Jiushark JF13K mini DIAMOND Review: A unique top-down CPU Cooler

Today's review will cover a rather unique CPU cooler from Jiushark, a relatively new player to the cooling market from China. This CPU cooler, the JF13K mini DIAMOND, offers top down cooling which not only cools your CPU - but also your RAM, VRMs, and SSD (if it is installed next to the CPU)!

As this is a top down cooler, my expectations for this cooler aren't as high as traditional CPU coolers I test. However, with a full six heatpipes and a wide heatsink I hoped the JF13K mini DIAMOND could at least offer performance comparable to traditional low end air coolers for standard desktops. Can it? Lets take a look at the features and installation, then we'll go over the benchmarks to tell you how well this cooler performs.

Pros

Cons

Features of Juishark's JF13K Mini DIAMOND

The JF13K mini DIAMOND comes with 6 copper heat pipes, similar to many mid-range air coolers.

The unique CPU cooler's total height is roughly 10cm/4" tall, which means it can be installed in slim cases that otherwise would be limited to less capable SFF coolers.

The fans included can be just as important as the radiator and heatpipes of a cooler. Jiushark includes 2x 100mm fans. This size decision means that if you're considering using an alternative fan, your choices will be limited as it is not a commonly produced fan size.

Included is a small tube of thermal paste suitable for one or two applications.

Despite overhanging a motherboard's DIMM slots, this unique CPU cooler is compatible with tall RAM like the GSkill TridentZ RGB shown in this picture. RAM is installed in the "wrong" slots to show that the cooler would be compatible even if all 4 DIMMS are filled.

While this isn't something that would change my purchasing recommendations, a "nice to have" that Jiushark has is a neatly organized plastic container for all of the mounting accessories and the included thermal paste.

I've tested with Intel's i7-13700K to show how this cooler performs. The system system is tested with a full strength workload, two reduced wattage loads, and at noise normalized settings.

Observant readers may notice that the noise graphs start at 35 instead of zero. This is because my sound meter cannot measure sound levels lower than 35 dBA. This makes it the "zero" for testing purposes. For those concerned that this might distort results - there's no worry. If anything, the graphs above will minimize the differences in noise levels because dBA measurements are logarithmic. For a  detailed explanation of how decibel measurements correspond to perceived noise levels, please check out the video below from BeQuiet! which makes it easy to visualize and understand the true impact of of increasing dBA levels.

The installation of Jiushark's JF13K Mini Diamond is straightforward and easy, although it is slightly easier to install on an AMD AM4/AM5 platform.

It is important to note that for the cooler's best performance, it needs to be installed in the orientation shown below. If the cooler's orientation is flipped, it will not perform as well.

Most coolers reach TJ Max, the maximum temperature of the CPU of 100 degrees Celsius, when power limits are removed with Intel's i7-13700K. This is especially true when we're talking about smaller coolers like the JF13K Diamond Mini.

With a result of 201W over the course of testing, the JF13K Diamond Mini isn't winning any overclocking competitions - but it isn't designed to. The fact that it's performing within batting range of traditional coolers like Scythe's Kotetsu Mark Three or Thermalright's Silver Soul 135 is a strong accomplishment for a top down cooler.

Performance is only one part of the picture, noise levels are equally important. At 45.6 dBA, this unique CPU cooler's maximum noise levels are right in the middle of the other products I have tested.

If you're particular about noise levels, our next results will show you how it performs when it runs quietly.

For noise normalized testing, I've set the fans to a low 38.2 dBA. This is a slightly audible noise level, but won't bother most users. The results here were stronger than expected, as I didn't anticipate this cooler would outperform any of the units I've tested - but it did, outperforming both Cougar's Forza 135 (by a hair) and Thermalright's Silver Soul 135 (by a significant margin) when the fans were set to run quietly!

While maximum performance is important, most of the time you won't be pushing the CPU to its limits. It's good to see how a cooler performs in more typical situations, and most users won't use more than 175W in common usage.

I wasn't expecting very strong thermal results from the Mini due to the unique CPU cooler's top-down design. However, it was only a single degree away from the performance of Thermalright's Silver Soul 135. As the 175W load pushed the cooler near its limits, it ran just as loudly as a full intensity workload at 45.6 dBA.

125W is the lowest level of power I test, and it's similar to what users will consume with this CPU in demanding games. While I've tested and show thermal results, they're really not a concern because even Intel's stock cooler will keep the CPU cool enough in a workload like this.

Noise levels, that's what matters in low intensity workload like this. At 41.4 dBA, Juishark's JF13K Diamond Mini doesn't run loudly per se - but it does run louder than most coolers in this scenario.

Conclusion

Jiushark's JF13K Diamond Mini is an innovative and unique CPU cooler which offers top down cooling that also cools your RAM and VRMs. Its low profile might make it especially useful for builds which otherwise would have been restricted to smaller SFF coolers. The MINI isn't currently available on Amazon, so you'll have to buy it from sites like AliExpress if you're interested in it.

Unique top down cooler which also cools VRMs and RAM

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