Introduction

Let’s test the Rosewill AIOLOS CPU cooler, which has a tower heatsink with four heatpipes and a 120 mm fan. Check it out!

The black and blue cardboard box of the AIOLOS is shown in Figure 1.

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Figure 1: Package

Figure 2 shows the contents of the box: heatsink, fan, a small bag of thermal compound, manual, and installation hardware.

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Figure 2: Accessories

Figure 3 displays the AIOLOS heatsink.

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Figure 3: The AIOLOS heatsink

This cooler is discussed in detail in the following pages.

The Rosewill AIOLOS

Figure 4 illustrates the front of the heatsink. The four copper heatpipes are distributed in two rows at each side of the heatsink.

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Figure 4: Front view

Figure 5 reveals the side of the cooler. Notice the waved fins.

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Figure 5: Side view

In Figure 6, you can see the top of the cooler, where the tips of the heatpipes are visible.

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Figure 6: Top view

The Rosewill AIOLOS (Cont’d)

Figure 7 illustrates the base of the cooler. The heatpipes touch the CPU directly. The surface is not polished enough for a mirror-like look.

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Figure 7: Base

Figure 8 shows the PWM compatible 120 mm fan that comes with the cooler.

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Figure 8: Fan

Figure 9 reveals the heatsink with the fan installed. The rubber holders make the installation easy and also help absorb the fan’s vibration.

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Figure 9: Fan installed

Installation

As you can see in Figure 10, the cooler comes with the stock-type brackets for use with sockets LGA775, LGA1155, LGA1156, and LGA 1366 that are already installed.

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Figure 10: Preinstalled brackets

Figure 11 shows a clip for use with AMD processors (at the left), as well as two brackets and four spring-loaded screws for use with LGA2011 CPUs.

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Figure 11: AMD and LGA2011 hardware

Figure 12 shows the Rosewill AIOLOS installed on our system.

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Figure 12: Cooler installed

How We Tested

We tested the cooler with a Core i5-2500K CPU (quad-core, 3.3 GHz), which is a socket LGA1155 processor with a 95 W TDP (Thermal Design Power). In order to get higher thermal dissipation, we overclocked it to 4.0 GHz (100 MHz base clock and x40 multiplier), with 1.3 V core voltage (Vcore). This CPU was able to reach 4.8 GHz with its default core voltage, but at this setting, the processor enters thermal throttling when using mainstream coolers, reducing the clock and thus the thermal dissipation. This could interfere with the temperature readings, so we chose to maintain a moderate overclocking.

We measured noise and temperature with the CPU under full load. In order to get 100% CPU usage in all cores, we ran Prime 95 25.11 with the “In-place Large FFTs” option. (In this version, the software uses all available threads.)

We compared the tested cooler to other coolers we already tested, and to the stock cooler that comes with the Core i5-2500K CPU. Note that the results cannot be compared to measures taken on a different hardware configuration, so we retested some “old” coolers with this new methodology. This means you can find different values in older reviews than the values you will read on the next page. Every cooler was tested with the thermal compound that comes with it.

Room temperature measurements were taken with a digital thermometer. The core temperature was read with the SpeedFan program (available from the CPU thermal sensors), using an arithmetic average of the core temperature readings.

During the tests, the panels of the computer case were closed. The front and rear case fans were spinning at minimum speed in order to simulate the “normal” cooler use on a well-ventilated case. We assume that is the common setup used by a cooling enthusiast or overclocker.

The sound pressure level (SPL) was measured with a digital noise meter, with its sensor placed near the top opening of the case. This measurement is only for comparison purposes, because a precise SPL measurement needs to be made inside an acoustically insulated room with no other noise sources, which is not the case here.

Hardware Configuration

• Processor: Core i5-2500K
• Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z
• Memory: 6 GB OCZ (DDR3-1600/PC3-12800), configured at 1,600 MHz and 8-8-8-18 timings
• Hard disk: Seagate Barracuda XT 2 TB
• Video card: Point of View GeForce GTX 460 1 GB
• Video resolution: 1920x1080
• Video monitor: Samsung SyncMaster P2470HN
• Power supply: Seventeam ST-550P-AM
• Case:  Cooler Master HAF 922

Operating System Configuration

• Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit SP1

Software Used

• Prime95
• SpeedFan

Error Margin

We adopted a 2°C error margin, meaning temperature differences below 2°C are considered irrelevant.

Our Tests

The table below presents the results of our measurements. We repeated the same test on all coolers listed below. Each measurement was taken with the CPU at full load. In the models with a fan supporting PWM, the motherboard controlled the fan speed according to core load and temperature. On coolers with an integrated fan controller, the fan was set at the full speed.

