Corsair A70 Dual 120mm Fan CPU Cooler Review

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Over the last couple of years Corsair has been branching out to other areas besides RAM, and doing well at it. You can now get a system decked out with all Corsair parts aside from optical drive, processor, and motherboard. You can go with the power supply, SSD, RAM, Cooler (air or water), and the case, and its all very well built.

The A70 is no different than any of the other Corsair parts I have reviewed; it is well built, easy to install, performs nicely, and comes with everything that is needed. With the cooler costing in the $65 plus shipping range at normal price, that is getting up there into high end air territory and close in price to the Thermalright Venomus X and Noctua NH-U12P CPU Coolers. Newegg has a $10 mail-in rebate promotion taking place right now that lasts this entire month and that brings the total price down to $54.99 plus $3.99 shipping. At the sub $60 price range it puts the Corsair A70 CPU cooler right into the middle of the pack when it comes to pricing versus performance as it is now in the price range with that of the Zalman CNPS10X Performa and the Cooler Master V6 HSF’s. If you don’t like waiting you can always run up to Best Buy and pick the Corsair A70 CPU cooler up for $59.99 plus your local taxes or get it shipped for free. You clearly have some shopping around to do in order to get the best deal on a Corsair A70 and be sure to search under its model number as well, which is CAFA70.

The Corsair A70 CAFA70 CPU Cooler did rather well in the testing, staying on par with or slightly better than the Noctua NH-U12P SE, as well as being very close to the new Cooler Master V6GT. The A70 was not as quiet as the Noctua, but was noticeably quieter than the V6GT. With the Corsair fans running in low speed mode the performance dropped slightly, only by about a degree, but the sound level dropped as well. The low speed mode was hardly noticeable in the case; if you have open mesh sides this will be different for you as there is less in the way of the sound.

Overall I feel Corsair has a nice cooler here. The price will be a sticking point for some, at the $65 level it gets in the realm of the NH-D14 and Venomous-X. Those coolers are a little more, but they will give better performance with the large OCs. Now on the lower end with the rebate puts the A70 in the $55 range and closer to the V6GT and the CNPS10X Performa. Im leaning towards the A70. It has good all-around performance as does the V6GT, but the A70 does it quieter than the V6GT.

Legit Bottom Line: Corsairs first step into the air cooling market was a good one and the A70 CPU cooler is a very solid performing CPU cooler!