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Cinebench Test Results
I first attempted to run Cinebench without power limits enforced. If the cooler can handle it, this load will use a little more than 230W. Unfortunately, I haven’t found an air cooler capable of passing this test, and DeepCool’s AK500 is no exception.
However, when testing Cinebench limited to a more reasonable 200W CPU power limit, DeepCool’s AK500 averaged 68 degrees Celcius over ambient, an impressive 5 degrees C cooler than Cougar’s Forza 85 Air Cooler. The AK500 wasn’t able to pass 200W testing when fan speeds were reduced to 50%, but it was able to handle 175W loads with reduced fan speeds.
OCCT Test Results
I usually like to run OCCT's small set stress testing for stability when overclocking, but on Alder Lake I haven't found a cooler that's capable of passing unless power limits are enforced. This scenario pulls over 270W and causes even the best coolers to throttle.
For Alder Lake, I prefer to test OCCT at 200W to demonstrate a thermally demanding load, but also with a 140W power limit enforced to show how these coolers might perform with a CPU that's easier to cool, like Intel's i5-12600K or AMD's Ryzen 5800X.
While running the OCCT stress testing at both 200W, DeepCool’s AK500 outperformed the Cougar Forza 85 by an impressive 4 degrees Celcius. When limited to a CPU power limit of 140w, these coolers performed on par with each other – except when fans were limited to 50% speeds, where the AK500 showed a slight lead over the Forza 85.
Noise Levels and Acoustics
To test noise levels, I used the SLM25TK Sound Level Meter positioned 18 inches behind the rear of the Be Quiet Silent Base 802 PC case, and recorded early in the morning to achieve the lowest noise floor possible. The chart below shows averaged results, measured over the course of ten minutes, to account for sudden variations in measurements.
Even in the hottest of workloads with the FK120 fan running at full speed (above 200W of CPU package power), DeepCool’s AK500 stays extremely silent. The full-speed fan noise levels are the second quietest of all coolers I’ve tested on this platform thus far, and the AK500’s half-speed noise levels are quieter than all but two coolers we have tested thus far.
Conclusion
DeepCool’s AK500 performs great when paired with Alder Lake CPUs like the i9-12900K, and can handle loads of over 200W – and it keeps the CPU cool while running nice and quiet. With an MSRP of just $59.99, the AK500 delivers an impressive combination of silence, performance, and value that is hard to beat!
- MORE: How to Buy the Right CPU Cooler
- MORE: How to Overclock a CPU
- MORE: How to Check CPU Temperature
- MORE: All CPU Cooling Content
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