Deepcool Gammaxx GT Review: Unboxing, Benchmarks, Verdict

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Nauman Siddique

At HI Digital I test and write about different hardware configurations to show other PC users what they can expect from their build. My end goal is to educate the masses to make the right decision when they are looking for new PC parts to buy

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Deepcool sent over their Gammaxx GT for review, an RGB-enabled single tower air cooler. With two variants – GT and TGF (a member of the Asus TUF Gaming Alliance), this 120mm cooler boasts direct contact technology for optimal thermal heat dissipation. What’s more, the RGB lighting effect is not only on the fan but extends to the top plate with an LED PCB underneath for a stunning visual experience. In this review, I’ll be taking a closer look at the cooler.

Key Takeaways

• The DeepCool Gammaxx GT is designed for users looking for a budget-friendly air cooler that also provides solid performance.
• The DeepCool Gammaxx GT is not for anyone searching for the best possible performance from an air cooler.
• The DeepCool Gammaxx GT provides decent cooling performance, reaching a temperature of 46°C on a core i7-6850K at a clock speed of 4.3 GHz.

Take a look at the cooler’s specifications.

Packaging and Unboxing

Here is the unboxing experience of the DeepCool GAMMAXX GT.​

Deepcool Gammaxx GT Accessories

Following are included in the box

Closer Look

The GT is a new CPU air cooler from Deepcool under the Gammaxx lineup of the coolers. Not only it is compatible with the leading sockets from both sides excluding the TR4 but also it comes with some vivid RGB lighting to make you’re a build a perfect showcase.

Heatsink

I like the design elements of this cooler, especially its dimensions at 135×84.5x156mm (WxDxH). With a height of 156mm, I recommend it for better compatibility with most PC chassis available in the market. However, it’s crucial to check the CPU cooler height clearance of your specific PC chassis before purchasing to ensure a perfect fit.

The cooler weighs 870gm and is rated for Intel chips up to 150W TDP and AMD chips up to 140W TDP. I’m confident it can handle even higher loads. It’s compatible with Intel LGA20xx/LGA115x/LGA1366 and AMD’s AM4/AM3+/AM3/AM2/FM2+/FM2/FM1 sockets. No incompatibility issues here; the 48 aluminum fins are stacked with a thickness of 0.5mm, making the overall heatsink less dense. The front side measures 125 mm x 122 mm.

Noting that the provided dimensions are for the heatsink from the front side, excluding fans and the base, I observed a detailed finishing of the fins with no peculiarities. The bottom has insets on both sides, and an edged inset in the middle runs all the way down.

Now, looking at the left and right sides, which are identical, they measure 50 mm x 122 mm. It’s worth mentioning that this dimension refers only to the heatsink, excluding fans, mounting clips, and the base. Each fin has two cutouts, repeated across all 48 fins, intended for fan mounting clip holders. It’s worth highlighting that Deepcool includes two sets of fan clips, allowing for a push/pull configuration.

Notably, the cutouts create an illusion of fins being superimposed, although that’s not the case. The backside mirrors the front side in layout. The sole distinction is a 4-pin LED cable emerging from the top, skillfully routed through the central inset to the bottom. Here, a cutout facilitates passing the cable through the heatsink to the outside.

The cable measures 385mm, and the last fin plate on the heatsink displays a pattern resembling the Gammaxx symbol, accompanied by two small holes on each side—possibly for airflow or symmetry with the top plate’s mounting holes.

Now, turning our attention to the cooler’s base, it features a single aluminum plate with the Deepcool brand logo embossed at the center on the upper side. Both ends have insets with a mounting hole in the middle, serving as placement points for the mounting brackets, secured using screws. The plate measures 69.2mmX34.5mm (LxW).

Examining the cooler’s base, there’s a warning sticker advising users to peel it off before installation. Removing it reveals Deepcool’s use of CDC technology (CPU Direct Contact), where the heat pipes make direct contact with the heat source without a base plate.

However, the Gammaxx GT doesn’t strictly adhere to Continuous Direct Contact, as evident in the gaps between the heat pipes. The base configuration includes an aluminum plate and copper heat pipes making contact with the CPU. Deepcool employs 4 integrated sintered metal powder heat pipes, each appearing to be 6mm thick.

The first and third heat pipes run parallel to each other, as do the second and fourth, though offset from the first pair. This design ensures maximum coverage of the heatsink for effective heat dissipation.

Moving on from the heatsink and base, let’s explore the top side with all its magic and majestic looks. I didn’t include the top plate in the overall fin count since it’s not directly attached to the heatsink. It features a blasted finish, or so it seems, and has four circular covers on each side.

