[section_title title=”Conclusion”]
Conclusion
Having previously reviewed the brilliant ITX3o cooler from Cooltek, expectations were high from the LP53. Now it is time to get into the meat of the review now and let you guys know that my thoughts and feelings were on the LP53.
Much like the brilliant ITX30 that were previously looked at, the key to the LP53 is its use of copper. Copper offers far greater heat dissipation than the aluminium, nickel or brass used by other manufacturers. This in turn means that the smaller heat sink can match the performance of a larger heat sink which is made up of other elements. Everything in the heat sink of the LP53 is made of copper, whether that be the contact plate, the heat pipes or the fin array. All of this, teamed up with a larger fan and Cooltek’s meticulous attention to detail means that this small heat sink is able to punch well above its weight and compete with much larger coolers.
When you look at the performance, there is no other way to put it. The Cooltek LP53 destroyed the opposition in the low profile cooler market and was even able to compete with some larger coolers from well know brands. This is particularly impressive when you look as some of the other offerings in the low profile cooler market, which are larger and have more complicated mountings than the LP53. In all our tests the LP53 out performed other small form factor coolers whether that was in performance or silence. The LP53 was almost inaudible throughout the tests and the margins in noise were so small compared to the competition that they were negatable.
Installation of the LP53 much like the ITX30, could not be any simpler. simply use the four screws with the plastic washers provided and the cooler is attached. All without the need for a fiddly mounting system or a back plate, which is never needed with a cooler of this size as weight is not an issue.
With the LP53 and ITX30, Cooltek have made a statement that they have a very good handle on the small form factor cooling solution. The LP53 offers class leading cooling and acoustic performance for its size, excellent build quality and exceptionally easy installation. With prices rumoured to be just under £40, which is not unreasonable for a cooler of this size and performance, I feel that the Cooltek LP53 is worth every penny and a must have for any small form factor build and as such is fully deserving of our Editor’s Choice award.
I would like to thank Cooltek for the review sample and look forward to seeing more from them in the future.
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Performance
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Design
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Value
Summary
Cooltek have improved on the massivly impressive ITX30 cooler and turned the LP53 into the best in class, small form factor cooler. This truly is a must have for anyone planning on building a HTPC or small form factor build and fully deserves its awards and praise.
Great write up, convinced me to pick one up.
This is the perfect little cooler for my ASRock Phantom Gaming ITX build. I had to remove some of the stock heatsinks (and replace with smaller copper ones of course) but it was a perfect fit. This is the kinda cooler that makes the 155x mounting system on an AM4 socket worthwhile!