Akasa Blue Aurora

Value and Conclusions

So far the Akasa Blue Aurora has performed well in every criteria on which we judge a heatsink; with an easy (albeit back plated based) mounting system, solid build quality and impressive thermal performance which hasn’t come at the expensive of intrusive noise levels. The final point of judgement is value, with Akasa asking for around £25 (Inc. VAT) for the 966 Blue Aurora, although availability in the UK is currently limited to just a handful of retailers.

To us, £25 seems extremely reasonable considering the nearest competitor we can see is the recently reviewed OCZ Vendetta 2, which can be picked up for between £25-£30. While the Vendetta 2 is a touch quieter, it’s also a few degrees warmer than the Blue Aurora and has a vastly inferior mounting system for both the heatsink and the removable 120mm fan.

While the similarities between the two coolers are obvious, Akasa’s decision to specialise the Blue Aurora to LGA 775 has made for a much more well rounded heatsink, and given the choice between the two, we’d take the Akasa every time.

Final Thoughts

The Akasa Blue Aurora has consistently impressed us throughout the review, and we were actually quite surprised at just what an excellent cooler it is – Akasa is not generally harped about across online communities as the best thing since sliced bread. In fact, we’ve genuinely struggled to find anything really wrong with it and between this and the 965, we would actively encourage people to reconsider the constant recommendations of old.

If you pushed us, we’d say that perhaps mounting the fan mount onto the cooler could be a little easier, although a quick trip to the manual remedies this. The lack of AM2 support is perhaps a shame but it simply means you don’t pay for what you don’t need. Overall, the Blue Aurora ticks all the required boxes in every department.

There are always going to be those looking for maximum performance on air who will opt for the Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme, or those looking for truly silent performance who will pick something from Noctua. These are ultra-premium coolers with price tags to match, and will always have a place at the top end of the market. However, for those looking for the sweet spot of compromise between the two at a price that won't dent your bank balance too much, the Blue Aurora offers a high quality and extremely well priced heatsink for the rest of us.

What do these scores mean?

• Features
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Performance
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• 9/10

• Build Quality
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• 9/10

• Ease of Use
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• 8/10

• Value
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• 9/10

• Overall
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• 9/10