The SilverStone Argon AR07 Cooler Review: Tower Cooling on a Budget

Conclusion

With the Argon AR07 SilverStone is trying to entice a very specific type of system builder: power users that will be building large gaming systems or workstations but, at the same time, are on a limited budget. This is an interesting market intersection since it’s a group of builders who need better performance and aren’t afraid to spend money on it, but are looking for the “sweet spot” in parts’ performance and pricing, in order to get the best deal for their money. For many companies then this is a low-key but still very important market: if you can make a great product, you'll be watching it sell in high volumes for years to come.

In terms of quality, the Argon AR07 is a well-made product, without any significant imperfections. The unplated copper heatpipes may get oxidized over time, but that will not be causing any real damage to the cooler, only degrade its aesthetic value. Also, due to their unique design, the aluminum fins have many sharp edges and great care is required during the installation of the cooler. Other than these imperfections, the Argon AR07 is a mechanically solid product, with a good mounting mechanism and a firm fins array. However potential buyers should also note that the Argon AR07 is 163 mm tall, so it will require a fairly wide case to fit, a layout that not all budget-minded cases will be designed for.

But more importantly, the overall performance of the Argon AR07 is actually better than what we originally assumed before testing the cooler. Although it cannot compete with premium 140 mm tower cooler offerings directly – nor is it meant to – the AR07's thermal performance does come relatively close, especially with its fan running at higher speeds. At the same time, the $35 cooler is significantly cheaper than premium 140 mm offerings, making it a very appealing choice to users who need a good aftermarket cooler but at a more reasonable price. You do end up trading off a few °C (or dB(A)) in lost performance, but for budget builders this can lower the overall cost of the system, or more likely allow for investing more money on betters parts elsewhere.

Meanwhile when compared to the popular and similarly priced Cooler Master EVO 212 tower cooler, the size of the Argon AR07 offers it a substantial advantage in terms of thermal and acoustics performance. Whereas the EVO 212 is based around a 120 mm fan and its fin array is sized to match, the AR07 is a 140 mm design and benefits accordingly. With more surface area and more airflow it can achieve better results, but this does come at a roughly $5 premium, so it's not going to be quite an apples-to-apples scenario.

Ultimately, assuming that the system’s case is wide enough to fit the 163 mm tall cooler, the SilverStone's Argon AR07 is a reasonable choice for users who are trying to combine good overall performance with the lowest possible cost. The company has hit a good balance between build quality, performance, and price, making it very competitive with the best of the budget coolers, and an option worth taking a look at.