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Review: Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II

by Parm Mann on 10 November 2015, 17:15

Tags: Deepcool

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacv2y

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Conclusion

...a gargantuan package that performs well, keeps quiet at all times and is surprisingly straightforward to install.

On paper, Deepcool's Gamer Storm Assassin II has many of the right attributes to be considered an attractive alternative to the established crop of ultra-high-end enthusiast coolers.

Adopting a tried-and-trusted dual-tower form factor, this hulking mass of metal employs eight heatpipes and two PWM fans in a gargantuan package that performs well, keeps quiet at all times and is surprisingly straightforward to install.

The fly in the ointment, sadly, is variable regional pricing. Assassin II needs to undercut the popular NH-D15 at retail in order to account for the slight offset in performance and the shorter warranty, but here in the UK both are available for £70. There's only one winner when price isn't a factor and Deepcool needs to adjust its positioning accordingly if it's to stand out from the crowd.

Bottom line: Assassin II is another welcome option for enthusiasts and it's worth considering if you can find it for less than the superior Noctua NH-D15.

The Good
  
The Bad
Good cooling performance
Keeps quiet at all times
Two fans included as standard
Should clear most memory modules
  
Not the bargain we expected
Small tube of thermal paste
Weighs almost 1.5kg


HEXUS.where2buy

The Deepcool Gamer Storm Assassin II CPU cooler is available to purchase from Amazon.

HEXUS.right2reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.


[Update - 11/11/2015] In response to the HEXUS review, Deepcool has temporarily lowered the Assassin II UK price to £59.99. We're told this is a promotional offer that will run for an unspecified period and the price change is already in effect at Amazon UK.


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HEXUS Forums :: 5 Comments

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Posted by Plasmastorm - Tue 10 Nov 2015 20:19
“ We'd like to see Deepcool offer more thermal paste at this price point - the bundled tube is only good for one or two installations - ”

Personally I think anyone spending over £50 on a cooler is going to get 3rd party paste anyway but yeah an AS5 sized tube is about as small as I would like with any cooler these days.
Posted by Jowsey - Tue 10 Nov 2015 22:05
Whilst I really liked Deepcool's previously reviewed cooler for it's price competitiveness this runs far to close to the Noctua at the same price.

You're about £15 too wishful Deepcool. Warranty, noise, performance, Noctua has you beat at them all. Even if Deepcool has an easier mounting system and a superior aesthetic.
Posted by crossy - Wed 11 Nov 2015 08:22
We'd like to see Deepcool offer more thermal paste at this price point - the bundled tube is only good for one or two installations
I've two questions about this comment. Firstly am I the only person who prefers to skip “bundled” t.p. and use something bought specially (ok, Arctic Silver 5). Secondly, I thought that the “perceived wisdom” was that you didn't mess around with a cpu/hsf install once it was in. For example, my creaky ole Phenom got installed in 2010 and then again this year - the 2nd install being forced on me because I had to upgrade motherboard.
Jowsey
You're about £15 too wishful Deepcool. Warranty, noise, performance, Noctua has you beat at them all. Even if Deepcool has an easier mounting system and a superior aesthetic.
I'm kind of in agreement there - if the better performing, (and better packaged), Noctua is about £70 then I'd expect this Deepcool to be £50-55. Okay, the Deepcool has fans with removable/washable blade (which I like the sound of), but the Noctua has dual 140's v's Deepcools 140/120 combo. Not sure about the D15, but the packaging/presentation of the D14 screamed “premium product”.

Interesting comment about the Noctua's mounting system - I didn't have much of a problem installing the NH-D14 on my AM3+ board, and I thought the D15 used the same system? Actually, I did have the usual D14 problem that it covers the first DIMM slots. Aesthetics are a personal thing but I think I'd prefer the Noctua's quiet understatement.

Biggest problems with my D14 are the sheer size of the thing (having to work around it all the time!) and defluffing all those radiator fins! :( Which is why I'm seriously contemplating a Corsair AIO for the next build.
Posted by Parm - Wed 11 Nov 2015 09:11
Good news, folks. In response to the HEXUS review, Deepcool has temporarily lowered the UK price to £59.99, making it around 15 per cent cheaper than the Noctua.

We're told this is a promotional offer that will run for an unspecified period and the price change is already in effect: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00V62I9U4/
Posted by whatif - Wed 11 Nov 2015 20:03
Here in Australia it is just under $100 and the Noctua NH-D15 is at least $125 (prices quoted from several shops which have both in stock and are not promotional or sales discounted prices)
So they got it close to right to account for differences.
Still think for around the same money you can get a reasonable AIO (examples - DeepCool Gamer Storm Captain 240 CPU Cooler for between $115 to $120, or a Cooler Master Seidon 240M for about $10 more, all at the same shops).

Which would you prefer if you had the option?

I had swapped all my fans (except the 4x 200mm - in my last case - a CM Hafx 942 with a external bracket for radiators) for Noctua and it made a noticeable difference in noise, plus these were more productive (just going off the stats). I accidentally got 2x Noctua PPC fans (140mm 3000rpm) fans, and OK they were a bit louder :-), but boy did they move some air.