Review and testing of DEEPCOOL ASSASSIN II. Design features and specifications

Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II Review | Design features and specifications

It's not every day that Deepcool releases a new top-tier air cooler. More specifically, the first model of the Gamer Storm Assassin we tested about 3 years ago. However, when we received it for testing, we had to shelve it. At that time, we had already done Review of Fresh Deepcool Closed Loop Liquid Cooler(English). In addition, there were many products for the Z170 chipset marked "urgent" in the queue for review. Perhaps some of those innovations could wait.

Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II handles Skylake's moderate temperature requirements with ease and seems to be ready to compete with leading coolers in cooling overclocked Core i7 processors based on the Haswell-E microarchitecture. Nearly a kilo and a half of copper is a serious challenge for enthusiasts, and although the cooler fits smaller sockets, we simply did not dare to install it on a small and light motherboard.

Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II Fits almost any CPU socket except AM1, which typically doesn't require fans to keep cool with a heatsink of this size. Special stands are compatible with LGA 2011 mounting bracket (including v3). The Universal Baseplate has mounting studs that extend from the rear of the Intel ILM Square and AMD Rectangular Mount Board. The contact pad of the cooler is pressed against the transverse bar. AMD board users first need to remove the cooler mounting bracket to expose the four mounting holes on the board. Naturally, the transverse bar must be installed over the base of the cooler, and you can get to it only by removing the central fan.

For optimal contact between the CPU and heatsink, Deepcool polishes the base of the cooler and then nickel-plating the copper to prevent oxidation. The reflection of the logo on the pad surface shows how smooth it is.

We installed a 120mm fan in the front and a 140mm fan in the middle. They come with a radiator. The center fan has the status of a main fan, as the front fan can be removed to increase the space when installing components. We chose not to install the spare fans that Deepcool sent with this cooler as they are not part of the standard package. A four-fan splitter is included as standard, but if we use it, we won't be able to get separate fan speed readings for the two fans.

If you are not sure what Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II will fit in your case, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the technical specifications that we have listed below.

Specifications

Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II Review | Test results

With cooler Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II at full fan speed, CPU and PWM temperatures are two degrees hotter than with the famous NH-D15. Temperatures at lower RPMs are slightly worse, but that's because the Assassin II fan profile was manually set to 50%, and the NH-D15's fan speed was well above 50% of nominal.

Temperature above ambient

On the fan speed graph, you can see that the Noctua cooler reduces the speed by about 25%. We used a proprietary high-resistance wire, assuming Noctua knows the "optimum RPM level" for efficiency. Meanwhile, coolers that do not have this feature work at "non-optimized" settings at the 50% level. Does it make sense?

Main and second fan rotation speed (fan connectors on MSI X99S XPower AC board), rpm (by colors: red - main fan at full speed, black - main fan at low speed, blue - second fan at full speed, green – second fan at low speed)

Although at the beginning Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II slightly noisier than the NH-D15, resulting in much quieter operation up to 50% RPM. Might be worth re-testing the NH-D15 with a 50% profile?

Noise level (dB (A)) at a distance of 1 m from the cooler, sound level meter Galaxy CM-140) by colors: red - maximum speed, black - low speed, blue - medium speed)

At full speed Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II slightly hotter and louder than NH-D15. In terms of the ratio of cooling efficiency to noise, it is inferior to our leader by 5%. We consider the 50% speed test only as a bonus.

Acoustic Efficiency - Relative Temperature/Relative Noise, averaged as 0% (result -1) (by color: red - high speed, black - low speed)

Performance Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II at full speed is a few percent lower than the NH-D15, but it also costs 10% less. Thus, the value of the new model is 5% higher. Low fan speed readings show the benefit of motherboard control of fans.

Performance Index - Acoustic Efficiency/Relative Price, averaged as 0% (result -1) (by color: red - maximum speed, black - low speed, blue - price)

Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II Review | Conclusion

Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II falls just short of the top CPU air coolers in terms of cooling performance, but its price is low enough to give it a more attractive performance-to-cost ratio. That doesn't mean it's cheap, just that it's cheaper than the best CPU coolers we've tested.

Some users will like the look of the cooler, and the extra 15mm of space on all sides of the cooler, available through the downsizing of the cooler, will allow this model to be used in more motherboards and cases. But to give this cooler an award, only a more attractive price-to-performance ratio is enough.

