Introduction
Last year DeepCool announced the AS500 and AS500 Plus cooler, a rare instance where the company releases a high-end cooler under the DeepCool brand rather than their performance oriented Gamer Storm line. That said, depending on where you’re coming from you might still have the impression that DeepCool is a budget brand and that has never been the case. In fact, DeepCool has had a varied product lineup for all price ranges that that its really refreshing to see them trickle down more of their higher performance products on the main brand.
As mentioned, the DeepCool AS500 and AS500 PLUS released a little later last year and has recently received a white version with the AS500 PLUS WH sporting an all white paint job whilst still retaining the RGB shroud on top for a little extra bling. As the name suggests, this version of the cooler only comes in the PLUS model which means it comes with 2 fans out of the box.
Aside from that, its a representation of both AS500 PLUS and AS500 PLUS WH so we’ll review it as such. Read on to find out more about the DeepCool AS500 PLUS WH.
Features & Specification
| Product Dimensions | 142×102×164 mm |
| Heatsink Dimensions | 140×49×159 mm |
| Net Weight | 1198 g |
| Heatpipe | Ø6 mm×5 pcs |
| Fan Dimensions | 140×140×25 mm |
| Fan Speed | 500~1200 RPM±10% |
| Fan Airflow | 70.81 CFM |
| Fan Air Pressure | 1.14 mmAq |
| Fan Noise | ≤29.2dB(A) |
| Fan Connector | 4-pin PWM |
| Bearing Type | Fluid Dynamic Bearing |
| Fan Rated Voltage | 12 VDC |
| Fan Rated Current | 0.11 A |
| Fan Power Consumption | 1.32 W |
| LED Type | Addressable RGB LED |
| LED Connector | 3-pin(+5V-D-G) |
| LED Rated Voltage | 5 VDC |
| LED Power Consumption | 1.4 W |
- Single tower cooler with 5 heat pipes high fin density.
- All white heat pipe, fins and fans design.
- Slim profile for maximum RAM height compatibility.
- High-performance TF140S PWM fans included.
- A-RGB LED controller included.
Closer Look
Deepcool packaging for the AS500 PLUS is surprisingly pleasant with a slip-on label wrapping a plain cardboard box. I’m not sure if this is part of Deecool’s rebranding strategy but the original black AS500/AS500 Plus came in on their signature full-colored print box. Regardless, I feel this kind of packaging is better as it allows Deepcool to eventually go down the route of more recyclable materials on their packaging. The hero shot is on the slip-on label with details highlighted on the other side.
The package contains the cooler with the fans already clipped on. Included are mounting compatible with modern Intel and AMD systems. Please refer to the installation guide for actual CPU holes. This cooler does not come with a TR4/sTR4 mounting.
The Deepcool AS500 PLUS is the dual-fan variation of the AS500 cooler. The sample we have is the AS500 PLUS WH which is the white version of the regular model with no special characteristic. All AS500 coolers feature a 164mm tall tower from top to the actual contact plate. That means this cooler will still require a fairly larger case or otherwise, removing the side panel. That said, packing 140mm fans, this should be expected but I have to remind users to please check compatibility as single tower coolers tend to confuse new buildings giving the impression their significantly shorter especially ones with 140mm fans.
The fans clip on via simple wire retention on recessed grooves on the sides of the heatsink fins. Deepcool really went all-out on this and powder-coated everything including the fins stack on the inside. This is also connected to white heatpipes. That’s right, except for the retention parts and extension wires, everything is tailor made to be white on this kit.
Please follow the installation guide including with your AS500/PLUS for installation methods. For both AMD and Intel, the Deepcool AS500/AS500 Plus requires a bespoke mounting kit. The AMD installation uses the stock backplate and for Intel LGA 115x systems, the cooler comes with its own backplate. For LGA2011 systems, mounting screws are included. As mentioned, there is no out-of-box support for Threadripper sockets sTR4 and TR.
The fans would need to come off to install the cooler but clipping them on is easy.
There is some space below the actaul fin stack which you can use to route the cables around but they are quite long and come with adapters. The extension cables for the fans and RGB cable come in black though while the actual heatsink cable and fan cables are done in white.
The cooler is an ARGB-lit model and has no custom software needed so you can control it with any 3-pin ARGB host e.g. your motherboard, a GPU which has ARGB pins or a 3rd-party controller.
Test Setup and Methodology
Reviewing coolers is a very divided topic so its best to always serve with as much context as possible. In our 2021 revision for our cooler testing, we will be using an open test bench to test coolers. We’ll detail this in another article as this will serve as the first test out of this revision but due to the incredible number varying cases, how they’re design and oriented as well as the stock fans that come with today’s modern chassis, there proves to be more variation in a case situation than in a test bench. That being said, much like many of our testing where we look at performance primarily, my test methodology looks at these coolers when used in the best possible scenario.
