FSP AE36 AIO CPU Cooler Review

1. FSP AE362. Intallation: AM53. Test Results4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

Test System Specifications:

• CPU – AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
• Motherboard – ASRock Phantom Gaming X870E Nova WiFi
• Memory: 32GB (2 x 16GB Modules) Kingston Fury DDR5-6000
• Graphics card: MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X
• Storage: 1TB Corsair MP600 Elite PCIe Gen4x4 NVME M.2 SSD
• Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1000
• Chassis: Open Test Bench
• Thermal Compound: Arctic MX-6
• O/S: Windows 11 Version 24H2

Testing Methodology:

We are primarily focusing on the performance of each cooler at 100% fan speed and also when locked to 40dBA noise output. We will focus on cooling performance using a manual overclock with all-core frequency and VCORE locked to 5.2GHz/1.3v (AMD) and 5.5GHz/1.3v (Intel) and Precision Boost Overdrive performance.

• The test data is logged using HWINFO and the final 10 minutes of the data is calculated to find the average CPU temperature and CPU clock multiplier (AMD PBO Test) and then plotted in the charts.
• For testing, we use a 30-minute looped run of Cinebench R23 and record the steady-state CPU temperature at the end of the test. This ensures that the CPU has had ample time to warm up and reach a steady state under all of the coolers.
• The ambient is maintained at 19-21 degrees Celsius. Where there is variation beyond this temperature range, we add extra repeated tests to ensure consistency. However, this is well controlled now with A/C.
• We also test each cooler with at least two fresh installs (typically three) to mitigate the likelihood of poor mounting spoiling results.
• Ambient temperature and humidity are controlled via a mini split air conditioning system inside the test room. Ambient temperature is maintained between 19-20C, Temperature delta figures are shown in the charts (ambient temperature is deducted from the measured component temperature).

Test Results:

Acoustics

With the fan speed at maximum RPM, the FSP AE36 is at the louder end of the scale but at 2300 RPM max fan speed it's a similar noise level to other coolers with this fan speed.

Thermal Performance: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

With fan speed still maxed out, the FSP AE36 scores a disappointing 65°C over ambient average CPU temperature, which puts it right down towards the foot of the chart. With the high fan speed and noise output we expected better from this cooler.

Tuning noise levels to hit the 40dBA target reduces performance of the AE36, now with an average over ambient CPU temperature of 70°C  it's the lowest thermal performance we have measured so far from a 360mm AIO on the 9950X test system, which is very disappointing.

It's the same story in the PBO test too, the CPU frequency multiplier boost only to 52X average, which is the lowest recorded so far on this test platform. This means when using the AE36 on the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X with PBO enabled you are giving away 60MHz per core performance against the top-performing AIOs.

Become a Patron!