Page 4 - Conclusion
The SilverStone XED120S is an interesting cooler, given its industrial server roots converted to consumer applications. Its 145mm height is compact, and the six 6mm diameter heatpipes combined with a 30mm thick fan aims to max out its performance for the form factor. During my testing, it performed well in cooling my midrange AMD CPU for both the idle and load tests. It produced a large amount of airflow despite only operating with one fan. The visual design is no frills with the matte silver top cover. The nickel-plated heatpipes and contact plate further match the raw color scheme, while also adding corrosion protection. As for the installation, the instructions are easy to follow with a very straightforward process. However, there are a few downsides to note. The first one is the loud noise it produces. The CPU air cooler market is incredibly competitive, and most of them are much quieter, especially at full load. The other improvement would be to wrap the fan PWM cable with electrical insulation to make it more visually pleasing. A tube of thermal paste would be a nice addition to allow for multiple installs. Lastly, perhaps a bit picky, the package design could be improved to look more pleasant. At press time, the SilverStone XED120S can be bought for $155, which is truly some change. For this price, you will be able to find other options better suited for PC use, including other SilverStone options, if you are not limited to this specific form factor. Overall, the SilverStone XED120S is a great choice as a solid performance cooler, but only if you are looking for something in this shape and size.
SilverStone provided this product to APH Networks for the purposes of evaluation.
APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
6/10 means A product with its advantages, but drawbacks should not be ignored before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 6.5/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The SilverStone XED120S is a great performing CPU air cooler that has industrial server roots converted to consumer applications, but watch out for the noise under load.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Installation and Test Results
4. Conclusion
