Final Thoughts
As we come to the end of this review I am pulled in two different directions when it comes to the Corsair A500. For one Corsair has done a lot right with this cooler. The biggest thing for me is ease of installation. Installing air coolers can be a pain, especially ones of this size, but it literally took me 5 minutes to get this cooler installed in our AM4 system. The ability to install the cooler with the fans attached and the whole fan attachment mechanism is something the entire industry needs to take a look at. I absolutely hate the wire fan clips so it is good to see Corsair do something different that is also functional. The cooler itself looks pretty amazing too, again something other companies should take notes on. I love the removable top-cap too, which also gives you easy access to install the cooler.
In term of performance this cooler is towards the top of our test group, but it was beat out by the Noctua NH-U12A, Scythe Ninja 5, and Cooler Master MasterAir MA620M. The difference in results is only about 2 degrees so this is a top-performing air cooler in our tests. On thing to note is that the Cooler Master MasterAir AM620M is able to beat the A500 with only a single fan. That is another thing about this cooler, during load the fans are a bit loud, definitely louder than other fans we’ve seen on coolers before. Another thing to consider is that this cooler is pretty massive, it is definitely one of the largest CPU cooler we’ve reviewed this year and the fans will cover your memory. The Noctua NH-U12A is smaller and does not cover your memory. With that said I still think the performance of the A500 is great.
Corsair has priced this cooler to compete with those other coolers we have listed as it is currently selling for $99.99 at our favorite online retailer. I think at the end of the day Corsair has a good cooler in the A500, it just has some very good competition out there. I hope we see more air coolers from Corsair in the future. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Corsair A500 CPU Cooler an 8 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Easy installation
– Great performance
– Sleek design
– Fan attachment and sliding mechanism
– Pre-applied TIM
– Extra TIM included
Cons:
– Other similarly-priced coolers perform better
– Quite large and will cover your memory