Cooler	Room Temp.	Noise	Speed	Core Temp.	Temp. Diff.
Cooler Master Hyper TX3	18 °C	50 dBA	2850 rpm	69 °C	51 °C
Corsair A70	23 °C	51 dBA	2000 rpm	66 °C	43 °C
Corsair H100	26 °C	62 dBA	2000 rpm	64 °C	38 °C
EVGA Superclock	26 °C	57 dBA	2550 rpm	67 °C	41 °C
NZXT HAVIK 140	20 °C	46 dBA	1250 rpm	65 °C	45 °C
Thermalright True Spirit 120	26 °C	42 dBA	1500 rpm	82 °C	56 °C
Zalman CNPS12X	26 °C	43 dBA	1200 rpm	71 °C	45 °C
Zalman CNPS9900 Max	20 °C	51 dBA	1700 rpm	62 °C	42 °C
Titan Fenrir Siberia Edition	22 °C	50 dBA	2400 rpm	65 °C	43 °C
SilenX EFZ-120HA5	18 °C	44 dBA	1500 rpm	70 °C	52 °C
Noctua NH-L12	20 °C	44 dBA	1450 rpm	70 °C	50 °C
Zalman CNPS8900 Extreme	21 °C	53 dBA	2550 rpm	71 °C	50 °C
Gamer Storm Assassin	15 °C	48 dBA	1450 rpm	58 °C	43 °C
Deepcool Gammaxx 400	15 °C	44 dBA	1500 rpm	60 °C	45 °C
Cooler Master TPC 812	23 °C	51 dBA	2350 rpm	66 °C	43 °C
Deepcool Gammaxx 300	18 °C	43 dBA	1650 rpm	74 °C	56 °C
Intel stock cooler	18 °C	41 dBA	2000 rpm	97 °C	79 °C
Xigmatek Praeton	19 °C	52 dBA	2900 rpm	83 °C	64 °C
Noctua NH-U12P SE2	18 °C	42 dBA	1300 rpm	69 °C	51 °C
Deepcool Frostwin	24 °C	46 dBA	1650 rpm	78 °C	54 °C
Thermaltake Frio Advanced	13 °C	56 dBA	2000 rpm	62 °C	49 °C
Xigmatek Dark Knight Night Hawk Edition	9 °C	48 dBA	2100 rpm	53 °C	44 °C
Thermaltake Frio Extreme	21 °C	53 dBA	1750 rpm	59 °C	38 °C
Noctua NH-U9B SE2	12 °C	44 dBA	1700 rpm	64 °C	52 °C
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Pro	15 °C	54 dBA	2000 rpm	52 °C	37 °C
Deepcool Fiend Shark	18 °C	45 dBA	1500 rpm	74 °C	56 °C
Arctic Freezer i30	13 °C	42 dBA	1350 rpm	63 °C	50 °C
Spire TME III	8 °C	46 dBA	1700 rpm	70 °C	62 °C
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Performer	11 °C	54 dBA	2000 rpm	49 °C	38 °C
Arctic Alpine 11 PLUS	11 °C	45 dBA	2000 rpm	82 °C	71 °C
be quiet! Dark Rock 2	10 °C	41 dBA	1300 rpm	58 °C	48 °C
Phanteks PH-TC14CS	16 °C	47 dBA	1300 rpm	58 °C	42 °C
Phanteks PH-TC14PE	16 °C	48 dBA	1300 rpm	57 °C	41 °C
SilverStone HE01 (Q)	19 °C	44 dBA	1150 rpm	63 °C	44 °C
SilverStone HE01 (P)	20 °C	57 dBA	2050 rpm	62 °C	42 °C
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Extreme (S)	17 °C	44 dBA	1250 rpm	52 °C	35 °C
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Extreme (E)	17 °C	53 dBA	1900 rpm	50 °C	33 °C
Deepcool Neptwin	11 °C	46 dBA	1500 rpm	56 °C	45 °C
SilverStone HE02	19 °C	49 dBA	2000 rpm	64 °C	45 °C
Zalman CNPS9900DF	23 °C	45 dBA	1400 rpm	68 °C	45 °C
Deepcool ICE BLADE PRO V2.0	22 °C	43 dBA	1500 rpm	67 °C	45 °C
Phanteks PH-TC90LS	24 °C	47 dBA	2600 rpm	95 °C	71 °C
Rosewill AIOLOS	20 °C	40 dBA	1600 rpm	94 °C	74 °C

In the graph below, you can see how many degrees Celsius hotter the CPU core is than the air outside the case. The lower this difference, the better is the performance of the cooler.

In the graph below, you can see how many decibels of noise each cooler makes.

 

Main Specifications

The main specifications for the Rosewill AIOLOS CPU cooler include:

• Application: Sockets LGA775, LGA1155, LGA1156, LGA1366, LGA2011, AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1, and FM2
• Dimensions: 4.7 x 3.4 x 6.2 inches (120 x 87 x 158 mm) (W x L x H)
• Fins: Aluminum
• Base: Direct-touch heatpipes
• Heat-pipes: Four 6-mm copper heatpipes
• Fan: 120 mm
• Nominal fan speed: 1,600 rpm
• Fan air flow: 50.54 cfm
• Power consumption: 3.12 W
• Nominal noise level: 24.6 dBA
• Weight: 1.34 Lb (609 g)
• More information: http://www.rosewill.com
• Average price in the U.S.*: USD 39.00

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.

Conclusions

In our tests, the Rosewill AIOLOS was simply the quietest CPU cooler we tested on our current testing system. And, using the stock-like mounting system, it is also very simple to install.

However, the cooling performance presented by the sample we tested was very poor, being worse than some really small coolers we tested. It was only better than the stock cooler.

For its poor cooling performance, all we can say about the Rosewill AIOLOS CPU cooler is “forget about it.”