FrostyTech Synthetic Temperature Test Platform Results
Mfg.	Model	Ambient Temp.	27mm large copper block	15mm small copper block		27mm large copper block	15mm small copper block	Thermal pad	No. Fans	Fan Noise	Clip force
			50W	50W		100W	100W
Thermalright	SLK800	21.7	34.8	37.5		45.2	51.6	none	1	loud	med
Thermalright	AX-7	21.7	34.8	37.1		46.1	52.1	none	1	loud	med
Tocools	Novasonic-AlCu	20.1	33.1	37.9		49.3	53.0	none	1	med	easy
Tocools	Novasonic	22.9	40.9	39.9		54.4	59.4	none	1	med	stiff
Coolermaster (high)	ASBV73U1	25.5	38.9	43.6		50.2	62.2	none	1	loud	easy
Coolink	U1P2	26.1	39.4	44.9		50.9	62.2	none	2	loud	easy
Arkua	628	23.9	42.7	42.1		58.9	62.3	none	1	med	med
Thermal Integration	TI-V77L	26.5	39.1	44.4		57.5	63.6	grey	1	med	med
Sibak	AC02625B	23.2	41.3	59.0		43.2	64.7	none	1	loud	med
Sibak	AC06725TH	22.5	42.9	46.2		61.7	67.7	none	1	Very loud	med
Coolermaster	HHC-001	21.7	40.0	44.8		56.3	68.1	none	1	loud	easy
AVC	Tundra2	22.0	41.4	47.5		59.0	71.1	none	1	loud	stiff
Aopen	ACK7L	21.4	43.4	47.2		62.6	73.2	grey	1	low	easy
Coolermaster	HSC-V62	21.4	47.4	52.8		61.7	74.5	none	1	quiet	easy
Arkua	728M-7N01	20.8	40.5	47.8		60.5	75.8	metal	1	med	easy
Spire	5F263	22.6	44.7	51.8		64.3	76.2	white	1	low	med
Taisol	CGK760092	23.4	42.7	51.3		61.2	77.5	pink	1	low	med
Zalman	CNPS6000-Cu	24.8	46.4	53.8		65.6	78.2	none	1	very low	easy
Titan	TTC-CU9TB/SC	21.9	43.7	49.9		63.5	78.8	none	1	loud	easy
AVC	112AM1	24.8	46.6	52.9		70.1	79.6	none	1	low	stiff
Taisol	CEK787172	21.5	38.4	53.5		57.3	82.0	PCM45	1	med	easy
nPowerTek	TTIC NPH-2	20.6	35.2	50.3		60.6	82.5	none	1	med	easy
Spire	5U213C1H3G	19.8	45.8	54.4		67.1	83.3	pink	1	low	easy
ArcticCooling	CuSilent2	20.1	42.7	57.4		68.1	86.7	none	1	low	med
Verax	P14Cu	25.5	51.3	57.4		75.2	88.7	white	1	silent	easy
Akasa	AK821	22.7	49.4	57.2		74.1	93.2	grey	1	med	med
Verax	P11T	26.1	61.2	69.7		90.9	102.7	none	1	none	easy
			50W	50W		100W	100W

As this is basically a low noise heatsink, the initial results are looking very good from the Aopen ACK7L heatsink. We'll have to jump forward and see what the final rise above ambient temperatures look like before making a final decision on the heatsink however.

It is pretty simple for a manufacturer to select a stock heatsink and pair it with a fan of appropriate noise and airflow levels. That seems to have been the case for the Aopen ACK7L, as there isn't really anything all that unique about what AOpen are offering.

Whether or not the Aopen ACK7L is unique is one thing, how the heatsink performs is another subject all together. As we can see from the above test results on the synthetic temperature test platform, what the ACK7L lacks in eye candy it more than makes up for in thermal results. The cooler is not the best in its class, but holds its own without breaking the sound barrier. Very few heatsinks can manage that these days, and so it is always good to find a low noise oriented heatsink that still keeps the temperatures in a reasonable range.

Bottom line, while this is a very tall heatsink, it does offer consumers good cooling without lots of noise on the side. Overclockers won't find the high performance thermals they look for, but an average user should be satisfied quite well.