Computer Shopper - UK (2019-12)

ISSUE 382|COMPUTER SHOPPER|DECEMBER 2019 27

JUSTINT IMEforawhole new generation
of AMD Ryzen processors, Deepcool has
launched theFryzen air cooler,which
ignores the usual platform-agnosticismof
third-party coolersto cater specificallyfor
AMD sockets.
In fact, it’s as friendlytowards the
enthusiast Threadripper seriesof chips as
much as it is the mainstreamRyzens, if not
even more so.The contact plateisw ider than
usual, to fully cover the enlarged heat
spreadersof Threadripper chips, and all the
mounting kit you needforthe TR4 socket is
included alongside the AM4 socket parts.
Often, coolers will claimto support TR4, but
make you orderaseparatemounting kitforit.

COVER UP
Otherwise,the Fryzen presentsafamiliar air
cooler setup.There’s asingle 120mm intake
fanthat’s clipped–extremely securely–onto
the radiator fin stack, with six nickel-plated
heatpipes running fromtoptob ottom on
both sides. There are some neattouches,
however: we like how thefanisi ntegrated
intoaslightly chunkyshroud, which extends
over the topoft he radiatorto hide someof
its more unsightly aspects. There are also
channels cut intothe radiator finsto allow for
ascrewdriverto easily access thetension
screws during installation.
On that note, setup isabreeze,especially
forTR4 sockets: all you haveto do is apply
thermal pastetot he processor (theFryzen
doesn’t have this pre-applied, butatube of

VERDICT

ThisAMD-onlycoolerisskilfullydesigned,butits
actualcoolingperformanceisnothingspecial

CPU AIRCOOLER

pasteisi ncluded), screw

in four standoffs, affix a

couple of mounting

bracketsto them, then

use thosetension

screws to secure the

cooler ontop.

ForAM4 sockets,

the process isalittle

more involved, although

at least partof this

includes ditching the

default cooler mounts that

AMD usesforits heinous

clip-on system. Once those are

uninstalled, it’samatter of using the

mounting platetos lide longer standoffs

through the now-empty holes in the

motherboard, before essentially performing

the same steps as the TR4 socket requires.

From there,you can simply connectto the

motherboard’s 4-pin CPUfanconnectorto

get things going, but theFryzen also has

addressable RGB lighting support: the central

‘X’ shape on thefanshroud is lined with

lighting strips. Comparedto alot of AIO

watercoolers we’vetested, setting this up is

straightforward,too: there areafew extra

cables involved, but they’re thin enoughfor

easy tidying, and the inline controller is small

enoughto tuck awayeasily.

THE COLDEST PROFESSION

We usually test coolers with an Intel Core

i7-4771K, which obviously isn’t an option here,

so we installed theFryzen over the newRyzen

73700X (page 18). Unfortunately,itd idn’t

have the most auspiciousof starts: at stock

speeds, we recorded an idle coretemperature

of 41°C. That’s 2°C hotter than with the

Noctua NH-U12S,acooler that’s been around

since the firstRyzen chips launched in 2017.

The Fryzen’s loadtemperature rangeof

72-73°C is at least on equalfooting with the

NH-U12S, but its peakof 81°C is surprisingly

higher than the older cooler’s 76°C maximum.

This is in spiteoft he Fryzen havingachunkier

radiator and more heatpipes, which should

help disperse heat moreeffectively.

Further complicating matters is that

the Fryzen performed much better,

comparatively speaking, with theRyzen 7

3700X overclockedto 4.2GHz. The idle

temperature was leftunchanged at 41°C,

and although loadtemperatures roseto

80-81°C, both idle and loadtemperatures were

now deadeven with thoseof the NH-U12S.

This time,however ,the Fryzen managedto

keep amuch lower peaktemperature–82°C

–than the NH-U12S’s 89°C.

The Fryzen therefore meets expectations

foraRyzen cooler,even if it doesn’t

particularly exceed them. £80 isadecent

price foraTR4-capable air cooler,too.

That said, it’s also more expensive than

both the Noctua NH-U12S (which was made

forthe AM4 socket) and its TR4variant

model, the NH-U12S TR4-SP3. These don’t

have the same good looks or addressable

RGB lighting, but they’ll keep chips cool just

as well.At default fanspeeds, theFryzen

tends to run significantly louder than the

NH-U12S as well; if you’re notoverclocking,

we’d even recommend using software or a

fancontrollerto slow it down.

FANOUT

Alternatively,you could just save yourself

the bother–and £20–and get oneof the

Noctua coolers instead. Outsideof extra

visual flair andasingle better result in our

overclocked CPUtesting, there’s not much

that makes theFryzen worth buyingover

those models. This isarespectable cooler,

but never acts likeatruly great one.

JamesArcher

DEEPCOOL

Gamerstorm Fryzen

★★★★★

£80•From http://www.amazon.co.uk

SPECIFICATIONS

FANS1x120mm•FANSPEED500-1,800rpm•SOCKET

AMDTR4/AM4/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2/FM2+/FM2/FM1•

DIMENSI ONS124x165x82mm•WEIGHT1.2kg•

WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.gamer storm.

com•PARTCO DEFryzen