6a154.jpg


Heatsink base is 40x42mm with 6x 6mm pipes. There are 2x 2mm wire braces from opposite side of where pipes come out that attach into cooler so they can't get bent easily. A nice touch showing the engineers are thinking. Sorry they don't show better in picture. Will try to get a better shot of them and edit it in.
AXP-1005heatsinkface_zps00b13b9e.jpg


The supplied 120mm fan adapter plate.
AXP-1006120mount_zps91f9d91e.jpg


The usual mounting kit for all Intel and AMD. Not much I can add. Bunch of little screws and 2 sets of knurled nuts
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a331/doyll/AXP-100
/AXP-1007mountingkit_zps2e4978d2.jpg

and lastly the screws for 120mm fan mounting plate, TY-100 fan and thicker 120/140mm fans
AXP-1008fanmountscrews_zpsb53d250a.jpg


This is one very nice little cooler! Good attention to detail and quality. I can't wait to try it out and see how well it cools!

I could ramble on and on with all the measurement and weights but they are all on Thermalright's website.
http://www.thermalright.com/html/products/cpu_cooler/axp-100.html

More tomorrow when I get it mounted!
 
I think it's deceptive mate. It definitely works.. at least on the AXP-100 The only review I've seen is from China or Taiwan or somewhere over there. They used the TY-100, a 120mm fan and TY-140 fan. They TY-100 was best by a clear margin.
 
Yeah, could very well be it can only use so much are. 120mm fan tested about same.. and it doesn't flow extra air down.but the bigger TY-140fans don't push all their air into cooler. Some pushes down around cooler.. which might interfere and cause air going though cooler to not be able to flow away from cooler as well.
 
Okay. Getting started with a cup of coffee and running baseline / standard with HR-02 now.

I will present my results in bold text. Hope this makes it easier to scan to see results.

Thermalright HR-02
on i7 920 stock
Handbrake @ realtime

Cooler Intake . Idle CPU; rpm; Cooler Exhaust . . 100% CPU; rpm; Cooler Exhaust
21c . . . . . . . . . 30-28-33-27c 650rpm 24.5c . . . . 54-54-56-53c 950rpm 29.0c

First pass
Thermalright AXP-100 w/ TY-100
on i7 920 stock
Handbrake @ realtime

Cooler Intake . Idle CPU; rpm; Cooler Exhaust . . 100% CPU; rpm; Cooler Exhaust
22.0c. . . . . . . . 37-36-40-35c 1000rpm 31c . . . . 65-65-66-63c 2400rpm 35.1c
22.0c. . . . . . . . 32-3a-36-31c 2400rpm 26c

TY-100 is almost silent below 1500rpm. Progressively louder as speeds increase. There is a slight hum at high speeds.
Noticing vibration noise dependent on rpm.. Smooth to 1500rpm, maximum is 2000rpm and smooth full speed. Assume this is a defective fan and not normal. Tested using voltage fan control and get same so not PWM related. I assume this is a defective fan as I've never had this happen with any other Thermalright fan.

Edit: Was a rogue harmonic resonance going into my worktop. Put a rubber mat under test board and it's all better.

Ran a second pass after 30 minutes idling and got exact same results. See no need to run a third pass. Will now change to TY-140 fan.


Was turned onto this test data:
AXP-100, Samuel 17 and NH-L9i on Xeon E3-1230 v2 @ 3.49GHz; 19c ambient :
AXP-100 w/TY-100 @ 2500rpm = . 72.3c
AXP-100 w/TY-120 @ 1500rpm = . 72.4c
AXP-100 w/TY-140 @ 1300rpm = . 77.2c
Samual 17 w/TY-120 @ 1500rpm = 77.2c
NH-L9i w/AF-A9 @ 2500rpm . .=. . 94.5c
NH-L9i w/TY-100 @ 2500rpm . =. . 85.5c

Bigger fans on AXP-100 were quieter because of rpm difference. I don't have a sound meter but will compare TY-100 and TY-140 today as well as get results at different fan speeds.
Click to expand...


Finding the TY-140 results interesting. I was expecting more of a difference between TY-100 and TY-140. Evidently the 105x105mm fin area minus the fan motor shadow keeps the added cfm of TY-140 from being used to increase cooling. Ty-140 is increasing the motherboard and case cooling and would be ideal in a case with intake vent directly above TY-140.

AXP-100 w/ TY-140
Tested with i7 920 stock
Handbrake @ realtime

Cooler Intake . Idle CPU & Fan rpm Cooler Exhaust. . . 100% CPU & Fan rpm Cooler Exhaust
23.0c . . . . . . . . 37-35-40-34c 700rpm 31.1c . . . . . . . 69-68-70-69c 1200rpm 38.6c
24.0c . . . . . . . . 35-34-38-33c 1280rpm 29.1c . . . . . . 67-68-68-66c 1300rpm 39.0c
23.5c . . . . . . . . 34-33-38-33c 1280rpm 28.0c

Hearing some of the same "vibration" noise so may have something to do with my test station. Will let you know more later.

