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.


The Archon does not get off to the most promising start. In its default configuration with a single fan, it compares with the top down Noctua NH-C14, and the HR-02 sporting the same fan setup. It falls behind other popular mid-range coolers such as the Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme and the more recent Thermaltake Frio. Unfortunately, it cannot match the Venomous X which it was set to compete against. Even changing the fan setup didn’t yield a big enough difference to outcompete some of our top coolers. Adding a TR TY-140 fan reduced the delta temperature by 1C, once again making it comparable to the HR-02 and allowing it to outperform the default Corsair H50, Coolink Corator DS and Prolimatech Megahalem.

Looking at the performance between the NF-P14s and the TR TY-140s, we observe that the two generated the same results under load but the latter yielded slightly lower idle temperature deltas, hence its position above the Noctua fans. The sheer speed of the SWiF2-120Ps weren’t enough improve cooling potential demonstrating the Archon’s preferential effectiveness with 140mm fans as a result of its size.