Introduction
APNX is a new brand under the Pro Gamers Group family of brands and shares its lineage with other popular brands but its in a bid to stand-out from this group. That said, APNX is trying out some new things and we’ll take a look at a couple of their products today. In this review we’ll be look at the APNX AP1-V CPU air cooler.
There’s not much story behind APNX but basing on what they have released, it appears this company is using some unorthodox design philosophy for their products. Their sole cooler, the AP1-V features a box type design which isn’t that out-of-ordinary by itself but coupled with the single tower design and single fan, one would assume its meant for lower TDPs. But APNX rates the AP1-V for a 240W~ TDP load making it much more capable despite what its size may suggest.
We’ll see how it performs on this heatload as well as lower ones in this review as we take a closer look at the APNX AP1-V cooler. Read on to find out more!
Features & Specifications
- Five 6mm heat pipes dissipate heat efficiently to make sure your CPU stays cool under intense workloads
- 245W TDP (Thermal Design Power) rating keeps your CPU cool under high workloads
- With HCTT (Heat Core Touch Technology), AP1-V achieves a seamless connection with the CPU, optimizing thermal conductivity and maintaining a stable operating temperature
- The frame is crafted from aluminum alloy for a premium build in addition to its heavy-duty performance
- Hydro Bearing gives this cooler a longer lifespan (80,000 hrs) and a smoother and quieter overall experience
- Full compatible with tall memory
- Compatible with a wide range of Intel and AMD sockets
- Easy setup without disassembling the fan to save you time and effort
- Modern and stylish appearance
- Available in black and white for you to choose to match your desired look
Model | AP1-V ARGB |
---|---|
Base Material | Aluminum block with HCTT Heat Core Touch Technology |
Fin Material | Aluminum |
Heat pipe | Dia. 6mm x 5 |
Dimension | With bracket: 128*92*157mm Without bracket: 128*76.5*157mm |
TDP (Thermal Design Power) | 245 W |
Socket | LGA 1700/1200/115X AM4/AM5 |
Fan Dimensions (L x W x H) | 120mm*120mm*25mm |
Fan Speed | PWM 600-1800 rpm |
Fan Starting Voltage | 5V |
Rated Voltage | 12V |
Rated Current | 0.32 A |
Power Consumption | 3.84 W |
Air Pressure | 3.36 H2O/mm |
Air Flow | 76.3 CFM |
Fan Noise Level | 16.1-32.8 dBA |
Bearing Type | Hydro bearing |
MTBF | 80000 hrs |
Official product page – APNX AP1-V cooler
Closer Look
I’m not familiar with APNX’s design language and aesthetics when it comes to packaging but given they’re only a few products into the market, they might be trying out a few things. For the APNX AP1-V, its packaged in this colored box but the art is a bit faint so its leaning on the fancy, elegant side of styling. Details and specs are printed on the back of the box.
Included in the APNX AP1-V package are mounting hardware. The cooler supports all mainstream desktop sockets for both Intel and AMD with LGA 1700/1200/115X AM4/AM5 hardware included. The backplate is for Intel only but the mounting brace is needed for both AMD and Intel. APNX includes a small tube of TIM out of the box. We did not use this TIM for this review.
And now you get to see the unique design of the AP1-V. While we already know what the cooler looks like from photos, the actual design does make you question why APNX chose a slightly tapered shroud. From the sides, its a nice touch and the subtle slant just adds to the overall design.
Focusing on the technical aspect, the APNX AP1-V features a single RGB fan to cool the heatsink. This is embedded into the shroud assembly and is a precise fit to the intake hole of the shroud. The shroud itself is a solid material meant to guide airflow through the fin stacks of the AP1-V.
The fan is powered off a standard 4-pin PWM fan header with the RGB header an ARGB connector with a daisy chain connector for more RGB devices.
APNX uses direct touch heatpipes on the coldplate and while I’m with the non-sleeved cables from the fan, I do feel APNX could’ve pressed the heatpipes more to completely fill those gaps. While it will not do miracles for temps, perhaps a completely copper baseplate would’ve also worked to give the heatpipes better contact.
The securing assembly for the cooler are connected directly on top of the coldplate and has 2 screws, one fixed on each end that locks it in place when installed which we’ll talk about in the next section.