Unfortunately, our experience with installing heavy coolers on four-layer motherboards suggests that it is better to limit the use of the 1417g giant to stationary systems with six-layer motherboards. However, this range covers most board models with LGA 2011 and LGA 2011-v3 connectors. However, the range of supported connectors for Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II significantly higher. If you have any doubts regarding the installation of this cooler on your board, it is better to consult with the users on our forum.

Advantages:

• Excellent cooling performance
• Relatively low price
• Relatively low noise level
• Leaves more free space on the sides
• Higher price/performance ratio compared to top models

Flaws:

• Big weight

Conclusion: Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II for $80 it's quite an expensive cooler, but it outperforms the most eminent rivals in terms of the combination of characteristics.

Cooler Deepcool Assassin II fully corresponds to its name and looks brutal. The manufacturer did not skimp on the metal, the tower cooler with two heatsinks weighs almost 1.5 kg. Noteworthy are the eight heatpipes, as well as two PWM-controlled fans that run at only 300 rpm in idle mode. Is such a combination enough for leadership in our ranking?

For a long time, Deepcool has been known for its entry-level coolers. But the company decided to expand its range with better, more powerful and more expensive models. For gamers, there's even been a new brand, Gamer Storm, which features the best products in different categories. In terms of air coolers, the Gamer Storm lineup consists of the Gabriel flat HTPC cooler, the Lucifer passive heatsink (in different versions), and finally the Dual Heatsink Assassin II giant tested in this review.

The gaming orientation is visible in the packaging design. By the size of the package, you can guess that the top Deepcool model is by no means the most compact. In fact, the 143 x 158 x 167mm cooler may have compatibility issues. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out measurements in the housing in advance. Still, not every medium tower will be able to fit a cooler almost 17 cm high. On the other hand, a large radiator should provide high cooling performance. The same goes for transferring heat from the CPU to the heatsink: Deepcool opted for eight 6mm heatpipes. One 120mm and one 140mm fans in a push-pull configuration are responsible for blowing air through the radiators. All this allows us to hope for high results for Assassin II in our tests.

The cooler stands out not only in size, but also in price. In Russia, Assassin II can be purchased at a price of about 4.4 thousand rubles.

Before we move on to reviewing the cooler, let me give you some brief Assassin II specs.

Operating system: Windows 10 x64.

Supercoolers were tested in several stages. I took the hottest Intel Core i7-5960X processor to date, which, according to official data, has a TDP level of 140 watts. The nominal clock frequency of the “stone” is 3.3 GHz, but in Turbo Boost mode it permanently increases to 3.5 GHz. I fixed the indicator at around 3.5 GHz to make testing more relevant. All coolers were tested in three modes: at the minimum fan/fans rpm, medium frequency and maximum impeller speed. The second stage is acceleration. The processor frequency has been increased to 4 GHz. To do this, I had to increase the supply voltage from 1 V to 1.2 V. I had such an unsuccessful chip. There are specimens capable of chasing at a voltage of 1.1-1.2 to 4.2-4.3 GHz. In any case, in this mode of operation, the Core i7-5960X will be a very serious test for any existing cooling system. During overclocking, the cooler fans worked in automatic mode. The LinX 0.6.5 program loaded the processor - the most resource-intensive application to date. In 99% of cases at home, the system will not work in such conditions. 15 minutes were allotted for each mode. The room temperature at the time of testing was 25 degrees Celsius.

For each cooler, I used the thermal paste that comes with the device.

The noise level was measured at a distance of one meter from the test bench. The system used a power supply and a video card operating in passive mode. The minimum noise level in the room is 36 dB.

Let's start with temperatures. To begin with, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the final table. All models show the same trend. Namely, there is a noticeable difference in cooling efficiency at minimum and medium fan speeds. Apparently, in the most sparing mode, the air superchargers lack the efficiency to completely “pump” the overall double-turret radiator. The gap is especially noticeable in Cryorig R1 Ultimate and Deepcool Assassin II. In the first case, the difference between the hottest nuclei was 13 degrees Celsius, in the second - 9 degrees Celsius. At the same time, at the average and maximum speeds of the impellers, the temperature drop turned out to be less noticeable. In this regard, the Thermalright cooler turned out to be the most passive. Changing the fan speed from 1000 rpm to 2500 rpm made it possible to “remove” only 4 degrees Celsius from the processor. As you well understand, the noise also increased noticeably.

CPU coolers costing around $100 can hardly be called bestsellers. In fact, such solutions are bought by very wealthy users who own top-end processors and want to squeeze the maximum out of them. Therefore, their choice is approached very carefully, and in the current material we will talk about one of them.

