The latest entry-level cooler on our test bench comes from Akasa. The H4 Plus features a single tower heatsink with four direct-touch heatpipes and a black and dark blue look. Some of you may know Akasa for its SFF and mini PC products – like the Gem Pro Raspberry Pi CaseWe recently tested the company’s unusually shaped M.2 heatsink, the Akasa Geckoand found it to be one of the best on the market for cooling high-performance PCI-e 5 SSDs.
The Alucia H4 Plus will not be on our list of best CPU coolersbut we’ll test it to see how it works. But first, here are Akasa’s specs.
Cooler specifications
| cooler | Akasa Alucia H4 Plus |
| RRP | 38.95 USD |
| Heatsink material | aluminum |
| Nominal lifetime | MTTF of 40,000 hours for the supplied fan |
| Socket compatibility | Intel socket LGA 1851/1700/1200/115x/20xx AMD AM5 / AM4 |
| base | Direct touch copper heatpipes |
| Max. TDP (Our test) | ~214W with Intel’s i7-13700K |
| Installed Size (with fans) | 148 (L) x 92 mm (W) x 120 mm (D) |
| guarantee | 2 years |
Packaging and scope of delivery
The cool box is delivered with cardboard, molded foam and plastic to protect the contents during transport. The cool box comes with the following items:
- Single tower heatsink
- 1x 120mm fan
- Akasa T5 Pro Grade Plus Thermal Paste
- Additional fan clips
- User manual
- Bracket for AMD and Intel CPU platforms
Features of the Alucia H4 Plus from Akasa
*️⃣ Slim single-tower design
The included heatsink has a sleek, all-black single-tower design.
*️⃣ Full RAM compatibility
The heatsink is slightly recessed so that the included fan does not interfere with DIMM slots – all RAM sizes, regardless of their height, are supported.
*️⃣ Direct contact heat pipes
The Alucia H4 Plus features four direct-touch heat pipes to transfer heat from the CPU to the aluminum fins.
*️⃣ Akasa T5 Pro Grade Plus Thermal Paste
Akasa includes a tube of its thermal paste with the Alucia H4 Plus, enough for several installations.
*️⃣ Additional fan clips
While most users should be happy with the default cooling performance of Akasa’s Alucia H4 Plus, additional clips are included in the box should you wish to add a (optional, not included) second fan.
*️⃣Easy installation
As you will see later in this review, installing the cooler is simple and easy to do.
*️⃣ 1x Black-blue fan
There is more to a cooler than just the heatsink or radiator. The fans supplied have a significant impact on the cooling and noise level as well as on the appearance of the cooler in your case.
Included is a 120mm fan with a black frame, nine ribbed blue fan blades and anti-vibration pads in the corners. In the center of the fan, above the bearings, the Akasa logo is featured on an etched metal circle.
| Model | Not listed |
| Mass | 120x120x25mm |
| Fan speed | 500-2000 rpm |
| Airflow | Up to 56.3 CFM |
| Air pressure | Up to 1.94 mmH2O |
| Bearing type | HD bearings |
| lighting | None |
What I don’t like about Akasa’s Alucia H4 Plus
❎ High price
The Alucia H4 Plus is priced at $38.95. Most entry-level single tower coolers cost $30 or less, with Thermalright and ID-Cooling offering models for as little as $15 here in the US.
❎ Louder than many competitors
As you’ll see in the benchmarks below, the Alucia H4 Plus runs louder than many of its competitors on the market.
Testing methodology and how my tests differ from those of the competition
My cooler tests are specifically designed to simulate the conditions a user would actually experience when working with a computer. Some reviewers test coolers on an open bench. I don’t like this method, it reduces the cooling effort. If you use a case, the internal temperature of the case will be higher than the ambient temperature of the room, increasing the saturation of the cooler and the overall cooling effort. Testing outside of a case gives an advantage to weaker coolers, especially those with not very powerful fans.
Others test with a heat plate. This method has all the disadvantages of an open test bench, but also does not accurately represent the cooling of a CPU. A heat plate distributes the heat load evenly across the copper heat pipe square. The problem with this type of testing is that with modern AMD Ryzen and Intel Core CPUs, most of the heat is concentrated in a few hot spots – and cooling a concentrated heat source is more difficult than cooling an evenly distributed source.
The final point I do differently than some cooler testers is that I insist on using relatively new CPUs for cooler testing, since people building new PCs should be using recent CPUs. Also, heat density is just different on newer CPUs. Products like Ryzen 3000 “Zen 2” and older 14nm Intel CPUs have lower heat density compared to modern counterparts, due to a combination of older manufacturing processes and lower clock speeds. Using a weaker cooler with an older CPU can make the cooler look more powerful than it actually is with current generation silicon.
Today’s high-end CPUs, whether Intel or AMD, are difficult to cool under intense workloads. In the past, it was a cause for concern when the temperature reached 95 degrees Celsius or more on a desktop CPU. However, with today’s high-end CPUs, this is considered normal operation. Similar behavior has been seen on laptops for years due to cooling limitations in tight spaces.
All tests are performed at a room temperature of 23°C. Several thermal tests are performed on each CPU to test the cooler under different conditions. Additionally, acoustic measurements are taken on each result. These tests include:
1. Noise normalized test at low noise level
2. Out-of-the-box/standard configuration thermal and acoustic tests
a. No performance limitations enforced
b. Since the CPUs in this scenario are reaching TJ Max, the best way to compare cooling performance is to record the total power consumption of the CPU package.
3. Thermal and acoustic tests in power-limited scenarios
a. Power is limited to 175 W to simulate a medium intensity workload
b. Power is limited to 125 W to simulate a low intensity workload
The thermal results included are for 10-minute test runs. To make sure this was long enough to stress the cooler, we tested both Thermalright’s Assassin X 120 R SE and DeepCool’s LT720 with a 30-minute Cinebench test using Intel’s i9-13900K for both 10 and 30 minutes. The results barely changed on the longer test: average clock speeds dropped by 29MHz for DeepCool’s LT720 and 31MHz for Thermalright’s Assassin X 120 R SE. That’s a tiny 0.6% difference in sustained clock speeds, an error difference that tells us the 10-minute tests are indeed long enough to properly test the coolers.
Test configuration – Intel LGA1700 platform
Aside from the CPU cooler, many other factors can affect cooling performance, including the case you use and the fans installed in it. A system’s motherboard can also affect this, especially if it bends, causing poor contact between the cooler and the CPU.
To prevent flexing from affecting our cooling results, we included Thermalright’s LGA 1700 contact frame in our test setup. If your motherboard is affected by flexing, your thermal results will be worse than those shown below. Not all motherboards are affected by this issue equally. I tested Raptor Lake CPUs on two motherboards. And while one of them showed significant thermal improvements after installing Thermalright’s LGA1700 contact frame, there was no temperature difference at all on the other motherboard! Check out our contact frame review for more information.
installation
1. First place the CPU bracket on the back of the motherboard and then place the gaps on the included standoffs.
2. Place the mounting rods on the spacers and secure them with the included wing screws.
3. Next, apply the included thermal paste to the top of your CPU. If you are not sure how to do this, we have a Installation instructions for thermal paste You can read on to know more details.
4. Press the heatsink against the mounting rails and secure it with a screwdriver.
5. Secure the fan to the heatsink using the included fan clips. Connect the fan’s PWM cable to your computer. Installation is complete.
