Performance Evaluation of 12cm Fans and 5 Heat Pipe Tower Coolers

Section 0. IntroductionHello everyone, it has been almost a month since the last update on the 360 integrated water cooling performance tests. This past month has been busy with work, so the testing has been a bit lazy. However, I thought it would be nice to provide some references during the 618 shopping festival for coolers. I also want to retrieve a few satellites that I released during this year’s King of Machines competition, so I still found time to get the 12cm fan performance evaluation and the 5 heat pipe tower cooler evaluation out. This will be divided into two posts, and this is the first one.The conclusions of this test are based on my current testing platform. When the testing conditions differ from my current conditions, the conclusions can still serve as a reference, but you need to consider the differences between your actual usage conditions and the testing platform; the cost-performance ratio is something everyone should weigh against their wallet, so please view the test results rationally and don’t argue.This article thanks ProArtist, EKWB, CoolerMaster, and Delta for their strong support! Thanks to my friend @林海rinhai for the valuable suggestions during the fan selection phase.Without further ado, let’s get to the main content.Table of Contents

• Section 0. Introduction

• Section 1. Overview of Testing Conditions

• Section 2. Performance Evaluation of 5 Heat Pipe 12cm Tower Coolers; (First Floor)

• Section 2.1 Test Details and Conclusions

• Section 2.2 Unboxing

• Section 3. Performance Evaluation of 12cm Fans (Part 1) Air Cooling Coolers; (Second Floor)

• Section 3.1 Test Details and Conclusions

• Section 3.2 Unboxing

Section 1. Overview of Testing ConditionsSince both tests were conducted under the same conditions, I will combine the introduction of the testing conditions.Section 1.1 Platform Introduction

Section 1.2 Platform Power Consumption and Environment

• CPU: Set to 5.2G, 1.323V, full load power consumption is about 170W (AIDA64);

• Environment: During the testing process, the room temperature was maintained at 24.5°C-25.5°C, with almost no change in humidity.

Section 1.3 Testing Method

• Testing Method: Using AIDA64 single burn FPU.

• Temperature recording method: After 5 minutes of full load, clear the data and continue to record the average temperature of all cores after another 3 minutes of full load. The average temperature of all cores is averaged to obtain the temperature result under these conditions; the room temperature at the start and end of the test is recorded, and the test results are compensated based on the difference between the average room temperature and the standard room temperature;

• Noise recording method: A noise meter is placed about 5cm in front of the cooler, recording the maximum noise detected within 20 seconds.

