The results have been arranged in terms of the fan configuration that yields the best results for each cooler. However, it is important to take into account that many coolers come with their own fans and changing those increases the costs significantly, so the “out of the box” cooler configurations have been highlighted in red each group.
Performance with the overclocked i7 at 4GHz looks to be more favourable. In its default configuration, the Archon yielded a delta of 58.5C, allowing it to fall under the 60C barrier. The Archon easily outperforms the stock CoolIT ECO, Corsair H50, Prolimatech Megahalems and the Thermalright HR-02 sporting the same fan. It even matches the Thermaltake Frio with the latter equipped with two NF-P12s. The single 140mm fan setup means that the Archon remains quiet in its operation whilst delivering brilliant performance. Unfortunately it fails to match the Silver Arrow or Noctua NH-D14.
Since Thermalright compare the Archon with their own Venomous X, so I installed two NF-P12s to see how the two would compare. Unfortunately, the two 120mm failed to achieve the same results as the single TR TY-140 and as such failed to match the Ultra Extreme, yet alone Venomous X. The best performance was with 2 TR TY-140s, yielding a 56C delta temperature and allowing the cooler to match the Ultra Extreme. Given that the Thermalright fans are cheaper than the Noctua NF-P12s, it makes more sense simply adding another TR TY-140 to the Archon for more efficient cooling. Again however, the performance is not enough to match the Venomous X.
A peculiar observation, albeit not surprising, the 140mm fans tend to generate far better results on the Archon than the 120mm fans. If we look at the Silver Arrow, we see two SWiF2-120Ps outperforming two TY TR-140s and yet the opposite is true on the Archon. The slower and quieter spinning 140mm is welcomingly more efficient. This is because the latter can push air through more fins whereas the 120mm fan cannot cover the vast heatsink face as it would normally do with “shorter” coolers. It also explains why the 2 NF-P12s on the HR-02 outperform the same fan combination on the Archon when the opposite is the case with 140mm fans installed instead. We can conclude that the Archon benefits more greatly from larger fans than higher RPM 120mm ones. Given that 2 TR TY-140 running at 850RPM were keeping up with 2 SWiF2-120Ps, it shows that the Archon is ideal as a quiet cooling solution. In fact, this particular fan configuration outperformed the Silver Arrow using the same 2 TR TY-140s at 850RPM, and came close to matching the Noctua with U.L.N.A by a mere 0.25C. Unfortunately, running the fans at their default maximum speed demonstrates that the Archon heatsink is not as efficient as the Silver Arrow for sheer cooling performance.
Other than the dual tower solutions, the only other cooler to be compatible with 140mm fans is the Prolimatech Super Mega. The Archon was only a mere 1C behind it using the same 140mm NF-P14 fan configuration suggesting that if both used TR TY-140 fans, there would be a similar performance difference. If we then take into account the cost of the Archon with 1 additional fan and the Super Mega with two fans bought separately, the Archon represents much better value for money.
