Visual inspection
The ID-Cooling SE-226-XT Black is the all-black variant of the SE-226-XT. I say variant because this cooler is available in multiple color variants. White with RGB or no RGB and black with RGB and no RGB. In this review, we have the lower speck all black no RGB variant of the SE-226-XT.
The design of this CPU cooler is good as it’s all black, starting from the fan, the fan cable, connector, heatsink, heatpipes and so on.
One advantage of this CPU cooler is the offset design of the heatsink that increases the DRAM clearance around the CPU Socket.
The SE-226-XT Black is using a single 120mm fan that has a maximum speed of 1800 RPM and of course, it matches the all-black design of the heatsink. The heatsink will allow the usage of two 120mm fans in a push pull configuration for a better cooling.
The CPU cooler has a height of 154mm, a width of 106mm and a depth of 129mm with a weight of 910g.
The heatsink of the ID-Cooling SE-226-XT Black has a total of 41 aluminum made cooling fins, all painted the same black as the heatspipes and the top cover plate.
As said previously, this heatsink is shaped to increase the RAM clearance around the CPU socket area, and you can see that in the shape of the heatpipes.
The sides of the cooling fins have the usual design that allow the fan clips to attach themselves to the heatsink.
The zig zag pattern of the cooling fins, present on both the front and back sides of the heatsink is made to disrupt the airflow when entering the heatsink.
At the rear of the heatsink we have some fins that are shorter in length, this is done to increase the clearances around the CPU socket area, and prevent the CPU cooler from touching the VRM heatsinks of the motherboard.
The top of the heatsink has a decorative metal plate that has a brushed texture. In addition, the endings of the heatpipes are made from metal and have a radial pattern etched into them.
These are small things, but they do change the look of the CPU cooler into something that looks pricier.
The ID-Cooling SE-226-XT Black uses six copper made heatpipes to move the heat away from the CPU and into the dissipation area. These heatpipes have an outer diameter of 6mm and are arranged in the standard U shape to better move the heat around the heatsink and to increase the structural rigidity of the heatsink.
The baseplate used on the ID-Cooling SE-226-XT Black is made from a solid nickelplated copper block, and has a smooth finish with a subtle radial pattern etched into the surface.
This type of radial pattern does not affect the evenness of the spread of the thermal compound and instead adds more depth in terms of the design of the CPU cooler
The heatpipes of the cooler are making contact with the baseplate of the CPU cooler behind the cold-plate, this type of design is ideal for heat transfer and does not affect the surface of the baseplate.
The active cooling on the ID-Cooling SE-226-XT Black is done by a single 120mm fan, with the model number: ID12025M12S.
This is a nine-blade 120mm fan that has the same all black theme as the rest of the CPU cooler. The included features with this fan are the usual, rubber pads on the corners of the frame to dampen vibration, slim wires and a 4 Pin power connector which is PWM compatible.
The fan has a minimum speed of 700RPM and a maximum speed of 1800RPM.
Testing
The following system was used to test the cooler:
– Processor: Intel i7 13700K @ 5.4GHz
– Motherboard: Biostar Z790 Valkyrie
– RAM: Neo Forza MDK5 DDR5 96GB 6000MHz
– Graphics Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Suprim X
– SSD: NeoForza NFP075 2TB
– PSU: Seasonic Prime TX-1000
– Case: be quiet! Silent Base 802 White
– OS: Windows 10 64-Bit (After April Update)
Software used for testing the cooler:
– AIDA64 Extreme Version: 7.30.6900
– Intel Burn Test v2.54
– Prime95 29.1
The cooler was tested with the CPU at the default turbo frequency of 5.40 GHz.
Also, the included fans have been used at their maximum speed.
The room temperature was approximately 26°C (78°F), with 2°C margin of error.
The settings of the software used are the following:
Intel Burn Test v2.54 – Stress level: Maximum
Prime95 29.1- small FFT
AIDA64 Extreme Version – FPU Benchmark & Temperature monitoring.
Each test was conducted for 40 minutes.
CPU Temperature
The noise level was measured at three different distances from the fans (10cm, 20cm, 30cm.) the noise was measured with a margin of error of ± 2 db.
In the video below you have a noise sample of the CPU cooler with its fan at maximum RPM.
The ID-Cooling SE-226-XT Black has a good RAM clearance, thanks to its offset heatsink design. On a standard ATX motherboard, this CPU cooler does not interfere with the RAM slots in any way.
The graphics card clearance is good, as you have 33mm of space between the side of the heatsink and the graphics card. This is enough space for airflow to pass through but not enough space to allow easy access to the top M.2 Socket of the motherboard.
Final thoughts
The ID-Cooling SE-226-XT Black is a good choice for your usual gaming system. However, I would not use this cooler with a high TDP CPU, such as the Intel i7 13700K because you will keep the CPU too close to its thermal throttling point. However, for a gaming system this CPU cooler is a great choice not only because it cools your CPU rather well but because it’s easy to install, well-made and looks great.
The performance is good for what you pay, and the CPU never exceeded 95 degrees Celsius while running at its maximum thermal output of 250W. While the temperature is high, especially for an Intel CPU, the performance offered by the cooler is good. 250W worth of heat is not easy to cool, not even with liquid cooling, let along a single tower air CPU cooler.
In terms of the build quality, the ID-Cooling SE-226-XT Black is well made, there are no rough edges or spots anywhere to be seen. This is especially true for the heatsink which has no issues whatsoever. The fan is also well made, with good quality rubber on the corners of the frame and a good plastic composite on all parts.
The installation procedure is simple thanks to the easy-to-use mounting system used with this cooler. There isn’t really a way to get it wrong if you pay attention.
In conclusion, the ID-Cooling SE-226-XT Black is an affordable yet good looking CPU cooler. The cooling performance is good, especially for the size of the heatsink and the usage of a single 120mm fan. The build quality is great and the mounting system is easy to use and install. All this for a price of 50 USD, makes this CPU cooler a great deal for a gaming system that uses a medium TDP CPU.
