Corsair A50 Review - PAGE 2

The Corsair A50 comes packaged in a cardboard cube, with a large closeup of the finned array on the front. Under the picture of the array you will find the cooler's series, model number and a listing of the supported sockets.

The back panel of the packaging consists of a small explanation of the A50's benefits, but it is written in multiple languages so it spans across the whole panel. Also at the top there is a graphic showing the performance difference between the A50 and Stock Intel cooler when used with a Intel i7 965 processor.

The Corsair A50 is actually a relatively thin heatsink measuring just 159.5 x 124.6 x 81.2 mm.This makes the cooler quite a bit smaller than the behemoth coolers found in the enthusiast market, but it still has an efficient design with three copper U shape heatpipes traveling through an aluminum finned array.

The Corsair A50 uses three 8mm copper heatpipes that make direct contact with the processor. Using this method the A50 does not rely on a thick base to transfer the heat to the pipes, and instead absorbs it straight into the heatpipe where it more quickly travels up to the finned array.

The fan that comes with the heatsink is a 120mm Corsair fan that spins at 2000rpm and uses a 3-pin power connector. With the fan spinning at max it pushes 61.2 CFM with a dBA rating of 31.5. For those sensitive to noise, the A50 comes with an adapter that can lower the fan speed to 1600rpm, which will reduce the noise level. However, it will also decrease the airflow and cooling performance.

Placing the fan on the A50 was easy and took just a few seconds to do. This is thanks to the fan shroud, which secures the fan to the heatsink without the use of metal clips. Additionally the fan is mounted with anti-vibration rubber grommets, which will reduce vibration and sound levels.