I've got a "custom shroud" I made for my old NH-U12P to accept TY-140 fan. If I can find it I'll use it to funnel airflow to AXP-100's 105x105mm radiator area. ;)
 
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Found the shroud and mounted it between TY-140 and AXP-100. It's 15mm thick. 140mm diameter to 107x114mm rectangle.. fits perfectly on AXP-100 120mm mounting plate.

AXP-100 w/ TY-140
Tested with i7 920 stock
Handbrake @ realtime

Cooler Intake . Idle CPU; rpm; Exhaust. . . . . . 100% CPU & Fan rpm Cooler Exhaust
23.0c . . . . . . 37-35-40-34c . 700rpm 31.1c . 69-68-70-69c 1200rpm 38.8c
24.0c . . . . . . 35-34-38-33c 1280rpm 29.1c . 67-67-68-65c 1300rpm 38.0c
23.5c . . . . . . 34-33-38-33c 1280rpm 28.0c
TY-140>shroud>cooler
23,5c . . . . . . 33-32-37-32c 1280rpm 27.5c .
23,0c . . . . . . 33-32-37-32c 1250rpm 27.5c . . 65-66-67-65c 1250rpm 33.8c
22.5c . . . . . . 32-31-36-30c 1250rpm 26.5c . . 63-64-65-62c 1250rpm 35.5c**

**Turned base 90 degrees so it was better fitting the AXP-120 adapter mount.

Shroud does restrict fan cfm and increase static pressure.. as rpm shows but it increase airflow though cooler as temperatures show. ;)
It also makes things quieter because fan is spaced 15mm away from fins and also because air is being smoothly directed into fins and not slamming into the flats of the adapter mount.
 
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Did the testing but didn't get the pictures done yet. Will try try and do it later.

AXP-100 w/ TY-100
Tested with i7 920 stock
Handbrake @ realtime

Cooler Intake . Idle CPU; rpm; Cooler Exhaust . . . . 100% CPU; rpm; Cooler Exhaust . mobo & NB
21.5c . . . . . . . . 33-31-35-31c 2250rpm 25.5c . . . . 63-64-65-63c 2250rpm 34.5c . . . . . 37c 45c
22.5c . . . . . . . . 36-35-39-33c 2000rpm 30.0c . . . . 69-70-70-69c 2000rpm 40.0c . . . . . 39c 51c
22.5c . . . . . . . . 35-34-38-33c 1750rpm 29.5c . . . . 72-73-73-71c 1750rpm 43.0c . . . . . 40c 54c
22.5c . . . . . . . . 35-34-39-34c 1600rpm 30.0c . . . . 73-75-74-72c 1600rpm 44.0c . . . . . 39c 54c
22.5c . . . . . . . . 35-35-39-34c 1500rpm 30.0c . . . . 76-78-77-75c 1500rpm 47.0c . . . . . 40c 57c
23.0c . . . . . . . . 37-36-41-36c 1200rpm 31.0c; 39c & 46c mobo & NB

I was surprised. At 1750rpm I thought it would get hotter.. Than went to 1600rpm instead of 1500rpm because I was sure it would get too hot. But it actually does okay at 1500rpm!! So you can have a HTPC capable of gaming and still near silent with fixed fan speed. Use PWM and idle at 1200rpm set fan to ramp up as load increases. And about same size as two 120mm fans. Very impressed!

The vibration I thought was in the fan was a rogue harmonic resonance going into my worktop. Put a rubber mat under test board and it's all better.
 
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Helios1234 said:
Interesting, how rigid is it?
Click to expand...
Seems pretty solid. I haven't tried to bend it but am used to pushing down hard when mounting and seating TIM.. and I did.. I felt it flex a little so I didn't push any harder. :D
Here's a pic of it on mobo.
IMG_3681_zpsc2ac8f28.jpg


I still need to get some with the adapter & shroud under TY-140. The 15mm thick shroud improved cooling and noise considerable. Of course with it and TY-140 total height is 87.6mm.
AXP-100 with TY-100; 44.15 + 14 = 58mm
AXP-100 with TY-140; 44.15 + 28.5 = 72.65mm
AXP-100 2/TY-140 & shroud; 44.15 + 43.5 = 87.65mm
Edit: CPU fans in socket is approximately 6-9mm above motherboard.
From the results I'm not sure I would go the TY-140. I'm a TY-140 series lover and all but this little cooler really isn't designed to use 140mm fans. The fin face is 92x104mm = 95.7sq cm. TY-140 has a 42mm motor hub = 13.85sq cm while the TY-100 only has a 30mm motor hub = 7.1sq cm. All of TY-100 air is blowing into cooler while TY-140 is dumping a lot around the sides of cooler... which hinders the cooler exhaust trying to get out from under cooler.

A good 120mm fan would be forcing all it's air through cooler just as TY-100 does. ;)
 
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PinkFloyd said:
Has anyone done / seen any comparisons between this cooler and the current low profile stock intel coolers? I'm intending to probably get one at the end of the month anyway, but was just wondering about just how much of a leap up in performance they are for cooling an i5!
Click to expand...
Sorry but no. I would test with a stock cooler if I had one.. but I don't.
 
