Thermolab LP53 Review

After we’ve had a look at Thermolab’s ITX30 cooler, we’re now reviewing the LP53. Both coolers are compact and mainly suitable for HTPC builds. Thermolab is known for producing high quality products, and at the first glance, this full-copper cooler perfectly fits into the company’s line-up. So far we’re rather curious to see what this little thing can do.

Thermolab is one of the companies in the cooler market which is making nice looking small form factor coolers for HTPC or Steam Box systems for living rooms as well as standard Mini ITX PCs. Currently, there are two low-profile coolers which Thermolab released this year and in this review we are testing the bigger one, named the LP53. With dimension of  just 100(L) x 94(W) x 53(H)mm which make it 23mm higher than the smaller ITX30, the LP53 is made out of pure copper, which is very rare these days considering that the copper is the best material for heat dissipation and also quite expensive.

As noted earlier, both the base and the heatpipes on the Thermolab LP53 are made of pure copper. It features two 6mm heatpipes which are not in direct contact with the CPU but have been routed through a copper base. In case of the Thermolab LP53 you get a low-profile cooler that perfectly suits small-form-factor builds. The heatsink fins are made of copper as well. The manufacturing quality is definitely high, which is a pleasant surprise considering that this is more of a mainstream cooler. A quick look at the quality build confirms that. The bundled 4-pin 92mm PWM fan is quite simple and will not stand out from a pile of standard OEM fans. The height of the entire cooler is 53mm including the 92mm fan which in total the same as Intel’s stock cooler so we can be 100 percent sure it will fit in any, if not every case.

   

The bundle and the box are also quite simple and it almost feels like Thermolab was trying too hard to make a mid-range cooler. The box is made out of solid cardboard and although it is only protected by a plastic wrap, our sample arrived without a single dent or any damage whatsoever. The bundled fan is pre-mounted to the heatsink while the rest of the mounting components are placed in a separate plastic bag. The bundle includes an installation manual, four screws, two fan clips. The LP53 also comes with thermal compound pre-applied so it is basically ready to mount. A 4-pin round 92mm PWM fan and the bracket are already mounted on the cooler and there is no backlplate for this cooler and it actually does not need it because of the small dimension and low weight which will not damage or bend the socket of the motherboard or the heatsink itself.