Model: CORSAIR A500 High Performance Dual Fan CPU Cooler,
Deal History
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According to reviews the bottom of the CPU cooler is not level resulting in poor cooling performance. Gamers Nexus has an excellent review on YouTube. In their example they set a flat piece of metal on the bottom of the heatpipes and showed light through the gaps where the bottom is not level. The resulting tests showed poor performance at it's price level.
I can confirm that the rebate works, just be ready to wait about 3 months. That's how long it took me to get my $20 Visa card from Corsair.
You won't find a better air cooler for $30 but get this ONLY if you have a low TDP CPU, i.e. with max power consumption under 165W. For Ryzen, that would be 5600X or 5800X. For Intel, up to 10600K/11600K.
If you have high noise tolerance, you can put this cooler on a higher TDP CPU, e.g. 5900X/5950X or 10700(K)//11700(K). It will keep the temps in the high but safe zone as long as you don't go crazy on overclocking. However, that will come at the cost of very loud noise coming from the cooler's two 2,200 RPM fans. By loud I mean I can hear those fans even when I have my A/C set to max. Having headphones on while gaming doesn't help. Noctua calls its 2,000 RPM fans 'industrial' and rightfully so. 2,000+ RPM fans are meant to be used in servers confined to server rooms, not in consumer computers in people's homes.
And if you have a 10850K, 10900K/11900K, or any other CPU that draws well over 200W under load, stay clear of the Corsair A500. It can't keep those CPU's from throttling down, even when not overclocked. You'll need a $90-$100 top-tier air cooler, e.g. Noctua NH-D15(S), if you want to let your CPU boost as much and as long as it wants. And if you plan on overclocking to 5+ GHz all core, get the biggest AIO you can afford that will fit in your case.
Also, the unevenness of the Corsair A500's base results not only in poor thermal performance but also in the cooler being slightly tilted to one side when installed. Looks crooked through the case side window.
But aren't you paying only $30 for a $100 cooler that performs on par with a $50 cooler? If this performs better than the 212 then at this price point it's not a bad pickup at all. Lowest was $27 AC AR
Linus tech put this cooler in Tire-2. Do not trust tier list. Corsair buys these reviews.
Idk, I think he gave it a pretty honest look in this review. He basically said it was a swing and a miss by Corsair and that they should go back to the drawing board and improve on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq8v53y3lRA
Most reviews are from when this released with production issues that resulted in an uneven base plate and poor results. Also yes the initial price point was too high. I got mine in December and the bottom was flat when checked with a razor blade looking for light. It performs quite well on my server's 5600x, boosting all core 4.65ghz sustained with just pbo, staying under 55c. No you wouldn't do this with high heat output chips, but if you have a top end chip why are you putting a $30 cooler on it? I got my rebate card after about 3 months.
You won't find a better air cooler for $30 but get this ONLY if you have a low TDP CPU, i.e. with max power consumption under 165W. For Ryzen, that would be 5600X or 5800X. For Intel, up to 10600K/11600K.
The Vetroo V5[amazon.com], a Hyper 212 BE clone, performs very similarly to a Hyper 212 BE and is only $25 after clipping the coupon.
Linus tech put this cooler in Tire-2. Do not trust tier list. Corsair buys these reviews.
No they dont but the writers are lazy and don't reseach anything. Just watch any linus content. He is only the voice now and all the actual work is sourced out to the team. Who of which is fairly computer ilterate.
it does not even have the copper pipes which even the most basic CPU coolers have, also the price has been 50 dollars for some time now, this isn't a sale all
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It was priced way too high for the performance.
Some reviews also showed machining mistakes that lead to even worse performance.
You won't find a better air cooler for $30 but get this ONLY if you have a low TDP CPU, i.e. with max power consumption under 165W. For Ryzen, that would be 5600X or 5800X. For Intel, up to 10600K/11600K.
If you have high noise tolerance, you can put this cooler on a higher TDP CPU, e.g. 5900X/5950X or 10700(K)//11700(K). It will keep the temps in the high but safe zone as long as you don't go crazy on overclocking. However, that will come at the cost of very loud noise coming from the cooler's two 2,200 RPM fans. By loud I mean I can hear those fans even when I have my A/C set to max. Having headphones on while gaming doesn't help. Noctua calls its 2,000 RPM fans 'industrial' and rightfully so. 2,000+ RPM fans are meant to be used in servers confined to server rooms, not in consumer computers in people's homes.
And if you have a 10850K, 10900K/11900K, or any other CPU that draws well over 200W under load, stay clear of the Corsair A500. It can't keep those CPU's from throttling down, even when not overclocked. You'll need a $90-$100 top-tier air cooler, e.g. Noctua NH-D15(S), if you want to let your CPU boost as much and as long as it wants. And if you plan on overclocking to 5+ GHz all core, get the biggest AIO you can afford that will fit in your case.
Also, the unevenness of the Corsair A500's base results not only in poor thermal performance but also in the cooler being slightly tilted to one side when installed. Looks crooked through the case side window.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq8v53y
No they dont but the writers are lazy and don't reseach anything. Just watch any linus content. He is only the voice now and all the actual work is sourced out to the team. Who of which is fairly computer ilterate.