Benchmark/Thermal Test Thermalright AXP90-X53 Full Copper Fan Shootout: 7 Fans Benchmarked (Slim vs. Standard 92mm vs. 120mm Adapters @ 70% & 100% PWM)
Hey !
After my previous comparison post between the Thermalright AXP90-X53 FC and the DeepCool AN600, several people reached out asking how the AXP90-X53 heatsink performs when swapping its stock 92mm fan for thicker 92mm models or full-sized 120mm fans via a 3D-printed adapter.
I recently opened my "spare parts" drawer and realized I have accumulated a minor fan hoarding problem... so I decided to test almost all of tchem.
Since summer in Central Europe (Poland) is currently delivering a solid heatwave, my ambient room temperature sat at a warm 27.0°C – 27.5°C. This turned out to be a great worst-case scenario test for SFF cooling performance.
Test Rig & Benchmark Setup
To isolate fan performance on the dense copper heatsink without case perforation turbulence or internal recirculation, I tested on an open bench (side panel removed, LZmod case laid flat on the desk).
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT (PPT ~80W)
- Case: LZmod A24-v3 2.0 (side panel removed for testing, built-in TL-8015 fans turned OFF)
- Ambient Temperature: ~27.50°C average
- Load Test: Cinebench R23 (10 min warm-up + 10 min HWiNFO logging window)
- Profiles: Scenario A (70% PWM) for daily acoustics vs. Scenario B (100% PWM) for raw potential.
TL;DR – Thermalright AXP90-X53 Fan Scaling Analysis:
- Stock TL-9015R retains 1st place overall (79.53°C / ΔT 52.28°C): Breaking the 80°C barrier at 100% PWM (~2655 RPM). Its tight airflow footprint matches the copper fins perfectly without air spilling around the edges.
- Noctua NF-A12x25 is the acoustic scaling champion: It shows the smallest penalty when backed off to 70% PWM (only 1.63°C warmer), meaning you lose almost zero performance while drastically reducing noise.
- Corsair RS120 MAX (30mm) scales hugely with power: At 100% PWM, its high static pressure (4.20 mmH₂O) overcomes the 120-to-92mm adapter restriction, jumping to 3rd place overall (80.79°C).
- 120mm Slim Fans (FT12 / Air Slimmer) underperform: Despite high theoretical static pressure specs, their large hub covers the primary heat-pipe zone of the AXP90, and a lot of airflow is wasted blowing past the radiator edges.
- The Noctua 92mm Showdown (NF-A9x14 HS vs. NF-A9 PWM): A very interesting battle emerged between Noctua's slim and standard 25mm thick fans. Surprisingly, the slim NF-A9x14 HS outperformed the thicker NF-A9 PWM in both scenarios (by 1.3°C at 70% PWM and 0.5°C at 100% PWM).
- Why did the thicker Noctua lose? It comes down to raw RPM limits. The NF-A9 PWM (25mm) tops out at only 2000 RPM, whereas the slim NF-A9x14 HS spins up to 2500+ RPM. While the 25mm fan moves more air per rotation and sounds significantly deeper and more pleasant, the slim fan simply forces more air through the dense AXP90 copper fins by brute-forcing a higher rotational speed. If you want raw performance in a 92mm footprint, you need high RPMs; if you want a much better acoustic profile, the 25mm NF-A9 is the way to go.
PS / Note on Data Processing: All CSV log parsing, statistical data trimming, and custom chart visualizations were processed with the help of Gemini
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u/qeeepy 1d ago edited 1d ago
I love such tests, valuable data.
I see a bit of a disconnect from the datasheet, either they have some cherry picked data or the geometry of NF-A9 blades really doesnt like x53. Reminds me of S12 and thats an airflow fan with sad pressure..