Introduction
On the bench today is the Iceberg Thermal IceSLEET X5. It is part of Iceberg Thermal’s IceSLEET series, of which we have previously reviewed the IceSLEET X7 and the IceSLEET X6. We’ll strap it to our air cooling test platform that is built around a Ryzen 7 2700X processor with a manufacturer claimed TDP of 105W. This should provide a reasonable usage case that we are likely to see with some of today’s most demanding air-cooled CPU coolers.
Iceberg Thermal IceSLEET X5 Overview
The Iceberg Thermal IceSLEET X5 cooler is an air cooler that is designed to work on a wide variety of sockets, including Intel’s LGA775/115x/1200/1366/2011-0/2011-3/2066 and AMD’s AM2(+)/AM3(+)/AM4/FM1/FM2(+). While this covers most high-end desktop processors, it is not compatible with the Threadripper’s TR4 socket (which is probably a good thing given its rated 160W maximum dissipation).
Heatsink
The IceSLEET X5 sports five heat pipes that are 6mm in diameter.
The Iceberg Thermal IceSLEET X5 utilizes what Iceberg Thermal calls a large-sized heatsink that covers “the chipset for Maximum Heat Dissipation”. This is in addition to a “Heat pipe architecture design with wide sweeping curves to increase your PC’s performance, allowing the user to overclock”.
The heatsink of the IceSLEET X5 is comprised of a nickel-plated interface and copper heat pipes with aluminum fins.
The fins on the IceSLEET X5 have a unique layout and construction to them as diagrammed above. Instead of the fins being a stacked array, Iceberg Thermal claims to use a completely soldered bond between the fins for “an optimum utilization of the cooler”.
The second unique part of the construction of IceSLEET X5 are the fins themselves. In this case, Iceberg Thermal has gone for a design that utilizes 49 fins that are 0.4mm thick. These fins are spaced 2mm apart for what Iceberg Thermal describes as the “best balance of airflow and surface contact”. Overall, the heatsink weighs in at 852g with the fans. While not as hefty as some other coolers we have seen, it still has a good amount of heft to it.
Fan
The included fans look very similar to Iceberg Thermal’s IceGALE line of fans. The included fan with our heatsink today is 120mm in size. This FDB fan is rated at 0.20A. The listed MTTF is >150,000 hours and when it is found by itself it has a 6-year warranty (versus this HSF units 2 year warranty).
The fan supports a fan speed of 500 to 1850 RPM for the 120mm model at a reported noise level of 0 to 36 dB(A) thanks to the Auto START/STOP feature. The stated airflow maximum is 76 CFM with a static pressure maximum of 2.8 mm H2O. Lastly, this fan uses a 4-pin PWM connector.
The housing for the IceSLEET X5 is definitely different from what we usually see (outside of Iceberg Thermal’s products). The question will be though; is different good?
The fully assembled HSF can be adorned with whatever RGB pattern that you like via the integrated RGB sync ARGB control. This is managed by a 3 pin connector that is good for 0.3A at 5v.
Let’s move on now to our test setup and installation of the Iceberg Thermal IceSLEET X5.