It promises to please us not only with high performance, but also with a comfortable noise level over the entire operating range. From its predecessor, he inherited a huge radiator with eight heat pipes, as well as a Twin-Tower design with a pair of low-speed fans. Therefore, its efficiency should be sufficient to cool any modern CPU, including. But for now we will not get ahead of ourselves and begin our acquaintance with the technical characteristics of the novelty.

Specification

Packaging and equipment

The hero of the current review comes in a strict elegant box, on the sides of which there is a list of its distinguishing features, a list of compatible platforms and a specification table.

Inside the package, the Deepcool ASSASSIN II cooler is securely fixed using a special form, and along with it you can find the following complete components:

• universal reinforcement plate with four nozzles;
• a pair of metal mounts for both platforms and a pressure plate;
• a set of racks, nuts and screws;
• square gasket (Intel Socket LGA775);
• thermal grease in a syringe;
• hub for connecting up to four fans to one 4-pin connector;
• one cable tie;
• metal emblem of the Deepcool GAMER STORM line;
• a strip of double-sided tape (thickness 1 mm);
• installation guide.

Of particular interest is the hub, which allows you to power four fans from one 4-pin connector. With it, you can compensate for the presence of a small number of corresponding interfaces on the motherboard.

Appearance and design

The Deepcool ASSASSIN II radiator consists of two asymmetric sections. At the heart of each of them are eight 6-mm heat pipes located at a uniform distance from each other. They, in turn, are strung with 48 aluminum plates 0.5 mm thick.

Despite the impressive number of heat pipes, they are placed in a row, which is typical for most Twin Tower solutions. The nickel-plated finish gives the cooler a more holistic look and also protects the copper elements from oxidation.

We did not find any traces of soldering or hot-melt adhesive at the points of contact of the tubes with the plates and the base. Either the manufacturer can be praised for a very clean job, or some alternative methods are used for fixing.

The plates have an interesting shape, which gives the cooler a certain originality, although in this respect it is somewhat inferior to its predecessor. However, this approach carries both a decorative feature and helps to dissipate heat more efficiently. Above you can see the characteristic embossed logos of the Deepcool GAMER STORM line, to which the tested novelty belongs.

Behind the factory sticker is a perfectly polished base with a large area - 60 x 45 mm. Its surface does not have any defects, but the best clamping force will be provided in its central part.

Since we are talking about a top solution, the manufacturer did not save on fans, using a couple of models based on Japanese hydrodynamic bearings. They are distinguished by a low level of generated noise and a high resource, as well as a number of design improvements. These include aerodynamic ribs on the blades, the presence of a removable impeller for lubrication and a rubberized housing coating that reduces vibration. The 140mm Deepcool GF140 runs at up to 1200rpm, while the 120mm Deepcool GF120 is rated at 1400rpm. The minimum speed in both cases is stated at about 300 rpm. Thanks to these indicators, both turntables will work quite quietly - within 27.3 dB.

The fans are attached to the radiator using four metal brackets. The third pair of these products is not provided in the kit - however, the bending of the radiator will also complicate the implementation of such an undertaking.

Installation process

The process of installing the Deepcool GAMER STORM ASSASSIN II cooler on different platforms is described in detail in the complete manual and its electronic version. In general, it is very simple and will be within the power of even the most inexperienced users.

On motherboards for AMD processors, instead of a standard mount, a complete reinforcing plate is used, on which screws are fixed with plastic caps.

On the front side, racks are strung on them, pressed against metal fasteners and nuts.

Next, we install the processor, apply a thermal interface and mount the heatsink, fixing it with a pressure plate using a screwdriver with a long sting. After that, it remains only to fix the fans with the supplied brackets and connect them to the appropriate connectors (you can use the supplied hub).

The tested cooler is 158 mm wide, which covers all four RAM expansion slots. Only low memory modules (up to 48 mm) can be installed in them. As for compatibility with nearby radiators, we did not experience any problems with them.

Assembled, the tested cooler has an impressive height of 167 mm, which should be taken into account when choosing a case or installing it in an existing one. The black and red fans look great when paired with other components of a similar color, so with careful selection, you can create a system that is quite remarkable in its appearance.

On the Intel platform, a complete reinforcement plate is also used to install the Deepcool ASSASSIN II cooler, but other holes are used.

Just like on motherboards for AMD processors, two pairs of screws secure the racks and metal fasteners, to which the heatsink itself is attached using a plate. Note that if desired, the cooler can be mounted with a 90° rotation, directing heated air to the top panel of the case.