*Note: The temperature of core 1 of my 97k CPU jumps during the burn-in process, so all data excluding core 1 temperature is recorded, only recording the temperature performance of cores 2-7.Section 2. Performance Evaluation of 5 Heat Pipe 12cm Tower Coolers;Speaking of which, the last time I conducted the performance evaluation of the 5 heat pipe 12cm tower cooler was before the Spring Festival. Although it is called a follow-up, it actually adds a new product, namely ProArtist’s Desserts 3; in the previous evaluation, I let an ES version of the D3 appear, and many friends were curious about what it is and how its performance is. At that time, the results were not of much reference value as it was still in the ES stage, so I did not conduct any formal tests; with the official launch of this product, I will fill this gap today.Section 2.1 Test Details and ConclusionsSection 2.1.1 Raw DataThe raw data is shown in the chart. Since this is a follow-up test, the benchmark is still the evergreen Noctua NH-U12S 5 heat pipe tower cooler. A total of 3 tests were conducted, namely the D3 original configuration, D3 + M12T reverse fan, and NH-U12S original configuration. During the process, ProArtist’s W15pro thermal paste was uniformly used. Section 2.1.2 Test ResultsFirst, let’s look at the first chart.Q1: How does the D3 perform?A1: It matches the U12S, and in the field of 5 heat pipe reflow solder tower coolers, ProArtist has basically completed its task.Q2: Is it necessary to pair the D3 with a M12T reverse fan?A2: It is very necessary. Increasing a fan can reduce the full load temperature by nearly 4°C, which is quite rare for me. This choice is very competitive, and I will elaborate on it next.Now let’s look at the second chart.I borrowed a set of data from the upcoming fan performance evaluations, namely the performance of NH-U12A paired with M12 & M12T. It was quite surprising to see a 4°C temperature difference, so I wanted to see if this fan combination would have the same performance improvement on other air coolers.Q3: What are the results?A3: On the U12A, with the addition of a M12T, the full load temperature dropped by about 1.8°C compared to using just one M12, which is quite in line with expectations.Fun Fact: Why does the D3 paired with M12 & M12T show such a significant performance improvement compared to just using one M12? In fact, the scale of the D3 is not inferior to that of the U12S, while the M12 has a performance advantage over the F12. The original test results are similar, which obviously involves some compromises in design; perhaps the designer was too focused on maintaining a ‘fancy’ appearance when designing this product, inevitably leading to the cooler’s side not being able to fully seal the airflow passing through the cooler. When the cold air does not fully contact the fins before escaping, some scale is inevitably wasted; however, when a M12T fan is added, the airflow that originally escaped from the side is effectively channeled, allowing the D3’s performance potential to be fully unleashed. However, when paired with a single fan, the airflow escaping from the side also helps cool the power components around the CPU, especially in the context of the Z490 power components being quite demanding, which can be considered an unintended benefit of this cooler’s design.Testing Conclusion:When talking about ProArtist’s products, one cannot avoid mentioning Cyron. ProArtist’s chief designer Jerry’s last work during his time at Cyron, the Artist 3 EVO, is a classic. Its craftsmanship is not inferior to that of Noctua, and its performance is sufficiently competitive. Therefore, when ProArtist announced the development of the D3, a 5 heat pipe tower reflow solder product, I was very much looking forward to its performance, and it has been…emm…about a year now.This product has many selling points, such as no reserved hole reflow solder technology, RGB top cover, convenient mounting brackets, excellent craftsmanship, etc. (which will be detailed in the unboxing section below). Meanwhile, in terms of performance, referencing the conclusion of Part 7, the D3 (M12 & M12T) has a performance advantage of about 3.5°C compared to the U12S, which is still a significant improvement over the A3 EVO (PT12025 V3) of about 2.4°C. Referring to this article’s comparison of the D3 and U12A’s performance improvement when paired with single and dual fans, even if an additional fan is added to the A3EVO (2xPT12025 V3), its performance should be comparable to that of the D3 (M12 & M12T); combined with the fact that Cyron is gradually (almost entirely) fading out of the retail market, ProArtist’s D3 can be considered a successful successor, happily competing with the evergreen U12S.Section 2.2 UnboxingBefore discussing the 12025 fan performance evaluation, let’s take a look at the unboxing of the D3, consider it a break.The packaging uses a colorful box design, and the style is quite green. It is worth noting the position of the RGB module on the top cover; the packaging material has a design that reflects different colors depending on the angle, so when you turn the box, the color at the top cover will change. This can be considered the first company in the industry to implement a 5V RGB packaging solution.Instructions in the same style as the G3.Overview of accessories. Both AI brands are compatible, and on the Intel 115X platform, the previous plastic pillars have been replaced with metal bolts, solving the previous installation inconvenience of the G3.The appearance after the mounting brackets are installed. The plating level of the brackets matches the product’s positioning and has been improved accordingly, looking very good.Taking the cooler out of the packaging.On one side, there is a wire to power the top cover, with a semi-transparent soft silicone fixing device. The overall product is fully nickel-plated, and this type of product with 5 heat pipes and reflow soldering should not have any concessions in craftsmanship; of course, this is just an aside.The top cover element allows for further modifications to the product’s shape and customization possibilities in the future.The side is almost fully open, with the fixing process combining fin bending and fin clipping.The base size is standard, with obvious milling marks.Five heat pipes go straight up and down. The base welding process looks good.The cooler is fixed to the motherboard with a spring pressure mounting bracket.M12 fan, which has been introduced in the G3 tests and will not be elaborated on here.This time, the M12T fan was purchased together.The fan blades are opposite to those of traditional fans, which greatly improves the aesthetics in some exhaust scenarios, as you don’t have to look at the awkward fixed frame of the fan.Overview of accessories, the quality of the screws included is very good.The mounting brackets have good compatibility with the M11A. There was no trouble during installation.The cooler body is installed.Upper fan. Back of the cooler.Casually took two photos of the RGB lighting effects; I’m not an RGB enthusiast, so I’ll just gloss over this.