Performance

Test System

All testing is done at a room temperature of 20°C (68°F), with a 1°C margin of error. The coolers are tested with Turbo, EIST, and C1E enabled, which will allow the CPU to clock down to a low 1.6 GHz while idle, or clock up to proper speeds under stock and overclocked conditions. With the use of XMP, the Intel i7 3960X ES chip I used for testing runs at 3.6 GHz under stock load. Overclocked, the chip is set to 4.1 GHz at 1.225 volts. During all these tests, fans are set to run at 100% in the BIOS, with temperatures being recorded by AIDA64.

The idle test will consist of the CPU sitting idle at the desktop for 15 minutes. This will allow for a stable temperature reading that will be recorded at the end of those 15 minutes.

AIDA64 and its CPU-stability test represent a typical multithreaded user load. It is run for 15 minutes before the highest reading during the test is recorded and taken as the result. This test lets enthusiasts know what temperatures they can expect to see with games and applications.

Prime95 is the multithreaded stress test I will use to find the cooler's temperatures at maximum load. This is done by using the "In-place large FFTs" setting to truly stress the cooler's ability at keeping temperatures in check. The test is run for 15 minutes, and the highest recorded temperature is taken as the result.

Fan noise testing is done at 20%, 50%, and 100% settings, and the dBA level is recorded by a Pyle PSPL25 sound pressure level meter at a distance of 30 cm. Fan RPM results are taken at the same 20%, 50%, and 100% settings.

Idle

When sitting idle, the Silverstone Argon AR03 performs as expected during the stock tests. Overclocked tests left me surprised. The Argon AR03 managed to take fourth place in the charts; just 1°C away from tying the top three.

Typical Load

The Silverstone Argon AR03 again performs surprisingly well under more typical loads. At stock, it falls into the middle of the pack by coming in 1°C behind the Corsair H90 and tying the dual-fan Phanteks PH-TC12DX. When overclocked, we see the Argon AR03 fall back, but it again ties the dual-fan Phanteks PH-TC12DX with a temperature of 60°C.

Max Load

This is where the Silverstone Argon AR03 truly surprised me. As a single-fan cooler, I did not expect its performance to hold up during this test. However, it did more than hold up by tying the Corsair H90 with ease during overclock testing and coming in behind the Corsair H90 by just 1°C at stock clock speeds. Apperantly, Silverstone knew what they were doing when they recommended the Argon AR03 for socket LGA2011 and LGA1366 systems. To be blunt, this $49.99 CPU cooler just showed up some of its rivals with nearly double the price tag.

Fan Noise

When it comes to noise output, the Silverstone Argon AR03 does not disappoint. It is not the quietest cooler I have tested, but noise levels of 40dBA at 20% through to 47dBA at 100% make it fall into the middle of the pack. This is only half the story as the dBA to RPM ratio is fantastic when looking at fan speeds since the fan spins at 2170 RPM at 100%. This makes the Silverstone AS1225H12 one exceptional fan. I in fact tested the distance at which I could feel air as it pushes through the heatsink, and I could still feel a gentle flow of air from the fan at a distance of up to 5 feet. Silverstone needs to pat themselves on the back for their choice of fan with this cooler. I just wish they had included two.