Cryorig A40 and A40 Ultimate AIO Hybrid Coolers Review
Cryorig A40 and A40 Ultimate AIO CPU Coolers Conclusion
With the A40 and A40 Ultimate featuring the same pump and design elements as the A80, which won our Editors’ Choice Award, we entered this review expecting amazing performance from both units. We were most excited to test the A40 Ultimate, as comparing it and its 38 mm thick 120 mm radiator to the A80, which has a 280 mm radiator that is 27.5 mm thick, generated a personal interest, as I currently use the A80 in my personal system. We came away very happy with the results of both units and though I won’t be swapping out the A80 in my personal system for the A40 or A40 Ultimate, these would be my first choice for an AIO unit in a system restricted to 240mm radiators.
The performance of these Cryorig AIO Hybrid units when we push them with Prime 95 is simply amazing and both the A40 and A40 Ultimate able to keep up with all but extreme voltages and overclocking. We were able to comfortably run our I7 4790K on either AIO without the CPU ever breaking a sweat. The A40 Ultimate barely edged the Corsair H110I GTX by keeping our I7 4790K at 78 degrees under load, with the A40 just trailing right behind, never letting the CPU reach above 81 degrees. These are impressive numbers when you consider that the H110I GTX has a 280 mm radiator.
Just like the A80, the components of the Cryorig A40 and A40 Ultimate all carry a high quality, premium feel. The Multi-Seg mounting hardware that Cryorig ships with their AIO’s is as good as it gets and leaves you with peace of mind, knowing that your motherboard and CPU don’t have too much pressure being put on the socket. The QF120 fans have the Cryorig look and feel to them and provide excellent performance while remaining fairly quiet. The pump-mounted Airflow fan provides excellent VRM cooling performance and the unique look of the fan when installed will get looks and questions from fellow PC enthusiasts should they see your system. The fan is audible, but it’s hard to hear in a closed case with other case fans running, so I feel like the performance trade-off is worth it. I originally didn’t feel this way, but the Cryorig Airflow fan has grown on me after using it for some time in my personal system.
My gripes are similar to the ones I had with the A80. As it stands, there is no way to control the pump speed or fans through Windows and you will need to rely on your motherboard software to do so. While most motherboards have solid fan speed control capability, some simply don’t and it may not be possible for users to tune to a curve that suits their needs. An investment in control software would be a wise choice for Cryorig with future releases. Perhaps a more basic unit that features a 140 or 120 mm radiator without the CLC fan could be offered for mITX and mATX systems, as the Asetek Generation 5 pump clearly offers awesome performance with minimal noise. The Cryorig A40 and A40 Ultimate offer top level performance in a very attractive package and the drawbacks are far from being deal breakers.
Coming it at $104.45 at Newegg and Amazon, the standard A40 is a solid unit that offers excellent performance. For users with limited radiator space that cannot use the A40 Ultimate due to the thicker radiator size, the A40 is an excellent unit that is able to perform on par with the Corsair H110i GTX. The A40 Ultimate offers better cooling performance for ten dollars more, coming in at $114.45 at Newegg and Amazon. The A40 Ultimate was able to come within a couple degrees of the A80, which is currently available for $124.44 at Newegg and Amazon. Cryorig has cleverly placed their units in ten dollar pricing increments and each of them offer a couple of degrees of performance capability over the other, so this pricing scheme makes sense and lets users decide whether an extra ten dollars is worth a couple of degrees of performance benefit. No matter what decision you make, Cryorig has a full lineup of AIO units that offer clean looking aesthetics, quiet cooling capability, excellent build quality and an industry leading warranty. While they can’t quite match the performance of the A80, which ultimately won it our Editors Choice Award, the A40 and A40 Ultimate come just shy, earning a solid Recommended Award.
Legit Bottom Line: The Cryorig A40 and Cryorig A40 Ultimate offer premium build quality, classy aesthetics and amazing performance that other manufacturers are hard-pressed to match. If you don’t mind a lack of control software and aren’t interested in RGB lighting effects, these Cryorig units should be on top of your list when considering an AIO purchase.