SilverStone SST-AR06 Low-profile CPU Cooler Review

Performance

The SilverStone AR06 is very low profile, has a small 92mm fan and is designed to perform with a balance between cooling effectiveness and noise. I was very surprised at how well this cooler did whilst under load when the CPU was at stock, with a delta temperature of only 16 degrees it stands up well against the big boys. Although the fan is small, it has a hefty 2500 RPM rating and it shows.

Unfortunately, when we overclocked the CPU, the fan just wasn’t powerful enough and there just wasn’t enough surface area to cool the CPU as well as the larger coolers. This is to be expected, as you won’t see many low profile CPU coolers when overclocking and considering that I have put this against some AIOs and some very large names, its still held its own. Coming in at 66 degrees your still not in the danger zone.

This is where the AR06 has stepped up its game. With a load dB reading of only 38 it’s very quiet and comes out on top. This is due to the fans very simple yet effective design. Im very impressed with this. Its perfect for a HTPC where you really don’t want a loud fan whirring away whilst you’re trying to watch your favourite film.

Again however, when the CPU is overclocked it just struggles to keep up. You can hear the PWM fan start to crank up as the test is carried out. With higher fan speeds come higher dB readings. It is a lot to ask such a small cooler to handle and it still holds its own. At 48dB under load, it’s certainly not something that you couldn’t live with, but it is audible.