The SilentiumPC Fera 5 CPU Cooler Review: Quiet Cooling on a Budget
by E. Fylladitakis on May 17, 2022 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Cooler
- SilentiumPC
- CPU cooler
Testing Results, Maximum Fan Speed
To begin with, we are having a look at the Fera 5 with the Fluctus 120 mm fan running at its maximum speed.
Despite its compact proportions, the SilentiumPC Fera 5 performs surprisingly well when it has to dissipate low to medium thermal loads. The average thermal resistance of 0.1640 °C/W is about what we'd expect for a mainstream cooler, with the direct heatpipe design giving the Fera 5 an edge when having to cope with low loads. This, in turn, also allows it to rival the performance of much larger and more expensive products at those low loads. However, if the thermal load is high, the cooler is betrayed by its low mass and falls far behind most tower coolers.
| Core Temperature, Constant Thermal Load (Max Fan Speed) |
SilentiumPC is strongly focused on delivering good acoustics and the Fera 5 performs exceptionally well in that aspect. Although the Fluctus 120 mm fan is clearly audible when running at its maximum speed, the noise pressure figures are relatively low and should not bother the vast majority of users.
Testing Results, Low Fan Speed
Switching things up a bit, let's next take a look at cooler performance with the Fluctus 120 mm fan taken down to half speed.
Reducing the speed of the fan to about 900 RPM, the Fera 5 performs equally well regardless of the thermal load, suggesting that the low mass of the cooler strongly benefits from the high airflow of the fan when possible. When the speed of the fan is reduced, the thermal performance of the Fera 5 is mediocre but does not fall much behind other similarly sized coolers.
| Core Temperature, Constant Thermal Load (Low Fan Speed) |
According to the specifications of the Fluctus fan, its speed can be reduced far below 900 RPM – down to 300 RPM, if needed. Regardless, this feels redundant, as the Fera 5 is practically inaudible with the fan running even at 900 RPM. Reducing its speed further would only harm the thermal performance of the cooler without much, if any, acoustic performance gain.
Thermal Resistance VS Sound Pressure Level
During our thermal resistance vs. sound pressure level test, we maintain a steady 100W thermal load and assess the overall performance of the coolers by taking multiple temperature and sound pressure level readings within the operating range of the stock cooling fans. The result is a graph that depicts the absolute thermal resistance of the cooler in comparison to the noise generated. For both the sound pressure level and absolute thermal resistance readings, lower figures are better.
The above chart reveals the actual strength of the SilentiumPC Fera 5. Even though its thermal performance figures are not impressive on their own, the cooler produces very low noise to achieve them. Ultimately, the Fera 5 outperforms other popular mainstream coolers, such as the Cooler Master 212. Other similarly priced coolers, such as the SilverStone AR07, can outperform it but, for the most part, the noise figures are higher. Only premium and/or significantly larger CPU coolers can outclass the Fera 5 across the board.
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Wereweeb - Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - link
Why bother? Provided it's good enough, why pay more than necessary?A lot of people can barely afford to buy non-superfluous components such as a non-stock CPU cooler. And while I'd also rather go for the best if I'm already going out of my way to buy a new cooler, I can see why a lot of people just want a quieter or cooler system and won't gain much from going for *the best*.
aaniyog - Thursday, June 2, 2022 - link
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Meta22 - Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - link
But is it really $20? Here in my country (a south american one) I can get a ID-COOLING SE-224-XT Basic for the equivalent of US$ 28 while a Noctua U12S Redux (no, not the "full-fat" version) goes for $100. So: 98-99% of the Noctua's cooling performance for 28% of the price. And the noise is actually reasonable considering the only part of my PC noisy enough to bother me is my GPU (should've known better than to buy a card from the line named WINDFORCE, heh). Heck, I could replace the Basic's fan with a Noctua NF-P12 Redux ($26 here) and get higher performance at the same noise level compared to the U12SMeta22 - Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - link
Whoops, I accidentally posted before I finished typing. Anyways, what I meant was that even in places where you can get all brands at MSRP the options for budget buyers are often very good and worth buying. I imagine there's more countries like mine where Noctua prices are horribly inflated for whatever reason, too.Mgz - Wednesday, May 18, 2022 - link
I would second the ID-COOLING SE-224-XT option, in my case a South East Asia country so price is even cheaper, around 20$.Also my case is NR200 which the SE-224 fits well.
necroperversor - Thursday, May 19, 2022 - link
Hey, I'm from Poland, so do a company and I want to clarify a few things. Firstly, yes it is really 20$, to be precise Fera 5 Dual Fan cost in poland 150zł = 34$ (VAT included, shipping in country free), and for a single fan version you have to pay 105zł = 24$. For example, I bought dual fan version on not so black friday (polish shops with electronics tends to rise prices in october to lower them in november), but I did manage to buy it for lowest ever price I belive of 80zł = 18.5$. I think it's awesome cooler. with Ryzen 5 1600 on 3.8 Ghz and 1.237V temps in idle 31 C and on 100% load after 3h it's 55 C. Additional I have 3 Fluctus fans (that wierd one, cutted in the fan) in my Phanteks case and it's so quiet. I'm just sad that in the test there is no Spartan 5 or Fortis 5. Spartan low tier, Fera low-medium, Fortis medium, and I bet they will present Grandis 5 (high-tier) to the end of year. On fall I'm putting new pc with ryzen 5 7th and there will be Grandis 5 dual on top of him What is the best deal out of that, is that they all coolers and fans have 6 years warranty. For the intrested I'm posting video (sorry but only in polsih) with graph for Fera 5 and Fortis 5 from series 5. https://youtu.be/f7IBV8LEeOc?t=200Meta22 - Friday, May 20, 2022 - link
Oh, I was not questioning the pricing on the SilentiumPC coolers, just pointing out to that user that the price difference with Noctuas might not necessarily be $20 everywhere. I think Silentium coolers are very good and fairly priced considering all reviews I've seen, though unfortunately they are not sold over here in my country. And that was a good deal you got, my country is very much like yours with regards to not-so-black-friday (oh, you unscrupulous merchants).Review - Sunday, May 22, 2022 - link
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