Chrisoldinho said:
Would you recommend a different 120mm fan, or would the gains be negligible?
Click to expand...
I need to run a test with a 120mm fan but at a guess yes, I suspect a 120 will cool a little better and be quieter. Hard to say for sure as the airflow shadow created by motor in middle and airflow pattern of fans are all different. And keep in mind it all depends on where you are putting the AXP-100. 100mm fan needs about 25mm clearance for good intake airflow meaning case CPU clearance needs to be about 83mm with TY-100 on AXP-100 (58mm tall) 120mm fan needs 30mm clearance so case CPU clearance would need to be about 99mm (120mm fan is 25mm + 44mm AXP-100 = 69mm + 30mm airflow = 99mm)
tigerstyle said:
In the paperwork for this does it mention the orientation the heatpipes work best in?
Click to expand...

I don't think it makes any difference. Heatpipes work in all orientations. Back in 2008 Noctua took issue with Legit cooling review of NH-C12P. Noctua claimed the orientation Legit resulted in lower scores. They retested and got .25-.75c difference by orientation. Well within tolerance (<+/- 0.5c)
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/741/1/


I'm need to run a couple tests with TY-100 pulling instead of pushing on AXP-100 and see if that makes any difference... and dig out a 120mm fan for a few tests too.
 
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Found a review showing lower temperature using TY-100 pulling out of AXP-100 than pushing in so I did some runs to see. Ends up it's the air blowing down into cooler that is much cooler. Air blowing down through AXP-100 hitts motherboard and goes out hitting the GPU, RAM, I/O housings, etc and comes back up around cooler and is sucked back in by fan. With fan pulling air out of AXP-100 goes up and away. Hopefully your case has a vent and/or fan that catches it and removes it from case. CPU is 5-7c cooler with fan pulling out of cooler.

AXP-100 w/ TY-100 pushing in
Tested with i7 920 stock
Handbrake @ realtime

Room ambient . Idle CPU; rpm; Cooler Exhaust. . 100% CPU; rpm; Cooler Exhaust . mobo; NB; Cooler intake*
21.5c . . . . . . . . . 33-34-35-31c 2400rpm 28.0c . . 67-68-67-66c 2400rpm . 39.5c . . 36c . . 51c
22.0c . . . . . . . . . 33-34-35-31c 2250rpm 28.0c . . 68-68-69-67c 2250rpm . 39.5c . . 36c . . 51c . . 30.0c
22.5c . . . . . . . . . 36-35-39-33c 2000rpm 30.0c . . 69-70-70-69c 2000rpm . 40.0c . . 39c . . 51c
22.5c . . . . . . . . . 35-34-38-33c 1750rpm 29.5c . . 72-73-73-71c 1750rpm . 43.0c . . 40c . . 54c
22.5c . . . . . . . . ; 35-35-39-34c 1500rpm 30.0c . . 76-78-77-75c 1500rpm . 47.0c . . 40c . . 57c
23.0c . . . . . . . . . 37-36-41-36c 1200rpm 31.0c; 39c & 46c mobo & NB
2400rpm is maximum rpm mounted pushing in
*Temperature of air 30mm above TY-100
:doh: I re-ran a couple of the fan pushing in tests. Intake air is much warmer than room ambient.

AXP-100 w/ TY-100 pulling out
Tested with i7 920 stock
Handbrake @ realtime

Room ambient . Idle CPU; rpm; Cooler Exhaust. . 100% CPU; rpm; Cooler Exhaust . mobo; NB; Cooler intake*
21.5c . . . . . . . . 32-31-35-31c 2450rpm 26.0c . . 62-62-63-61c 2450rpm . 33.5c . . 34c . . 46c
21.5c . . . . . . . . 33-31-35-31c 2250rpm 25.5c . . 63-64-65-63c 2250rpm . 34.5c . . 37c . . 45c
21.5c . . . . . . . . 33-32-37-33c 2000rpm 30.0c . . 64-65-65-64c 2000rpm . 35.5c . . 34c . . 48c
21.5c . . . . . . . . 35-34-39-34c 1750rpm 28.5c . . 66-67-66-65c 1750rpm . 37.5c . . 35c . . 50c
21.5c . . . . . . . . 34-33-38-32c 1500rpm 27.0c . . 69-70-70-69c 1500rpm . 39.5c . . 34c . . 51c
21.0c . . . . . . . . 35-34-38-33c 1200rpm 28.0c; 34c & 47c mobo & NB
*I neglected to put a probe under cooler, sorry.
. 2450rpm is maximum rpm mounted pulling out

Running TY-100 pushing in again and finding the heat difference is because of air temperature over cooler / fan intake. Idling at 2400rpm the air 30mm above AXP-100 is 28.5c with 22c ambient. That's with a TY-140 40cm away and 15cm above work top blowing 22c ambient over test setup.

From now own I'm going to worry more about what actual cooler intake temperature is than ambient temperature. :rolleyes:
 
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Follow-up:
Well, 11 months later and don't have a single complaint. I recommend the AXP-100 to anyone needing a good low profile cooler.
 
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