DeepCool AK400 White Cooler Review

After a successful launch of the new flagship cooler AK620, DeepCool has released a budget-friendly cooler AK400 based on the same design concept as on the AK620. The AK400 is available in two colors; white and black. This cooler is a single tower in a 120mm size. There are differences between the AK620 and AK400 besides dual-tower and single-tower. The former has 6 copper heat pipes whereas the latter has 4 copper heat pipes.

The AK620 has a nickel-plated copper base whereas the AK400 is using Direct Contact technology where the heat pipes make direct contact with the CPU.

Another difference is the stepped fin design on the AK620 which is not present in the AK400. The cooler is compatible with the Intel LGA1700/1200/115x and AMD AM4 sockets.

• Item:                                    AK400
• Manufacturer:                        DEEPCOOL
• Price:                                    USD 37.99/- [NewEgg pricing At the time of the review]   

Packaging and Unboxing

The cooler is shipped inside a cardboard box in white color printing.

The AK400 we are testing is the white color edition.

The specifications are printed over here. The part number and serial numbers stickers are on the base.

Opening the box cover will show the mounting hardware inside the transparent cover placed on the top.

Contents

Let’s take a look at what is provided in the box.

There is an elaborative user guide in the accessories to help the users during the installation.

There is a metallic mounting bracket.

There is a metallic Intel backplate with pre-installed standoffs. This would reduce the installation steps.

There are:

• 4x Intel LGA1700 black color spacers
• 4x Intel LGA1200/115x black color spacers
• 4x Long screws

We have:

• 4x AMD AM4 spacers
• 4x AMD Standoff screws

There is a pair of metal clips to optionally add a second fan to the cooler.

Closer Look

Let’s take a look at the cooler.

The overall dimension of the assemble cooler is 127x97x155mm (LxWxH). This is a smart and compact design compared to the overall dimension of AK620 129x138x160mm (LxWxH). The dimension of the heat sink only is 127x45x157mm (LxWxH). The net weight of the cooler is 661 gm.

The single tower has a plastic-made white-colored ribbed design cover on the top. There is a teal color DeepCool logo on one corner. This cover is well designed to sync with the new PC cases from DeepCool which we shall be taking a look at in the coming contents. This cover is removable.

The above picture shows the top of the tower with the cover popped off. The good deal here is that the cover can be rotated and put back on. That way the user can configure the branding corner as per the layout requirement.

Underneath the cover, we have an aluminum base. The white color tips are the terminating ends of the heat pipes.

The left and right sides of the tower are identical in layout. The fins have a joint assembly here. The middle section has an inset and the sides have raised surface. This is where the heads of the fan clips are rested on. The tower has a width of 45mm.

The rear and front sides of the tower have the same layout. We still have the same asymmetrical layout on the fins as we saw on the AK620. These are called matrix fins array. The fins are designed and stacked in a manner that 9 fins in any row have inset and protruded design alternatively. The protruded layout starts from both edges of the tower. We have a total fin count of 54.

The DeepCool AK400 packs 4x copper heat pipes in 6mm thickness. These are white color sprayed plated and jointed with the fins assembly. Seems like we don’t have a soldered assembly here. They are making an evenly spread-out contact with the fins.

DeepCool is giving the cooler with pre-applied thermal paste on it. There is no additional thermal paste provided with the cooler so make sure to seat the cooler correctly in the first go.

The above picture shows the base of the cooler after removing the pre-applied thermal paste. We have an interesting design here. The middle two heat pipes are using CDC (Continuous Direct Contact) technology whereas the exterior pipes are in non-continuous direct contact. The mounting bracket can be removed by removing the two silver color screws from the base. The size of the base is 39x35mm approximately.

The mounting plate is pre-installed and has spring-loaded screws on both sides.

DeepCool has provided an FC120 120mm fan with the AK400. This fan is in white color as well and has no RGB LED. The black edition of this cooler comes with the FK120 fan. The peculiar design element is the all-white color scheme and square frame of this fan. The fan has 9x blades. There is a DeepCool branding on the center. The corners have full-height anti-vibration rubber mounts. Notice the symbols on the edges? Yup, these are DeepCool branding.

There is a dotted arrow symbol showing the direction in which the blades would spin.

The other side of the frame has a dotted arrow symbol showing the direction of airflow through the fan.

The fan is rated for 0.13A at 12VDC. The fans are made in China. One of the 4x arms has a wider body with latches to catch the wires.

The fan has a flat cable with a 4-pin PWM connector.

Here are the specifications of the fan:

Speed (RPM)	500 ~ 1850 ±10%
Airflow (CFM)	66.47
Air Pressure (mmAq)	2.04
Noise dB(A)	≤ 29
Connector	4-pin PWM
Bearing Type	Fluid Dynamic Bearing
Rated Voltage (V)	12
Rated Current (A)	0.13
Rated Power Consumption (W)	1.56

 

Here are the pictures of the assembled cooler:

Installation

I appreciate DeepCool’s design team to reduce the installation steps and making the installation process convenient. The use of a metallic backplate and mounting bracket would come in handy on the Intel LGA1700 socket.

We have to deal with 10 components in total to mount the installation kit. We are not going into the details as the user guide is there to help the user.

The one observation is that the spacers don’t lock on the standoffs of the backplate so this could be a little tricky when installing the cooler inside the PC Case.

