DeepCool reached out and sent the new AG620 G2, their second iteration of their budget dual tower cooler. In this review, we’ll testing the cooler and see how it holds up as a follow up, as well as compare it with the AK620, as there’s an uncanny resemblance to it.
Table of Contents
AG620 G2 Package and Design
The AG620 G2 comes in a plain white box with the cooler’s branding printed on, as opposed to the AK series boxes that come in a sleeved brown box. By the way we have uploaded an unboxing video over at the Digital Reg FB page to see the contents. Here is the official media images for the AG620 G2
Cooler Packaging
Inside the box, we have a small accessories box, and the AG620 G2 in protective foam. The included items in the accessories box are mounting brackets for Intel and AMD CPUs. The Intel mounting brackets are longer, with black spacers and AMD mounting brackets are short with gray spacers. One thing different/nice about the motherboard backplate is the pre-installed double-sided tape. Also, the mounting brackets are compatible with the AK series (AK620 AND ASSASSIN IV) coolers, making installation flexible.
DeepCool includes a packet of thermal paste (not in a syringe) for the AG620. However, this review copy does not have it due to changes in customs policies as per our contact in DeepCool. Rest assured, retail packages will have it.
[Having a double-sided tape is a smart hack used when doing CPU maintenance work like changing CPU as we need to remove the cooler brackets to gain access to the locking arm of the CPU socket cover. Removing the brackets tend to loosen connection to the bottom mount and it will fall off. Having double sided tape avoids the mount from falling off.]
AG620 G2 Cooler Design
The AG620 G2 cooler design follows the original AG620, and AK620’s fin design having a rounded corner at the cooler’s rear, and a bare aluminum finish. It also lacks the AK620 G2’s sawtooth edge (see the DeepCool AK620 G2 Nyx Digital Review) at the rear of the front fin stack.
Now, what makes the AG620 G2 deviate from the original AK620 design is the CPU block section having fins, a sort of extra heatsink at the cpu block and it has redesigned retention bracket for its screws. It shares the same six-heat pipe setup as the AK620 for efficient transfer of heat from the base to the fin stacks. However, the heat pipe setup now uses the DeepCool Core Touch Technology, which places the tubes closer together thanks to the tubes being re-shaped into squares on the CPU block. It certainly did go up as a G2 design with this update.
The original AG620 had an uncovered metal top with the end of the heat pipes showing up. This time, DeepCool had it covered with a plastic top. It’s not the same finish as the original AK620’s, having a rougher pixel texture and a full DeepCool logo at the rearmost fin stack.
New FD12 Fans
The installed fans on the AG620 G2 are of a different design. Its fan blades have the same design as their contemporary fan design that started with the FK series, but with all the blades now connected to a thin ring, which reduces turbulence. It still uses a fluid dynamic bearing to connect the fan with a motor having a lower rated current. It is a model DF12025CM fan but having a subvariant of the known model FD12 V2, which has a lower current rating of 0.15A vs 0.40A of the actual FD12 V2. But other variance is that this version retains the lightweight ribbed frame, and a smaller diameter motor hub and fan blade design as mentioned.
It’s different from the AK620 G2’s which uses the DF12025CH. At first, the DF12025CH appears as a subvariant of the known FD12 V1, without the daisy chain socket, and lower current rating than the original FD12. The original FD12 also has the model number DF12025CM, which is confusing. Actual testing will most show how well the new fans perform. It may look like a cheaper fan like having ‘less’ material on the frame, smaller hub design and even smaller rubber grommets for the mounting holes but balance with the design may mean something as why it’s a newer version.
Performance Review
With the performance testing, I’ve used my Intel Core i5 12th Gen 12600KF on ASUS ROG STRIX Z790A-D4 motherboard as this is the current high TDP CPU I have that can go to 5GHz (can go to a max of 5.3GHz but has a tendency to run into stability issues). FanXpert 4 settings are still the same, except for changing around the sensor references for the motherboard VRM and chipset, which triggers the case fans to ramp-up even on idle. This was the cause of the noise when testing the AK620 G2 NYX.
Installation
The great thing with DeepCool’s dual tower air cooler design is that their model lineup all shares the same mounting brackets. That being said, I’m using the ASSASSIN IV VC’s mounting kit for this setup. I also found it easier to align the screws of the mounting bracket to the cooler’s retention bracket which we screw in. This brings flexibility on upgrades (or in this case, downgrades) for testing. Thermal paste used is the Arctic MX4 to make it standard across other coolers.
Read More: DeepCool AK620 G2 NYX Digital Review: 2nd Gen Stacks all the Good Things
ReadMore: Review: The DeepCool ASSASSIN IV is already Good, But the New ASSASSIN VC Elite WH Goes Further
Noise Levels
Noise levels of the AG620 G2 in actual use with other case fans is good at around 44dB on idle and around 50-55B at full speed. It does, however, have a slightly higher noise level based on the reported measured noise. But basing on user observations, it’s negligible.
Cooling Performance
Onto the actual cooling performance of the AG620 G2. Using Cinebench R23 at 10min throttling test, the maximum recorded temperature is at 97 degrees Celsius. The average during the run is around 92 degrees, around 10+ degrees higher than the AK620 G2’s (using the same FanXpert 4 settings). While the average is definitely higher, it still manages the CPU from not throttling. So, in terms of performance, it’s still a win for a budget cooler. And being used for budget builds, a user may be using a similar mid-range CPU such as this test, which doesn’t overclock to a very high speed.
Of course, getting a CPU with more cores may lead to a hotter temperature reading due to having more running CPU cores, so adjustments may have to be made. Maximum achieved fan speed (100%) is at 2112RPM for the AG620 G2 fan.
For idle temps, the AG620 manages it very well, almost having similar minimum temps as the AK620 G2 Nyx normalized at around upper 35-45+ degrees Celsius on average. It can be due to the improved fan design used by the AG620 G2 which is a stronger/better design on spec. Only the ASSASSIN IV VC with its big tower fin stack and Vapor Chamber has the capacity to pull it down to the low 30s range.
Conclusion
And as we have seen, DeepCool’s AG620 G2 is a budget CPU Cooler, but with updates applied with knowledge gained from their previous model and other coolers. While it retains the same fin stack design as the original and probably the AK620’s, there are improvements on the CPU block having a wider metal retention bracket for added strength. Other improvements came with additional fins on top of the base. Interestingly, the new model fans included gave some helping hand in good cooling at high CPU loads.
For a budget CPU cooler, there were some concessions made to keep costs down, but the important aspect of the cooler (the ability to provide ample cooling) is present. The secret lay in retaining the proven design of the AG620/AK620 cooler’s fins, and adding some extra fins on the CPU block, and the Core Touch Technology 2.0 for its heat pipes, while having equipped with the newer/improved variation of the FD12 fans. It doesn’t have DeepCreative Support for smart fan tuning, but that’s probably DeepCool’s way of drawing a line between their model lineups.
The DeepCool AG620 comes in both black and white colors, and an ARGB model as well. We haven’t been supplied with prices yet, but given it’s a budget cooler, it shouldn’t breach the Php 3,000 SRP range (for the base AG620 G2 at least).