Again, I would like to note the excellent compatibility of the cooler with high near-processor heatsinks. But the situation with overclocker RAM modules has not changed - only low solutions can be used.

Owners of compact microATX motherboards will be pleased with the fact that the cooler will not interfere with the full use of the first expansion slot (in our case, it is PCIe x1). An exception is the installation of the cooler with a 90° turn, in which the mentioned connector will still be blocked.

Testing

The following equipment was used to test the Deepcool ASSASSIN II processor cooling system:

On the one hand, the Deepcool ASSASSIN II cooler has a very impressive size. On the other hand, the rotation speed of its fans is relatively low and amounts to 1300-1500 rpm. Therefore, on the AMD platform, although its performance is quite good, it is somewhat inferior to other top solutions that we tested. Cooler remains the undisputed leader here. It also demonstrates excellent performance on the stand with a processor (4.5 GHz), but this time the tested novelty copes with cooling just as well. Note that even a reduced rotation speed of its blades (less than 1000 rpm) is quite enough to effectively remove heat in an almost silent operation mode.

Recall that the Full load mode assumes the maximum use of all processor cores. Therefore, in real conditions, where the load is of a variable nature (for example, in games), you can safely count on lower temperature indicators.

The tested cooler can also be operated using only the internal 140 mm turntable. In this case, the temperature curve shifts upwards, and to achieve a similar efficiency, the fan speed must be 200-300 rpm higher than when using a pair of solutions. Thus, the installation of two fans significantly helps in achieving more comfortable acoustic performance with the same performance.

The minimum fan speed slightly exceeds the values ​​declared by the manufacturer - 540-580 rpm instead of 150-450 rpm. Nevertheless, already with such indicators, the turntables work very quietly. The maximum frequencies are accompanied by an average noise level, which at the same time is quite comfortable for a long pastime at the computer.

conclusions

The top cooler turned out to be a very interesting solution. Outwardly, it draws attention with red and black fans, perfectly combined with similar shades of other computer components. Therefore, for owners of cases with a transparent side cover, the second "assassin" can be a suitable solution for creating a design masterpiece.

Also, at first glance at the cooler, attention is drawn to the use of as many as eight heat pipes (let us recall, a hereditary trait), which had a corresponding effect on its efficiency. A radiator weighing almost 1.2 kg is enough to remove heat from even the most powerful processors. He was accompanied by two fans based on high-quality hydrodynamic bearings. They operate at relatively low speeds, which ensures a comfortable noise level over the entire operating range. Thus, the tested novelty guarantees excellent cooling of overclocked processors without teasing the owner's ear.

We did not find any significant shortcomings in Deepcool ASSASSIN II. Unless, there is an overlap of expansion slots for RAM, in which it will be possible to install only low memory modules (up to 48 mm). But in fairness, we note that this feature is observed in the vast majority of overall solutions of the Twin-Tower format. But with what difficulties can really arise, it is with the selection of the case. Thus, the height of the cooler with a pair of fans is an impressive 167 mm, which should be taken into account when choosing a "home" for such an interesting externally and highly efficient product.

Advantages:

• high efficiency even at low fan speeds;
• comfortable noise level over the entire operating range;
• Nickel plating of heat pipes and base;
• compatibility with all current, as well as with some outdated platforms;
And TwinMOS for the equipment provided for the test bench.

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I first thought about replacing the processor cooler when I overclocked my Intel Core i 5-4570K to 4 GHz - after twenty minutes of running around in Battlefield 4, the game began to frankly slow down. After three hours of checking the operating system, I guessed to look at the temperature of the video card and processor. It turned out that the standard boxed Intel cooler brought the percentage to 95 degrees, after which it dropped the frequency from 4 GHz to ridiculous 1.2 GHz - throttling was turned on. The computer worked fine even at standard frequencies, but once a weak spot was found in the car, it must be eliminated.

The current prices for components make you tense. The Noctua brand recommended to me was immediately discarded - in stores they cost almost 7 thousand rubles. As an alternative, I chose DEEPCOOL Assassin II, the first version of which, according to reviews on the Internet, was on par with Noctua, and at the same time cost almost half the price. I managed to grab the device for less than 4 thousand rubles.

Assassin II is a tower model with heat pipes and two fans. A quick look at the manufacturer's website showed that the second version of the "killer" seems to have become quieter without losing cooling efficiency. I don't know what the first Assassin was, but when they gave me a box with his new version, I got a little scared. It seems that a soccer ball or a bottle of whiskey is hidden in such a huge package.

