Corsair a500 review in Spanish (full analysis)

Corsair returns to the world of air cooling with a new creation that has not left us indifferent. The Corsair A500 is not only a heatsink to use, but even the smallest detail has been thought in its construction. An example of this is its excellent aesthetics, its compatibility or the ability to modify the height of the two ML120 fans it integrates.

A single tower 250W TDP heatsink, but quite tall as it measures no less than 169mm in height with the fans mounted. So we'll see how it performs on Intel's X299 platform with the i9-7900X. Without further ado, let's get started!

But first, we have to thank Corsair for giving us this nice heatsink for our in-depth analysis.

Corsair A500 technical characteristics

Unboxing

The Corsair A500 comes in a box of large dimensions according to what the heatsink occupies, which will surprise more than one. In it we have an image of the heatsink completely mounted on the main face, while at the back we have more photos with its measurements and information about its characteristics.

Inside we have enough to take out and surely we will never manage to leave everything as perfect as it comes. Then we find the heatsink and its fans fully assembled and perfectly tucked into a clear plastic sandwich mold. On top of everything we have a small cardboard box that stores the rest of accessories.

In this bundle we will find the following elements:

Corsair A500 Heatsink 2x Mounted Corsair ML120 Fans Mounting Kit for Intel and AMD Sockets Mounting Screws 1g Thermal Paste Syringe LNA Cable for Fans Star Driver Screwdriver Installation Guide

Of course, the metal backplate for Intel sockets and all AMD adapters for your own backplate are included. Let's notice that all the bags are perfectly identified with signs to know what we have to mount on which socket. Very well thought out, gentlemen of Corsair.

Block design

First of all, we are going to explore and explain all the details and the design that this Corsair A500 proposes to us. It is a single-block heatsink, but one that is very large without the fans installed, specifically we are talking about 137 mm wide, 103 mm long (or vice versa) and attention, 169 mm high. Let's think that most mid and low range chassis on the market are at most wide enough for 165mm high heatsinks, so we must pay close attention to this fact.

With the previous capture we see that this tower is built in excellent quality aluminum and with a large number of fins placed horizontally, like most heatsinks that require a transverse air flow. We also see that 4 nickel-plated copper heatpipes on each side are responsible for maintaining the structure and distributing the heat captured in the CPU throughout this block. The dissipation capacity rises to 250W, at the level of liquid cooling.

But perhaps the most important thing about the Corsair A500 in terms of design, is that a plastic structure with 4 rails has been installed in the corners. Its function is to allow us to install the two fans at the ends in an amazingly simple way. And not only that, but we can also move them up or down according to the profile of our memory modules.

In normal position it supports a height of 45 mm, but if we move it upwards we can put any memory under it. Of course, keep in mind that the height of the set will increase so it will no longer be 169 mm but at least 179 or even more. And the measurements with the two fans installed rises to 144 mm wide, 171 mm long and 169 mm high, since each fan occupies 25 mm more than is necessary for its installation.

We do not want to leave the upper area behind, because in it we have a plate made of brushed aluminum, but with a grayish copper color that will serve to cover the entire fastening system of the fans. We can remove it and put it in an easy way, just by pulling with our fingers. In it we do not have any type of lighting, but it gives a sensational and very Premium appearance to the set.

Nor does it lack its respective Corsair logo or a metal grill that will allow air to enter and exit. Keep in mind that temporarily we will have to remove it in order to fix the heatsink to the socket with the screws.

Now we go to the bottom of the Corsair A500, where we see a cold plate of a relatively standard size. This will smoothly cover the IHS of an AMD Ryzen or an Intel Core i9 X-series, but not beyond that. Throughout the area we have the thermal paste pre-applied in a way that gives us an even distribution throughout the processor. Just in case, Corsair has included a small 1 g syringe of its XTM50 thermal paste, for maintenance or for future mounting on our plates.

We can also clearly see how the copper heatpipes are what make up the cold plate itself, being in direct contact with the CPU to improve heat transfer. In total we have 4, which are divided on each side forming 8 rods distributed throughout the block.

Corsair ML120 fans

In Corsair A500 includes two Corsair ML120 fans already installed, one of the best sellers by the manufacturer thanks to its performance for this type of solutions and thermal and liquid cooling. Of course one is installed to draw air into the block and the other to remove it and expel it.

Although it is a fairly well integrated system in terms of installation, we will not have problems removing it at any given time and being able to install the fans that we believe are appropriate. And it is that in each frame, the fans are installed with their four corresponding screws as a traditional assembly. As long as they are 120 × 120 mm we will ensure compatibility.

The most important of them will be the benefits that they are going to give us, being fans that use a magnetic levitation (ML) system to rotate. The good thing about this system is that it offers greater durability than the bearings, with a 5-year warranty for those purchased independently, currently we find them in a pack of 2 for 26 euros.