The Deepcool Gammaxx GT features an eye-catching review symbol pattern on its top plate, created through cutouts for an impressive lighting effect. Secured by two screws, the patterned plate reveals access to a dense diffuser of matching dimensions.

Removing the top plate reveals a black LED board with 8 RGB LEDs, featuring the Deepcool logo at the center. Angular cutouts on the sides expose heat pipe ends and mounting screw holes. The LEDs follow the +12V/G/R/B pin format and are not addressable. Taking off this PCB exposes the cooler’s actual top side.

The underside of the diffuser shows that it has 8 circular points covering the LEDs for better and even light spread across the length. I did not observe any discontinuity or uneven flow of lighting across the entire length of the diffuser and Deepcool has definitely delivered an impressive design with utmost attention to the details.

Remember that when installing inside the chassis, the top side of the cooler is what the user gets to see every time, and Deepcool Gammaxx GT has some spectacular visuals here.

Fan

The Deepcool Gammaxx GT comes with the RF120 fan, a 4-pin RGB LED-enabled fan with a dimension of 120x120x25mm. It features 6 LEDs in the hub, and operates at 10.8-13.2VDC, with a rated voltage of 12VDC. The Hydro bearings fan has a starting voltage of 7VDC, a rated current of 0.23A, and a power input of 2.76W.

The RF120 fan in the Deepcool Gammaxx GT operates at 500±200 to 1500±10% RPM, providing sufficient airflow (56.5 CFM) for the low-density heatsink. With a sound rating of 17.8~27dB(A), it features 9 translucent blades, a Deepcool logo on the hub, and anti-vibration pads. The square design creates a circular frame illusion, and the back reveals air ducts for enhanced directional airflow. The 4-arms assembly includes a Deepcool logo sticker on the back.

The RF120 fan, made in China, has a unique fourth arm to secure wires. It includes a 4-pin PWM cable (289mm) and a 4-pin LED cable (380mm) with neat sleeving. Frame arrows indicate blade movement and airflow direction. Deepcool provides 4 metal clips for fan mounting, ideal for users considering a push/pull configuration.

RGB Lighting

We have already taken a look at the main RGB elements of this cooler that is the RGB Lighting on the top side of the cooler and the RF120 fan. To control the RGB lighting, The Deepcool Gammaxx GT comes with two cables: an RGB Controller powered by SATA connector with two headers for connecting up to two RGB devices, and a Motherboard sync cable with a +12/G/R/B pin format compatible with various motherboard RGB headers.

Note that for a push/pull configuration, two controllers are required due to limitations. 

There are 3 buttons on the controller. The first button has M printed on it and it is used to switch between the modes. The middle button has a dot printed on it and it is used the control the brightness of the lighting. Long press it to power off the lighting. Pressing it again will light the connected devices again. The last button has S printed on it and it is used to control the speed of the lighting effects.

Here are some pictures.

Installation

I was hoping to see an easy installation as Deepcool is mentioning on their website but I have a gripe here. While it definitely seems like a walk in the park, it will take some force/pressure only for the LGA20XX socket. For other sockets, it is easier.

We have tested the cooler on the X99 platform using 2011-3 socket.  Here are the steps for the cooler mounting on the LGA-2011(3).

1. Take out the Intel mounting brackets. These are ones with angular ends and shorter lengths. Take out the two small size screws.
2. Using those screws secure the mounting brackets on top of the base plate. Make sure to consult the installation guide before proceeding.
3. Apply the thermal paste on the CPU surface.
4. Place the cooler in your desired orientation by carefully aligning the spring-loaded screws on the mounting bars to the socket’s holes. Screw in any one of the spring-loaded screws. Make it so that it only makes proper contact with the socket hole. Don’t fully screw it in.
5. Following that, you should apply force to the corresponding screw in a diagonal pattern, ensuring it makes contact with the socket hole. Once you are successful with this screw, repeat the procedure with the other two screws.
6. Then start threading them down till the threads run out. On paper, it is like a snap of a finger but in reality, it would take patience and force to do it.
7. Using two metal clips, connect the fan to the heatsink.
8. Next, connect the 4-pin PWM cable to the CPU Fan header or any 4-pin PWM header of your choice.
9. Connect the 4-pin LED cable coming out of the heatsink to the RGB Controller and similarly repeat the step for the LED cable from the fan. Connect the RGB Controller to the SATA cable or if using motherboard sync cable, connect the cable to the motherboard’s header.