We could not make the cooler fit properly in the first go as the thermal paste spread was uneven. However, the second attempt was fruitful.

Clearance

The height of the cooler is 155mm. Keep this in mind while planning your build with respect to the PC Chassis as the chassis should have support for the CPU cooler’s height of a minimum of 157mm or so.

The cooler has a universal clearance for the RAM making it free of any such consideration. The fan’s height can still be adjusted which is a wise implementation.

The cooler does not block the first 16x PCIe slot on GIGABYTE Z690 AERO G.

The cooler does not hinder the IO side of the motherboard.

The cooler has good enough clearance from the top of the motherboard.

Testing

The following test bench is used: –

• Intel i7 12700k
• GIGABYTE Z690 AERO G
• Sabrent Rocket 2x16GB DDR5 kits
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 FE
• Sabrent Rocket Q 500GB NVMe SSD for OS
• be quiet! Straight Power 11 1000W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open-frame layout

Here is the settings table for testing:

P-Cores Clock (MHz)	4800 All Cores
E-Cores Clock (MHz)	3800 All Cores
VCore (V)	1.140V [Overrides to 1.183V]
Turbo Boost	Disabled
C-States	Disabled
Speed Step	Disabled
Thermal Paste	Noctua NT-H1
Thermal Paste Application	4 small and 1 large dots on the IHS.
Test Run Time	30 minutes for XTU Stress Test 20 minutes CINEBENCH R23
Idling Time	10 minutes
Fan Speed	100% PWM Duty Cycle
Header	CPU_Fan/CPU_Opt Headers
Software	Intel XTU and CINEBENCH R23

 

Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application and varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

This is our first cooler tested with the Sabrent DDR5 kit hence we are not showing any graph. The graph will be added once more coolers are tested.

The ambient temperature was in the range of 24.5° ~ 25.4°C. Let’s take a look at the results.

Load	Idle Temperature	Load Temperature
Intel XTU CPU Stress Test	26.7°C	P-Cores Average: 70°C E-Cores Average: 67.2°C
CINEBENCH R23 with AVX	26.8°C	P-Cores Average: 76°C E-Cores Average: 69°C

 

Noise

We are not measuring the noise level at the moment due to environmental noise which is beyond our control. The fan at full speed is almost silent.

Conclusion

Welcome a new budget cooler from DeepCool namely the AK400. This cooler is a stepped-down version of the new flagship AK620 from the manufacturer with the following salient differences:

AK620	AK400
6x Copper Heat Pipes	4x Copper Heat Pipes
Dual-Tower	Single-Tower
50 Fins x 2	54 Fins
Stepped Fins Design	Non-Step Design
Nickel Plate Copper Base	Direct Contact Technology
2 FK120 Fans	1x FC120 Fan
129x138x160mm (LxWxH)	127x97x155mm (LxWxH)
1456gm net weight	661gm net weight

 

This cooler fits quite well in the new Eco System of the DeepCool design. This cooler is a single-tower configuration in 120mm size. The dimension of the cooler is 127x97x155mm (LxWxH). The net weight of the cooler is 661 gm. The cooler is compatible with the Intel LGA1700/1200/115x and AMD AM4 sockets.

The heatsink comprises 54 white sprayed aluminum fins. The fins have a matrix layout design. The cooler has a dense fin stack requiring high static pressure fans. The cooler has 4x white sprayed copper heat pipes each having 6mm thickness. Interestingly enough, DeepCool is using continuous as well as non-continuous direct contact methods on the base as the middle two pipes are in continuous contact whereas the exterior pipes are in non-continuous contact.

The top of the tower has an elegant-looking cover with Teal color DeepCool branding on the corner. The design of this cover sits quite well with the matrix fin array design and the square frame fan. Together they give one heck of a good-looking cooling solution. Deepcool has included a 1x FC120 white fan having dimensions of 120x120x25mm. The fan is secured using metal fan clips. The maximum rated speed on this fan is up to 1850 RPM ±10% with a maximum airflow rating of 66.47 CFM and a 2.04 mmAq air pressure rating. The sound level rating is up to ≤29 dBA and this fan is using Fluid Dynamic Bearings.

The overall build quality is top-notch. Deepcool has provided easy-to-use mounting hardware for convenient installation of the cooler on any socket. The user manual is thorough. There is no RGB element on this cooler. It is best suited for neutral/stealth builds. I appreciate the design team as they have opted for a metallic backplate for the Intel platform which would be handy on the LGA1700 socket. Speaking of the installation, we need 10 components to install the mounting hardware on the socket. Our first attempt at the installation of the cooler on the Intel LGA1700 socket was not successful as the thermal paste spread un-evenly and left pockets on the IHS uncovered. The second attempt was fruitful. There is no clearance issue from any perspective other than the height consideration of 155mm which is the commonly used height in air coolers.

The DeepCool AK400 is listed on NewEgg at US Dollars 37.99 at the time of this review. This is a budget segment cooler with impressive cooling performance. In our testing on the Intel i7 12700k (4.8GHz all cores), the maximum temperature under AVX load was 76°C at an ambient of 24.4°C. DeepCool has rated this cooler to handle a thermal load of up to 220W.

We are thankful to DeepCool for giving us the opportunity to review their AK400 CPU Cooler.