Assembly
The Intel backplate is needed for installation on LGA115x, LGA12xx, and LGA1700 sockets. The backplate has sliding mounting threads that allow it to fit all these sockets.
The mounting brace is then secured to the backplate using the provided screws and spacers. The brace’s corner holes are for Intel while the rounded groves on the sides without the screw mounts line up with AMD. You need to remove the stock mount for your AMD socket whilst still using the backplate. This will work with stock AMD backplates either AM4 or AM5 made of metal or hard plastic.
Finally, after spreading some thermal paste just line up the heatsink and the mounting assembly and tighten down with a screwdriver. The securing brace spans a good bit outside of the heatsink shroud and fan so even fat grip screwdrivers or gun-grip ones should work but to make sure to keep things balanced and screw in even turns e.g. 3-4 twists one screw, then 3-4 twist on the other until both are hand-tight. Use the lowest tension if you’re using an electric screwdriver and press in timed bursts.
One secured, make sure to connect the fan header to your CPU fan header on the motherboard and the RGB header as well. Most modern boards should have one but if your motherboard doesn’t, the fan will still work but without the RGB lights. Cheaper boards or very old motherboard will most likely not have ARGB headers so please take note if you want tthe RGB lights. A USB RGB controller is an option for those that are in this situation.
With the fan installed, let’s get to testing.
Test Results
Test Setup
Processor: Intel Core i9-13900K
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 5S DDR5-6000
Storage:ย T-Force Z540 SSD
PSU: FSP Hydro G Pro 1000W
Monitor: GIGABYTE M32U
VGA:ย ASUS Phoenix GTX 1050 Ti
Thermal Interface Material:ย Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
Methodology
With our recent cooler testing, we’re doing something different in finding the best method. We’ve already removed frequency-based testing for a long time now to increase heat load. With newer CPUs having highly variable TDPs regardless of what’s on the tin, this makes it more confusing to consumers on how to predict a cooler’s performance.
With that said, in this test we’ll be loading the CPU with varying heatloads and recording its behavior. Most important of all is the temperature followed by the clock speed. Clock speeds can spike upwards but shouldn’t dip by a big margin, otherwise that implies the CPU is throttling.
A variation of this test also includes varying fan speeds. I elected to not include that from this chart but as guidance, the average temperature reading should give you an idea of where you sit in the temperature scale and lowering fan speeds will scale accordingly.
All tests are captured with OCCT stability and stress testing tool. Available for free download.

We have a range of 65W up to 300W on this test. The 300W is technically a 280W test with cooler pushing it that far but is largely throttling to 250W levels that is inline with the maximum that this cooler can handle at max fan speed. From the testing above, the APNX AP1-V gives the best performance for an LGA1700 for SKUs of 150W and below.
Dialing back the fan speed should bump the temps by a bit but the AP1-V has plenty of headroom at this range. It can still allow boosting past 200W and if you’re on a CPU that uses your PL2 as its default clock speed, you should be fine but anyone on an i9 or Ryzen 9 should take note of their maximum clock speeds on their motherboard.
User Experience & Conclusion
Air cooling hasn’t fallen out of favor much and with AIO coolers spiking in prices, they’re still the go-to options for those either that can’t fit it in their budget or people that don’t want water anywhere their PC. That said, the rise in CPU power has forced air cooling to drift into larger and larger designs to handle varying modern CPUs. The APNX AP1-V, while having a higher, should still server owners of mid-tier processors.
There’s nothing worth noting here and its a very decent cooler provided you pair it with the right CPU. Any Ryzen 5 or Core i5 from any generation would pair well with the APNX AP1-V and if you do upgrade, even up to the top-end CPUs right now, you still have some room to scale but take note of the limitations.
But to be completely fair, aside from aesthetics, there’s not a lot going on for the AP1-V as most cooler in its class will performance the same at less cost. Most single towers will also have the option of dual-fan expansion, something the AP1-V lacks out of the box.
The APNX AP1-V is a pedestrian tower cooler but it scores +points for being a snazzy looking one at that. While its not breaking any record, its certainly making a statement for a first cooler from APNX.
4 Comments
Sana may white pang interracial build
haha meron bro pero matte metallic
Yun
Ito niyong gamit kong air cooler, aesthetic pleasing siya especially siguro kapag naka founders edition niyong gpu.