This would complete the installation.

Clearance Issues

The air cooler has a height of 156mm, making it compatible with chassis with a CPU height clearance of approximately 156mm. It provides sufficient clearance from the first PCIe slot and does not interfere with DIMM slots, making it universally compatible. Tested with the Ballistics Elite DDR4 kit (44mm height), the cooler has no clearance issues with RAM heatsinks.

Cooler Testing Methodology

Following test bench was used for testing this DeepCool Gammaxx GT: –

• Asus Rampage V Edition 10
• Intel i7 6850k
• Crucial Ballistics Elite 4x4GB @ 3000MHz
• Colorful iGame GTX 1060 6GB
• Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD
• WD Black 6TB
• Corsair AX1200i

Following software were used for the testing and monitoring.

• Asus Real Bench v 2.44
• Real Temp GT v 3.70

The Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste is used for standardization in testing coolers on a test bench. The cooler is tested at stock clocks (3.6GHz, 1.136V) and overclocked (4.3GHz, 1.350V) using Asus RealBench 2.44 for a 60-minute stress test with a 15-minute break. Fans are set to 100% RPM. Three test runs are averaged, and the max temps on each core are averaged for reporting.

The Delta temp is calculated by subtracting ambient temp. The focus is on comparing a single tower 120mm cooler against Noctua H_U12S, Reeven Justice, and Leto Pro RGB.

Results

Let’s take a look at the graphs. On stock clocks, the CPU was idling at 3°C. 31.01°C was the temperature under stress testing. This cooler has not disappointed me as it has taken a lead over the Noctua NH-U12S, Reeven Justice and falls short of Raijintek Leto Pro RGB with just a 0.3°C difference. Mind you, Leto Pro RGB is a dual fan cooler out of the box. This is one heck of an excellent performance from the Gammaxx GT.

With overclocked 6850k to 4.3GHz at 1.350V, the CPU was idling at 4°C. 45.97°C was the temperature under the stress test. This cooler has beaten the Noctua NH-U12S, Reeven Justice, Raijintek Leto Pro RGB with overclocked chip showing its impressive performance.

We could not measure the sound level of the unit as the summer season here is at its peak and the ceiling fan plus the noise coming out of the room would invalidate the actual sound level. Based on my experience with the fans and coolers testing over a period of time, this cooler even at full speed was nearly silent.

Should You Buy It?

Is the Deepcool Gammaxx GT actually worth buying?

Buy It If:

✅You are working with a limited budget: The DeepCool Gammaxx GT proves to be a fantastic cooling solution for those on a limited budget:

✅You prefer RGB: DeepCool seems to have placed an immense amount of focus on the RGB lighting of the Gammaxx GT.

Don’t Buy It If:

❌You want top-of-the-line cooling: Although the DeepCool Gammaxx GT provides remarkable cooling performance, it might not be the best fit for those with higher-end CPUs.

❌You want better memory clearance: While RAM clearance is adequate on the DeepCool Gammaxx GT, it could prove to be a problem for someone using larger kits.

Conclusion

The Deepcool Gammaxx GT is a 120mm single tower CPU air cooler with RGB lighting. Its assembled dimensions are 135×84.8x156mm, and it stands at 156mm tall. The overall build quality is good, and there are no noticeable drawbacks. The top side features a stylish design with a thick diffuser and a Gammaxx symbol formation illuminated by a black LED board with 8 LEDs.

Installation is straightforward on most sockets, but for Intel LGA20XX, it requires patience and force. There are no clearance issues with the first PCIe slot and DIMM slots. In terms of thermal performance, it outperforms competitors like Noctua NH-U12S and Reeven Justice, even beating the dual fan Raijintek Leto Pro RGB by a marginal 0.3°C.

With impressive thermal performance, attractive RGB lighting, and a 2-year warranty, the Deepcool Gammaxx GT stands out as a clear winner in its category. Special thanks to Deepcool for providing the opportunity to review this CPU air cooler.

Awards Received By Deepcool Gammaxx GT

Here are the Tech4Gamers awards received by the Deepcool Gammaxx GT after extensive testing.

• Best RGB Cooler For R5 3600
• Best Budget Air Cooler

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Nauman Siddique

[How-To Guides Expert]

Laiba, our tech guru at HI Digital, simplifies and crafts How-To Guides with a Google IT Support Certificate. Beyond tech, she captures the city’s aesthetics through her lens. Join her journey where tech meets creativity!

Get In Touch: Laiba@hidgt.com