Akasa Low Profile Side Blower CPU Cooler - Experience and Thoughts?

[Mortis Angelus]

Hello,

 

I have a custom SFF-build where I currently run an Noctua NH-L9a. But the case is very small, with very limited intake and exhaust capabilities. So I've been looking for a new solution for this.

 

Then I found this cooler from Akasa: https://www.akasa.co.uk/search.php?seed=AK-CC1109BP01

This would be very good for my build as it would exhaust the air out instead of into the case.

 

Does anyone here have any experience with this cooler? Is it any good? Should I avoid it? Do you have any alternative suggestions?

 

It says it should handle up to 75W of thermal output, so beefier than the Noctua with 65W. I plan on running an AM4 65W chip with it (annoyingly all 35W AM4 chips are all OEM-chips).

 

Cheers and Happy New Year!

[Zando_]

44 minutes ago, Mortis Angelus said:

It says it should handle up to 75W of thermal output

It's a smaller heatsink than the Noctua, and under the enterprise section. So that tells me it will probably accomplish that cooling via an extremely high RPM (and thus extremely loud) fan. 

 

EDIT: Yep, that cooler is rated from 18-45.99 dBa, the Noctua is 14.8-23.6 dBa. 

44 minutes ago, Mortis Angelus said:

I plan on running an AM4 65W chip with it (annoyingly all 35W AM4 chips are all OEM-chips).

Limit them to 45W (ECO Mode) or 35W in the BIOS. My ASRock B450 board has presets for 35W and IIRC down to 25W as well. 

[Mortis Angelus]

1 hour ago, Zando_ said:

 

Limit them to 45W (ECO Mode) or 35W in the BIOS. My ASRock B450 board has presets for 35W and IIRC down to 25W as well. 

I did not know that. Thank you for the tip! And thanks for your input. I am running an old B350 board, but I presume it will have that option too with a BIOS update. 

 

Do you have any suggestion for a good AM4 upgrade? I currently have the 1500x, thinking of going up to the 4500x instead, and also upgrading from the msi 1050ti low profile to the RTX A2000 (essentially a 3050?) with blower style cooler for the same reason.  

[Zando_]

7 minutes ago, Mortis Angelus said:

Do you have any suggestion for a good AM4 upgrade? I currently have the 1500x, thinking of going up to the 4500x instead, and also upgrading from the msi 1050ti low profile to the RTX A2000 (essentially a 3050?) with blower style cooler for the same reason.  

Anything Zen 2 or newer, you can likely score a 3600 or 3700X cheaply, or maybe the 5000 series (I don't really keep up with the pricing on 'em). I have a 3700X at home, though I think the motherboard died so that system is currently out of commission.