Pros:
- Quiet Noise Levels
- Excellent noise normalized performance
- Solid Black Design
- Innovative LCD Display
- First cooler of this type, as such it has no competitors
Cons:
- Higher price than the non-digital version of the cooler, but that’s to be expected of a niche product
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About DeepCool
DeepCool was founded in 1996 in Beijing, China and is a favorite of many enthusiasts. They are well known for their air and water coolers and computer cases. They also offer fans, power supplies, and peripherals such as keyboards and mice.
I’ve most recently reviewed their Assassin IV on Tom’s Hardware, and I have to admit that DeepCool is one of my favorite brands. One thing I like about them is not only do they constantly strive to innovate with higher cooling capacity – but they also push the performance/$ bar, providing products with value that don’t break the bank. However, what we’ll be looking at today isn’t focused on value – but rather, innovation!
We’re looking at a new innovative lineup of DIGITAL air coolers from DeepCool which have a unique LCD display that allows for easy monitoring of your computer processor’s temperature and utilization statistics. These coolers are the first air coolers of their kind on the market, and as such have no competition from other cooling manufacturers. DeepCool launches this lineup with three models – the AK620, AK500, and AK400 Digital coolers.
This review will focus on the entry level cooler of the lineup – DeepCool’s AK400 Digital. Can this small cooler handle the heat of Intel’s i7-13700K and AMD’s Ryzen 7 7700X? I’ll show you how well it performs in the benchmarks, but first lets take a look at the installation and specifications of this cooler.
Foreword & Testing Platform Configuration
My previous tests have focused on Intel’s i9-13900K and Ryzen 7700X, but with today’s article and most future reviews I’ll be using the i7-13700K and Ryzen 7700X instead. Intel’s i7 isn’t quite as difficult to cool as the i9-13900K, but it’s still capable of overwhelming most coolers. Only the strongest liquid coolers, like DeepCool’s LT720 or Cooler Master’s MasterLiquid 360L Core, will be capable of keeping the i7-13700K under it’s peak temperature in intensive workloads.
The most complete cooling comparison results will from the Ryzen 7700X section, which features results from 20 different coolers. I haven’t been testing the 13700K long, as such today’s review will only feature results from 12 coolers in total. Between the results shown on both CPUs, this should be a sufficient amount of data to show you how DeepCool’s AK400 Digital holds up with modern CPUs.
Intel LGA1700 13th Generation Raptor Lake and AMD AM5 Raphael Platforms
| CPUs | Intel i7-13700K AMD Ryzen 7 7700X |
| Motherboard | Intel LGA 1700 – MSI Z690 A PRO DDR4 AMD AM5 – ASRock B650e Taichi |
| Computer Case | Intel – BeQuiet! Silent Base 802, System fans set to LOW AMD – DeepCool CK560WH |
| Comparison Coolers | Scythe Kotestu Mark Three Scythe Big Shiruken 3 Rev B BeQuiet! Shadow Rock 3 BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 DeepCool LT720 DeepCool AG500 Cooler Master Master Liquid 240L Core Cooler Master Hyper 622 Halo Cougar Forza 135 DeepCool LT720 DeepCool AG500 EK AIO Elite 280 D-RGB Fractal Design Celsius+ S28 Prisma Iceberg Thermal IceSLEET G4 Silent Iceberg Thermal IceSLEET X7 Dual Iceberg Thermal IceFLOE T95 Jiushark JF200S MSI MEG CoreLiquid S360 Noctua NH-D15S Scythe Kotetsu Mark Three Thermalright Silver Soul 135 Thermalright Peerless Assassin Thermalright Frozen Notte 240 |
- Maximum Noise Levels and Cooling Performance on both Intel and AMD platforms
- Noise Normalized Quiet Cooling Performance at 38.2 dBA with Intel’s i7-13700K
- Noise Normalized Silent Cooling Performance at 36.4 dBA with AMD’s Ryzen 7 7700X
- CPU Temperatures at and noise levels at 175W and 125W with Intel’s i7-13700K
- CPU Temperatures and noise levels at 95W & 75W with AMD’s Ryzen 7700X
Features of DeepCool’s AK400 Digital Single Tower Air Cooler
Innovative LCD Display
While we’ve seen similar capabilities on high end liquid cooling AIOs, DeepCool’s DIGITAL lineup of coolers are the first air coolers which incorporate LCD screens to display CPU temperature and utilization statistics. This display is similar to the one in DeepCool’s CH510 Mesh computer case.
The display is controlled by the “DeepCool Digital” software and is supported by versions 1.1.0 and later. Unlike other companies which release massively bloated control software, DeepCool’s Digital control software is a slim 78mb download and uses less than 50mb of system RAM while in use.
The software is controlled by a taskbar icon interface which allows for a few customization options. One can switch between CPU utilization and CPU temperature displays, choose from reporting in Celsius or Fahrenheit temperatures, and choose whether the display flashes when the maximum CPU temperature is reached. One change I would like to see in future versions is a version with a GUI interface, but this isn’t really necessary for such a simple program.
Checkboard Matrix Fin Design
Like previous AK series coolers from DeepCool, the AK400 Digital incoporates DeepCool’s unique checkerboard matrix design which helps cooling performance from increased static air pressure.
Four Copper Heatpipes, Pre-Applied Thermal Paste
The AK400 incorporates 4x direct touch copper heatpipes into the CPU coldplate for efficient thermal transfer, it arrives with DeepCool TIM pre-applied for easy installation.
Full RAM Compatibility
As neither the AK400’s heatsink nor it’s fan overhang the DIMMs on a motherboard, all sizes of RAM – no matter how tall – are fully supported while using DeepCool’s AK400 Digital.
