Conclusion

So summer is finally among us, even if its not that hot here in the UK we are going to need some serious cooling to keep our overclocked systems from sweating all day long. It seems fit that Akasa would bring a new cooler to the market that looks like a bumble bee, sorry i mean hornet! Akasa haven’t provided us with a cost to this cooler as of yet, but we hope it will fall into the sub £40 bracket like all their coolers do. If the Nero S is priced at £30-35, we can only guess something similar at £35-40 Inc VAT. At that price zone it will be rather competitive in an already competitive CPU cooler market. The cooler comes with both Intel and AMD mounting so they should be able to grab a major share of both platforms. The airflow design of the cooler does work with regards to the “Smart Design”, but not as effective as we were expecting, with just a 3C difference in performance using push-pull on the loaded system compared to a single fan. Whether the design actually works at all is debatable as strapping a second fan on for push-pull to any cooler will make a difference to the temperatures. Perhaps the single Venom S-Flow fan is that good, it’s actually makes no sense to push-pull and waste money.

On the plus side, the cooler is very well made and color coordinated to suit the Venom S-Flow fans which look great. The fans themselves offer some very decent airflow whilst not actually screaming like a headless chicken. From 600-1100RPM the fan was virtually silent yet was still pushing quite a bit of air for the noise level it was producing. Even 1600RPM was totally fine for day to day use without breaking ones comfort levels. With the cooler supplying 8 rubber fan mounts to reduce any vibration added to that, this cooler looks set to be a favorite to any PC owner looking for some great cooling at low noise levels but not prepared to spend fortunes on Noctua products.

Full out performance wise, this cooler came within 2C of Thermalright’s Venomous X which costs £45 Inc VAT. However, Titan’s Fenrir priced at £30 was 1C better still. It’s hard to recommend a product without actually knowing the retail price but this cooler should be stocked in the shops at the end of May just in time for Computex. If the cooler comes in at £40 or less, we would recommend you take a look at this cooler. It may not be the best but is very close to it when pushed to the limits when using high performance fans with its four thick 8mm copper heatpipes that directly touch the base of the CPU for effective heat transfer. However, if you’re looking at 24/7 use, then this cooler has that option for you as well with its very quiet and efficient Viper fan supplied, plus the ability to mount another fan at ones wish. The Titan Fenrir may cost up to £10 cheaper but doesn’t have the ability to mount two fans for push-pull, nor the fan on the Fenrir isn’t as quiet as the Viper fan supplied, and its build quality isn’t as good as the Viper cooler. If your after pure performance without sacrificing comfort levels, you need to check this cooler out!

The Akasa Viper gets a 9/10 and a Gold Award.

Pros:

Very easy and secure mounting

Effect cooler both using high performance and quiet fans

Supplied with one of the best noise to CFM fans on the market

Support for all Intel and AMD platforms

Great build quality

Four 8mm Direct Touch Heatpipes

8 Anti-vibration rubber fan mounts (4 more for optional fan)

 

Cons:

“Smart Design” isn’t that effective

Second fan not supplied (only minor)

 

Thanks

A big thank you to Akasa for providing the sample for review.