And in this 120x120x25 mm version we have fans that are compatible with PWM control and turning between 400 and 2400 RPM. Their air flow at maximum speed rises to 75 CFM, not being too high, but their static pressure of up to 4.2 mmH2O. Being then fans oriented to heatsinks that generate a noise of 37 dBA that certainly is not little.

In this basic version we do not have iCUE compatibility nor integrated RGB lighting.

Mounting and compatibility

And now we only have to see in more detail the installation method of the Corsair A500, which we have made on the LGA 2066 platform, one of the simplest.

In our case we will use the adapters for this platform, which consists of two plates that are installed on 4 screws that raise the plane of the heatsink to place it at the CPU level. In turn, the block will only need two screws to fix it to these plates and will be in perfect contact with the IHS. These two screws have a pressure washer that limits the depth of the thread and a spring to control the pressure that is exerted on the processor.

To screw the system, a screwdriver has been included with the right size to access them from above. To do it correctly we will have to remove the metal trim from the top of the heatsink, as shown in the image.

As a review, we will have compatibility with the following sockets:

Intel: LGA 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 2011, 2011-v3, and 2066 AMD: AM2 / +, AM3 / +, and AM4

Only the TRX4 and TRX40 are left out as the current socket of the Threadrippers and the sockets of previous generations that are already discontinued.

With the installation carried out, we can see how huge the heatsink is, almost completely occupying the motherboard used despite being a single block. We really liked the fact that we can easily raise the fans to fit the Corsair Dominator memories, which have a very high heatsink.

The finish is great from our point of view, worthy of a high / premium range, so let's see if the temperature results justify the performance.

Performance testing with the Corsair A500

After assembly, it is time to show the temperature results with this Corsair A500 in our test bench, which consists of the following elements:

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel Core i9-7900X
Base plate:	Asus X299 Prime Deluxe
Memory:	32GB Corsair Dominator @ 3600 MHz
Heatsink	Corsair A500
Graphic card	EVGA RTX 2080 Super
Power supply	Corsair AX860i

To test the performance of this heatsink with its two fans installed, we have subjected our Intel Core i9-7900X to a stress process with Prime95 for a total of 48 uninterrupted hours and at its stock speed. The entire process has been monitored by the HWiNFO x64 software to show the minimum, maximum and average temperature throughout the process.

We must also take into account the ambient temperature, which we have permanently maintained at 24 ° C.

The results reflect that it is one of the best single-block heatsinks that we have had in our hands, with temperatures at rest practically the same as those of the environment with 26 ^o C.

When we stress the set during this long time we will find an average at the height of liquid cooling systems such as the Corsair H60 and other more forceful ones such as the Orij 240 from Raijintek. It even surpasses some recently tested as the Assassin III that has a double block almost traced to the Noctua D15.

And finally in the temperature peaks we also have a system under control and never exceeding 80 ^o C. We believe that with 5 heatpipes or 6 instead of 4, the system would have obtained a better response to sudden temperature rises, by having more heat transport elements, but it is not a disadvantage at all with these figures.

Final words and conclusion about Corsair A500

Surely the most outstanding thing about this heatsink is the care with which it was created. We have a single block heatsink with excellent finishes and a fairly Premium design. In it an aluminum plate has been used in the upper area that shows a discreet and elegant set on all sides.

And this is also in part thanks to the fixing system used for the fans. The manufacturer has taken advantage of the integral frame system to place some rails and allow the fans to be moved upwards and thus make it compatible with all types of RAM, no matter how high they are.

The only aspect to take into account is the enormous height we have in your block, which is no less than 169 mm and more if we lift the fans upwards. Not all chassis offer such width and this reduces versatility a bit.

We recommend our guide to the best heatsinks on the market

In terms of performance, we are above some liquid cooling systems of 120 and 240 mm, in addition to other double-block heatsinks of similar cost and by far with worse aesthetics. An average 10C / 20T CPU with spikes below 80 ° C has been maintained at around 63 oC on average.

This in part is also due to the Corsair ML120, two high-end, high- static-pressure fans optimized for heatsinks, whose separate pack would be worth € 26. The fixing system is compatible with all types of 120mm fans, in case we want to change them for RGB ones.

Its compatibility is also quite wide, ensuring its installation in all current sockets except Threadripper. To this we must add the simple installation system of the set, and everything perfectly explained and screen printed on the different accessory bags.

Finally, the price at which this Corsair A500 heatsink will be placed on the market is around 100 euros. It is not exactly cheap, but keep in mind that it is competing with others that we also find for a similar price and a somewhat rougher design. So you get a deserved platinum for what you offer us.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ PREMIUM DESIGN AND AESTHETICS	- REQUIRES LARGE CHASSIS
+ PERFORMANCE ON UNLOCKED CPUs	- COST
+ ML1220 QUALITY FANS
+ SYSTEM FOR MOVING FANS TO DIFFERENT HEIGHTS
+ QUALITY IN FINISHES AND WELDS