DeepCool FK120 Fluid Dynamic Bearing fan
Packaging and included contents
The AK400 Digital arrives in a small box with molded foam and plastic used to protect the inner contents during shipping.
Included with the package are
- Single Tower Radiator
- 1x 120mm fan
- Mounting for modern Intel & AMD platforms
- Manual
- Fan Clips, including an extra pair for a 2nd fan
LGA 1700 & AM4/AM5 Cooler Installation
The installation of the AK400 Digital is very easy. The process is similarly simple on both AMD and Intel platforms, the primary difference being the use of a separate backplate on Intel systems. First you’ll need to place the mounting standoffs on the motherboard.
The next step is put the mounting bracket on top of the standoffs and secure them with the included screwdriver.
Place the heatsink on top of the mounting bars, then secure it by using a screwdriver to tighten the mounting screws.
Attach the fans using the included clips and connect them to your motherboard’s PWM connection. Finally, connect the USB header to your motherboard to be sure the display is powered.
Intel i7-13700K Thermal and Acoustic Results
Maximum Cooling Performance
Running Cinebench without power limits enforced is difficult to cool, and most coolers are unable to keep the CPU under it’s peak temperature in this scenario – so we’ll be looking at the maximum watts dissipated by the cooler in this situation.
The maximum performance of this basic, single tower air cooler was unexpected. I had personally expected it to cool close to 200W, but with a result of 224W it’s maximum cooling performance is comparable to BeQuiet’s Dark Rock Pro 4 and Thermalright’s Peerless Assassin!
Maximum Noise Levels
The AK400 Digital achieves its maximum cooling performance with total system noise levels of 41.4 dBA, the 2nd quietest result I’ve recorded on this system thus far. This is a moderate noise level comparable to that of a quiet hum. This level of noise shouldn’t bother anyone.
Noise Normalized Results
While maximum performance testing is nice, a lot of folks prefer to test coolers with noise levels equalized. This can result in some performance loss in the most power intensive workloads like rendering.
When noise normalized to 38.2 dBA, DeepCool’s AK400 Digital loses about 10% of it’s potential cooling performance dropping to 203W. This isn’t quite as impressive as the maximum cooling performance, but it’s still quite a good showing – comparable to good mid-range coolers like Cooler Master’s Hyper 622 Halo and Jiushark’s JF200 air coolers.
175W Thermal & Acoustic Results
Most loads that common users run won’t use more than 200W, so this is a better analogue for a worst case scenario of what folks might actually see in day to day usage.
At 59C over ambient, the AK400 Digital performs on par with most air coolers I’ve tested in this workload. It sustains this level of performance while running quietly at only 40.3 dBA. This is again the 2nd quietest result I’ve observed testing on this system thus far, beaten only by BeQuiet’s Dark Rock Pro 4.
All results shown on Boring Text Reviews are tested in an environment at 23C ambient temperature.
125W Thermal & Acoustic Results
When restricted to 125W, thermal performance really isn’t a concern – though I’ve included that information in the graph below. Really, any cooler should be able to handle this load – even Intel’s stock cooler!
With a temperature of 44C over ambient, DeepCool’s thermal performance is on par with the best results we have from other air coolers. But really, thermal performance isn’t a concern at this lower power limit – noise levels are more important.
All of the coolers tested achieved good acoustic levels here, including DeepCool’s AK400 Digital which ran at a very low noise level with 38.9 dBA measured during testing.
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X Thermal and Acoustic Results
Maximum Cooling Performance
Running Cinebench without power limits enforced is difficult to cool, and most coolers are unable to keep the CPU under it’s peak temperature in this scenario – so we’ll be looking at the maximum watts dissapated by the cooler in this situation.
Similar to our Intel results the AK400 Digital does decently, with cooling results surprisingly similar to BeQuiet’s Dark Rock Pro 4. But this is only part of the picture, now on to the noise measurements.
Maximum Noise Levels
DeepCool’s AK400 Digital achieves its maximum cooling performance with total system noise levels of 41.9 dBA, which is a low noise level only beaten by a few of the results in my testing. It runs just a bit louder (and offers slightly better cooling performance) than Iceberg Thermal’s G4 Silent.
Noise Normalized Results
While maximum performance testing is nice, a lot of folks prefer to test coolers with noise levels equalized. This can result in some performance loss in the most power intensive workloads like rendering.
The noise normalized results here are excellent with 114W cooled when paired with AMD’s Ryzen 7 7700X, placing it between the performance of well known stars like Thermalright’s Peerless Assassin and BeQuiet’s Shadow Rock 3.
95W Thermal & Acoustic Results
Most loads that common users run won’t use more than 100W, so this is a better analogue for a worst case scenario of what folks might actually see in day to day usage with AMD’s Ryzen 7700X.
At 53C over ambient, The AK400 Digital is on par with the best results I’ve recorded from other air coolers and achieves this with low noise levels of 40.9 dBA – quieter than most of the other results shown here.
All results shown on Boring Text Reviews are tested in an environment at 23C ambient temperature.
75W Thermal & Acoustic Results
When restricted to 75W, thermal performance really isn’t a concern – though I’ve included that information in the graph below. Really, any cooler should be able to handle this load – even Intel’s stock cooler, if it was AM5 compatible!
With a temperature of 43C over ambient, the AK400’s thermal performance is on the lower end of results we’ve seen from mainstream air coolers – but in this scenario temperature really isn’t a concern. What is a concern is noise levels, and with a measurement of 39.6 dBA it does well here.
Conclusion
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If you’re interested in seeing the results of DeepCool’s AK620 Digital, stay tuned to Tom’s Hardware. I’ll have it’s review posted to Tom’s Hardware in the near future.