Inside was found a radiator with fans and a few bags of accessories. At first they drive into a stupor - somehow there are too many metal planochek, cogs and bolts. In addition to the mounting system, DEEPCOOL included a splitter for connecting several fans to one connector on the motherboard, as well as a syringe with thermal paste and a sticker with their logo. The complete instruction is obligatory for reading, since without it, not everyone will be able to install the cooler correctly the first time.

Assassin II itself is a huge pandora, consisting of eight heat pipes with radiator grilles strung together. This is a time-tested design, which is now used to build all coolers more expensive than twenty dollars. According to the specifications on the box, the size of Assassin II is 143x158x167 mm, and the weight is 1479. One and a half kilograms! In my childhood, the heaviest cooler was the Thermaltake Volcano 7+, it weighed 680g and was even considered dangerous for many motherboards.

The heatpipes in Assassin II, of course, are copper inside. But outside they are covered with nickel. Why, if nickel, unlike copper, has mediocre thermal conductivity? They write that a nickel layer of a hundredth of a millimeter protects copper from oxidation, and also adds presentability to the radiator. And such a small layer thickness does not affect the cooling efficiency. Aluminum fins with a fashionable chopped profile are strung on eight heat pipes. The radiator generally looks very attractive, unlike many analogues with conventional rectangular fins.

The heat pipes do not attach directly to the processor, but through an additional nickel-plated base, polished to a mirror finish. The lack of direct contact is not a big problem, the thermal cover of the processors is still less than eight tubes. Without an additional foundation, then the outer heat pipes would be left without contact with the CPU, which means that the cooler's efficiency would be lower than designed.

The radiator is cooled by two fans of 120 mm and 140 mm, each of which has an adjustable rotation speed from 300 to 1400/1200 rpm. It is selected automatically depending on the settings in the BIOS of the computer. The turntables are done in red and black and have a relief pattern on the blades, which should reduce the noise level with the help of some clever aerodynamic magic.

The cooler is attached to the motherboard with a backplate. It acts as a stable base, to which two frames are attached with screws from the front side of the board. And now a radiator is attached to them with a pair of thumbscrews. The mounting system is compatible with all current sockets of Intel and AMD processors, including such rarities as the LGA 775. Combining various complete frames and screws, you can assemble a mounting system for any socket, but you must definitely look at the instructions so as not to be mistaken with holes in the backplate.

A very important point is that the cooler completely covers the RAM slots on the motherboard, so when assembling a new computer, you should take care of the memory in advance. There were no other problems in my SilverStone Raven 2 case. But in small cases such as Mini-ATX, the cooling system can feel uncomfortable, up to conflicts with the power supply or the side removable cover of the case.

After turning on the computer, the fans first started working at full speed, and then dropped to the minimum speed - this is a feature of the motherboard, which always supplies the maximum voltage to the processor cooler when the computer starts. While the computer is idle, Assassin II cannot be heard. The boxed Intel cooler was also silent, but cooled accordingly. Therefore, to check, I again overclocked the Core i 5-4570K to 4 GHz, turned on the Core Temp temperature monitoring program and went to drive different games.

In idle, the temperature of the overclocked processor fluctuated around 31-32 degrees, which is 7 degrees higher than the environment. Battlefield 4 and GTA V heated up the CPU to 60 and 64 degrees, respectively. At the same time, the system worked stably, FPS did not fall in games. In the same mode, let me remind you, the previous cooler gave out 95 degrees, and the processor sharply reduced the frequency. The maximum that I managed to achieve with Assassin II is 75 degrees in a special test for warming up Prime 95 processors. But this is a “synthetic” test, in reality a similar load on the CPU is unlikely.

As for noise, there are no complaints about the device in this regard. During games, the video card cooler blocked all other noises with its howl, I could not isolate the sound of Assassin II in the general cacophony. Only when running Prime 95 could a rustle be heard, since the video card is not involved in this test. At maximum speed, Assassin II does not bother - the noise is small and neat, uniform, without an unpleasant howl. Thanks to hydrodynamic fan bearings.

DEEPCOOL Assassin II proved to be worthy. At a reasonable price, he easily coped with the overclocked processor, not a single popular game could warm up the CPU even to 70 degrees. At stock frequencies, the Intel Core i 5-4570K should be even colder, and Assassin II revs, respectively, even lower. You can feel the potential in the cooler. It remains only to decide how to open it - by overclocking the processor or simply by demonstrating a beautiful gaming system through a transparent case window.