Akasa Nero-S CPU Cooler

[Valliy]

About one can of inclined users complain not looking for a suitable processor cooler now - about the lack of selection. Seldom before has the market showed potent in aftermarket CPU coolers such a wide-ranging, as is currently the case. Here, newcomers or career changers provide in addition to the established brands in a neck-and-neck race for the best creative and bring the customers in the comfortable situation, because of the high power density in the selection can hardly make a mistake. Also, the peripherals and cooler veteran Akasa, to which it is in the high-end refrigerators segment recently become very still wants to sign up again with a top cooler back and presented with the "Nero-S" a 120-mm Tower 8-mm heat pipes, fans and special series HDT-heat absorption. We look at whether the Nero-S can hold its own against the large competitors. The following are some technical features of it :

• Akasa Nero-S-120-mm-Tower CPU Cooler
• Dimensions with fan: 120 x 87 x 160 mm (L x W x H)
• Weight with standard fan: about 726 grams
• Four 8 mm heat pipes (Ø) in U-bending
• Nickel plated aluminum fins and heatpipes
• Heatpipe Direct Touch Base
• 52 plates, spacing 1.5 mm
• 120-mm-type fan (Akasa DFS122512L)
  
  • Special S-flow fan blade design
  • Nine fan blades
  • 600-1600 rpm
  • Maximum of 119.3 m³ / h
  • 4-pin connector with PWM function

[little-Jacqueline]

Akasa familiar with the new version of Nero's own cooler series on a basic and proven design, creating a hybrid cooling tower in the 120-mm format. This one relies on a sweeping lines and a relatively wide radiator. A total of 52 aluminum fins are in the 1.5-millimeter distance between a heat exchanger with dimensions of 120 x 120 x 60 millimeters. By slightly bending the side plates also is a relative compactness of the disk body, and thus a kind of tunnel air, are produced. As a basis for heat transport, the manufacturer uses the Nero-S on four 8-mm heat pipes in U-bending. So that the Akasa product is the nominal heat-pipe equipment in the lower area of high-end cooler competition. To compensate, we dispensed with Nero-S on a closed base plate and instead it uses a heat-pipe direct touch heat absorption. Here are the polished directly on the processor surface and can lead to the energy without unnecessary material transitions carry away immediately. This technique has already been established for some competitors, and has also been implemented at Akasa very clean.

[Alondra]

Overall, leaves of Akasa Nero-S a very good impression. The qualitative agreement of materials and workmanship is a top class product and thus the high price requirements. The HDT-base is presented flat and sanded uniformly flat, the blades communicate despite their thinness ordinary robustness and overall appearance based on nickel metal and the swinging plate design has created outstanding harmony. The Nero-S is matched to individual ventilation. Here, the fixing of the fan is realized with four rubber-holder, on the one hand pulled through the frame holes for the fan, on the other hand, in corresponding recesses of the aluminum fins of the heat sink can be inserted. Often tend to dampen such rubber mounts, the mechanical vibrations of the fan and thereby reduce the noise effectively, after repeated De-/Montage the fan already to break. The Akasa counterparts appear here, fortunately, a slightly more durable and flexible rubber mixture based on, they left in the test but more fans change without defect endure. However, we would welcome another rubber string to replace in the package.

[VinFanatic]

The 120-mm fan of the Nero-S series is also made by Akasa and goes by the name DFS122512L. The model works with a maximum of 1,600 rpm, PWM offers support and an approximately 30 cm long connection cable with sheath. Robust feature of the fan with a very pleasant running characteristic, however, the special shape of the nine fan blades ("S-Flow"). According to the manufacturer promotes the fan in comparison to conventional designs due to this design, up to 30 percent more air at the same speed - what our measurements, at least partly under paint.

[DarenHawk]

The Akasa Nero-S comes with relatively few hardware. Nevertheless, all current Intel (775, 1156, 1366) and AMD Socket (939, AM2, AM3) supported as standard. While possible for the Intel platforms because of the square arrangement socket holes in conjunction with the offer back panels fitting a 90 °-free orientation of the heatsink, AMD users need the Nero-S on the basis of the 2-point mounting bracket, unfortunately, according to the predetermined socket retention bracket rotation respectively mounted on the motherboard. An ideal adaptation to the housing air flow (usually blowing direction orientation of the cooler with the rear wall) in the AMD case, not always possible. A motherboard expansion is necessary only for Intel users. First, the two brackets attached to the cooler ground and adjusted the rear panel for easy assembly in accordance with the help of the factory installed adhesive backing from the bottom attached to the motherboard. From the top of the fan-free Nero-S can be easily mounted on the CPU with thermal paste prepared with the help of the four spring screws and matching screw are fixed each other. Thus a lush, uniform contact pressure is generated as the basis for a good heat transfer is essential.

[Langward]

The popular quad-core CPU generated in standard mode (2.66 GHz, 1.2 V core voltage) according to the datasheet is 130 watts at full capacity and thus on the level of our previous processor, the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Kentsfield (2.66 GHz, 1.35 volts V-Core). As the motherboard comes with matching DX58SO Intel's "Smack Over" is used, which we also already in the report for Intel Core i7 have presented. As a suitable case for the test assembly in the closed, stagnant ATX System Case King provides us with the Silverstone TJ-09S , a spatially generously sized basis. In addition to the generous space available here is mainly the position of the power supply on the bottom crucial to a fair test conditions because of the fans of our 650-watt Lian-Li Silent Force power supply can develop there is no effect on the processor cooler. Shall elaborate the only case fan with the Scythe S-Flex 800 is a silent 120mm rear discharge model and supports the CPU cooling in the active and semi-passive test modes.

[Mariah-Simpson]

The temperature measurement results are often quite strongly linked to the test platform used and can vary significantly depending on the configuration. You should only as a guide and gross trend, however, are not regarded as absolute. The measurement of the volume occurs in the particular operation of that cooler (the fan is powered by a passive power supply) in 40-cm intervals with a Voltcraft-320 sound level meter that the noise emitted by the known A-weighting curves in a range from 30 to 130 decibels interpreted. The overall volume of the measuring room with subjectively perceived silence is 30.4 dB (A). Above this threshold, the noise emitted from the radiator can not be resolved by the instrument. To about 35 dB (A) depending on the sensitivity of the user can rate and character of the sound to assume that the fan noise when the housing is closed, respectively not be perceived any more. 40 dB (A) of our scale, the noise can be clearly heard to very clearly, from 50 dB (A) starts the very disturbing area. Furthermore, we generated by the fan wind speeds measured with an anemometer and indicates the maximum speed as an indicator of the volume of fluid. From this value can be obtained on the conclusions generated by the fan air flow rate.