The other variable is overclocking. We previously tested coolers on fixed-voltage and fixed-frequency setups. In today’s setup, that proves to add another variable as the large array of motherboards or even the actual applications thereof will heavily vary. That said, we take the top CPUs from both Intel and AMD and test them various loading scenarios.
Back2Gaming is proud to work with OCCT to be our partner for this test. Which allows us to set various stress loads without using mixed-load benches like AIDA64. OCCT allows granular control on the testing.
It also features monitoring and logging for troubleshooting problems and performance analysis as well. OCCT is available as a free download for all users with a paid version for power users and businesses.
Test Systems
| Test System Configuration (Intel) | |
| CPU | Intel Core i9-10900K |
| Motherboard | ASUS ROG MAXIMUS XII Extreme |
| Cooling | As listed |
| Graphics Card | ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity OC |
| Storage | Corsair MP600 1TB |
| Power Supply | FSP Hydro G Pro 1000W |
| Case | OpenBench Table Community Edition |
| Test System Configuration (AMD) | |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 5950X |
| Motherboard | ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII FORMULA |
| Cooling | As listed |
| Graphics Card | ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity OC |
| Storage | Corsair MP600 1TB |
| Power Supply | FSP Hydro G Pro 1000W |
| Case | OpenBench Table Retail Edition |
Test Results – Intel
Test Results – AMD
Load-Temperature Behavior
In this segment we see the behavior of temperature as affected by the type of work the CPU is doing. The chart shows us the frequency the CPU is running at along with the power and temperature reading. The darker the color in the chart, the more consistent it is in that value range. The frequency is denoted by the blue line and is read according to the right vertical axis. The left vertical axis denote power and temperatures.
This test uses OCCT stress test to perform the work as detailed below:
- 5-minute pilot idle period
- a 15-minute SSE stress test (extreme mode, steady load, small data set)
- 5-min. idle
- a 15-minute AVX stress test (extreme mode, steady load, small data set)
- 5-min break
- a 30-min AVX2 stress test (normal mode, variable load, large data set)
The chart will show any throttling on the CPU indicated by lowered frequency on the blue line while also showing the operational frequency of the specific workload. We can also see how fast the cooling drop back the CPU to idle temperatures. Take note that AMD and Intel will have different thermal ranges as well as overall power usage which is affected by how the motherboard tunes the CPU to behave under specific workloads.
Conclusion
As a single-tower cooler, I felt this cooler needed to be placed in charts of similar air units but since we’re currently increasing our cooler count, I could only have the Noctua NH-U12A in the comparison charts and this fan literally blew away my expectations. Deepcool really hit it off with the AS500 PLUS and shows that the company may seem to be bringing more high-end products to their mainline brand to bolster the Deepcool name whilst still offering enthusiast solutions in their Gamer Storm lineup.
The Deepcool AS500 is heavily inspired by the improvements found on their most recent coolers and while its quality is not up there with the likes of the Fryzen, as a newer model it does surpass it in many ways. The build quality of the Deepcool AS500 Plus and AS500 is definitely legit. The white paint on the AS500 Plus WH is exquisitely done as well with coats of paint on the heatpipes and up until the rim of the contact plate.
Deepcool uses their silent TF140S fans on the AS500 which surprisingly gave the Noctua NH-U12A a a good competition in terms of performance. As 140mm fans, pushing them to max 1200RPM doesn’t cause much noise increase. Our board does tune the fans to rev up only at 700RPM at lighter loads with heavier loads at 800RPM for the AMD test. For Intel, it average 1000RPM under load, topping out 1200RPM for the AVX test which was still dead silent.
The fans themselves are not RGB but on the AS500 PLUS WH white edition, RGB on the RAM and other case lighting should reflect more brightly than the black AS500/AS500 Plus. I do not have the black version but for anyone more scientifically inclined about the effect of the white coating and black paint would prove to have any difference, I don’t think its that significant. Back to the cooler, the RGB lighting is centrally located on the top heatsink shroud. I do feel Deepcool missed an opportunity here to work in some branding like mute logo with a slight bevel. Other than that it does have its positives as it is very clean to look at.
As a single tower this cooler has great compatibility but at 164mm tall, it will still require a case thatn can house a taller 140mm heatsink. If you don’t want a giant twin-tower hanging of your board or you want to keep a clean and cool gaming rig, the DeepCool AS500 PLUS/AS500 PLUS WH is a surprisingly good CPU cooler and at $60 or Php3500, its a good deal as well.
Deepcool backs the AS500 PLUS with a 3-year manufacturer warranty and is available now.
