Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Go to page:

Core i9-12900K Thermal Results

Cinebench Test Results

Running Cinebench without power limits is the most thermally demanding load in my testing, and most coolers don't pass this specific test–but the LS520 isn’t most coolers. It performed exceptionally well here, beating BeQuiet’s Pure Loop 2 FX 360mm by 11 degrees Celsius!

DeepCool LS520 — (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

When power limits are restricted to a reasonable 200W and 50% fan speeds, the LS520 ties with Cougar’s Poseidon AIO and is close to Be Quiet’s Pure Loop 2 FX. And keep in mind these are both coolers with larger 36mm radiators.

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 handling OCCT without throttling unless power limits are enforced.

I 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.

OCCT’s cooling results are similar to the previous results when limited to 200W. The LS520 nearly ties with Cougar’s Poseidon GT630 here, and cools slightly better than BeQuiet’s Pure Loop 2 FX.

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 five minutes, to account for sudden variations in measurements.

Even while pushing over 230w, DeepCool’s LS520 doesn’t get very loud. At 50% fan speeds it’s a little louder than the BeQuiet & Cougar models, and at full speeds it sits between them in noise levels.

Conclusion

With Alder Lake’s increased cooling demands, many coolers can’t handle the heat. DeepCool’s LS520 packs incredible cooling performance in a small package, able to handle Alder Lake without power limits in most situations. This is the best performing 240mm AIO I have tested thus far, and at only $109 its value is unbeatable.