The original Silver Arrow pushed the boundaries for thermal performance; does the SB-E Extreme version continue this trait?

The results on the preceding pages demonstrate a superior product in the Silver Arrow SB-E Extreme. Throughout all tests our cooler showed its worth by consistently being the best air cooler we have tested so far. It’s fair to say that a significant chunk of the advantage exists because of the TY-143 PWM fans which can operate up to 2500RPM, but our passive testing revealed this cooler to have superior performance too so the heatsink design certainly holds up to the pressure.

Build quality and aesthetics are very good which is as to be expected by Thermalright. We have reviewed their products before and really like them for this very reason. Silver Arrow SB-E Extreme may be gargantuan in size, but it still has style and finesse. It will look great in any computer system.



Although the quality and performance have their boxes ticked there are some areas which could be impressed or should be noted. TY-143s are highly regarded within hardware circles and they are a very good cooling fan but when left using PWM the fans can reach 2500RPM and as such generate quite a lot of noise which can be disruptive. The other niggle is the installation process, the last stage requires a plate to be placed on top of the baseplate whilst standard screws are applied – this task is tedious and can be troublesome as can the installation of the cooling fans.

Silver Arrow SB-E Extreme can be picked up for £50 which makes it quite an affordable buy. Other high-end coolers are at least £10 more expensive than this cooler plus you get dual TY-143s and a tube of Chill Factor 3 – making this quite an attractive package.