So I’ve got another CPU Cooler for
review today for you, this time it’s the Vantec AeroFlow 120. The
AeroFlow 120 features a 120mm fan, direct heatpipe touch technology
and provides decent cooling performance . It seems well made and
looks pretty cool as well, so read on to see how it compares to the
others I’ve got…
Vantec
AeroFlow FX 120 CPU Cooler Reviewed
Author: Kristofer Brozio
Tech
Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Premium Copper Heat-Pipe Direct
Touch (HDT) CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan
The Vantec AeroFlow FX 120 is a
high performance CPU cooler. It incorporates a specialized 8mm
diameter copper heat-pipe for optimum heat transfer. With its unique
Heat-Pipe Direct Touch Technology (HDT), the heat-pipe is in direct
contact with the processor and minimizes thermal resistance. Combine
with a powerful 120mm PWM fan and fan vibration dampener, the thin &
lightweight heat sink design allows the fan to easily dissipate the
heat accumulated and minimizes noise. Excellent compatibility with
its 3-in-1 mounting bracket, the Vantec AeroFlow FX 120 is a perfect
choice for keeping your processor cool.
Features:
-Heat-Pipe Direct Touch
Technology (HDT)
-Three 8mm Diameter Heat-Pipe
-Fan Vibration Dampener
-120mm High Performance PWM Fan
-3-In-1 CPU Mounting Bracket
-Thin & Lightweight Heat
Sink
-Supports Intel Socket 775/478
& AMD Socket AM2/754/939/940 CPU
Specifications:
Model:VAF-1225
Heat Sink Material:Aluminum
Dimension: 84x120x159mm
Weight: 680 g
Heat Pipe Size: 8mm in Diameter
Number of Heat Pipe: 3
Fan Dimension: 120x120x25mm PWM
Bearing Type: Fluid Magnetic
Bearing
Fan Speed: 1000 ~ 2200 RPM
Airflow: 72.1 ~ 99.6 CFM
Noise Level: 20 ~ 32 dBA
System
Requirements:
-Intel 478 (Celeron, Celeron D,
Pentium 4)
-Intel 775 (Celeron D, Pentium
4, Pentium 4, Pentium D, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Extreme)
-AMD AM2 (Sempron, Athlon 64,
Athlon 64 X2, Athlon 64 FX)
-AMD 754 (Sempron, Athlon 64)
-AMD 939 (Athlon 64, Athlon 64
X2, Athlon 64 FX, Opteron, Dual-Core Opteron)
-AMD 940 (Athlon 64 FX,
Opteron, Dual-Core Opteron)
Package
Contents:
-AeroFlow FX 120 CPU Cooler
-3-In-1 Mounting Bracket
-Thermal Grease
-User Manual
A
Better Look at Things:
The AeroFlow 120 comes in a
colorful box with a window on the front so you can get a glimpse of
the cooler itself, and of course you’ve got specs and features listed
as well on the box.
Included with the cooler are all
of the mounting parts, thermal compound, and a user manual.
The cooler itself is rather heavy,
but not overly so, and it looks rather cool with the shiny chromed
finish and bright white fan. There are three U shaped copper
heatpipes that go up through the cooling fins to provide the cooling.
The fan comes pre-attached with silicone fasteners to help dampen
vibrations.
Since this is a direct touch style
cooler you can see the heatpipes on the bottom and they form the base
of the cooler. The base is fairly well done, not a mirror finish but
it appears to be flat.
Installation,
Testing and Comparison:
I had no problems installing the
AeroFlow 120 on my Gigabyte G33 LGA 775 mATX motherboard, it fit
easily over the large northbridge cooler, and since it’s just the
common push pin style mounting system the motherboard didn’t have to
come out of the case.
For
testing and comparison I used my Intel C2D6420 CPU and Orthos Stress
Prime to get load along with using CoreTemp to record and log the
temperatures, then they were averaged out to get the results shown in
the charts below. Ambient temperature during testing was 19C (+/-
.3C).
First up we’ve got testing with
the fan connected to the CPU:
Very nice performance with it
coming in third in our comparison charts.
Next up we’ve got testing with the
fan connected to a molex, or running at full speed:
Again we got we same temperatures
here as the fan seems to run at the same speed while connected to
either the CPU header or the Molex. Of course it drops down a bit in
our charts as the fans on the other coolers run fairly fast and cool
a bit better.
Finally we’ve got testing with no
fan at all:
We see some nice performance from
the AeroFlow with no fan so it could be used in as silent system with
no worries about the cooler overheating…
Summary
and Comments:
The Vantec AeroFlow 120 CPU Cooler
is a well made, decent performing cooler that is quiet and easy to
install.
In my testing I found that it can
even work very well with no fan at all, so it could be the base of a
nice quiet system, and even with the fan it’s still very quiet in
operation.
DragonSteelMods gives the Vantec
AeroFlow 120 a 4.5 out of 5 score.
Pros:
-Decent performance
-Quiet
-Seems well made
-Easy installation
Cons:
-None really
I
would like to thank Vantec for the chance to review the AeroFlow
FX 120 and for their support of DSM.
review# 520