Jonsbo HX4170D review

The name Jonsbo stands for a world-renowned Chinese manufacturer of computer components. In addition to ATX and ITX cases, the product portfolio now also includes CPU coolers and AiO water cooling systems. Jonsbo focuses on a particularly extravagant design, which at the same time does not forget the intended use of the product. Since Jonsbo now also has a lot of ITX cases in its portfolio, it only makes sense to also have suitable CPU coolers for these SFF cases in the portfolio. That's why Jonsbo introduced the Jonsbo HX4170D as well as the HX6200D in spring 2022. We will subject the Jonsbo HX4170D to a detailed test today.

Inhaltsverzeichnis / Table of contents

The Jonsbo HX4170D is supposed to be used in particularly cramped cases. This is achieved by a very low height of only 45 millimeters. Thanks to its four 6 mm heatpipes and a copper cooler base, the little squirt should still be able to dissipate up to 170 W. Jonsbo offers the HX4170D in a black and a white variant. The white variant also has an ARGB fan. In terms of price, Jonsbo charges € 55.99 * for the black HX4170D, which we put to the test.

The Jonsbo HX4170D was packaged in a very compact box made of black cardboard. In addition, product images of both variants were printed on the packaging. Which color variant it is exactly can only be recognized by a small colored sticker on the nameplate. In addition to the product name, you can of course also find out all relevant technical data about the heatsink and the installed fan.

Opening the top flap of the box, you are immediately greeted by the assembly instructions and a compact box of assembly accessories. The box includes all the necessary screws and mounting brackets for the different sockets, as well as a tube of Thermal Grizzly thermal paste and a spatula for spreading. Additional screws for mounting a deeper fan are unfortunately not included. Finally, below the accessories box, you’ll find the actual CPU cooler, which is encased in a mold made of foam.

The small but massive cooling block consists of 50 black painted aluminum fins and a flat copper plate as a base, which has also been nickel-plated. Heat is dissipated from the copper plate to the fins via four 6mm heatpipes, which have also been painted black. The ends of the heatpipes are flat and do not protrude from the heatsink, which keeps the heatsink very compact. The fan is attached via two black wire brackets. Unfortunately, a deeper fan cannot be attached with these brackets.

The fan, which is also manufactured by Jonsbo, unfortunately doesn't reveal any more detailed information on the nameplate. However, in favor of a lower overall height, Jonsbo relies on a fan with a 92 millimeter frame width and a depth of only 12.5 millimeters. The entire fan, including the nine-bladed rotor, is kept completely black. Only the eight rubber elements for decoupling are gray. The connection to the motherboard is made via a 4-pin PWM connector. The manufacturer specifies 600 to 3300 revolutions as the speed range.

As we’ve come to expect from Jonsbo, no compromises have been made on the HX4170D in terms of build quality or looks. There are no bent fins and the paint job looks very good and is without blemish. The feel of the heatsink as well as the fan are also very good. Jonsbo leaves no room for criticism here.

For the review, we use a test system on a benchtable. This allows us to rule out factors like heat buildup in the case. The test system consists of the following components.

Unlike other manufacturers, Jonsbo relies on a screw mount on the back of the motherboard to mount the HX4170D. So on our AM4 system, we start by completely removing the AMD retention module. After that, we prepare the retaining brackets with four screws each as well as spacers. Then we put the CPU cooler upside down and fix the retention brackets with four small screws next to the copper base.

Now apply the thermal paste, turn the motherboard upside down and place it on the prepared mounting frames so that the screws are visible at the back. The last step is to put four small washers on the screws and screw the cooler with four nuts. To fasten the nuts, Jonsbo includes a special nut for Phillips screwdrivers.

Overall, the assembly of the Jonsbo HX4170D was done quickly and holds bombproof. However, due to the screws on the back, installation can be a bit more awkward than normal. A second pair of hands can definitely be helpful during installation. Also, since there are no springs or backplate, you should be careful when tightening the nuts on the back and check if the motherboard bends or not.

As pointed out in the previous chapter, we use an AM4 system based on the Ryzen 5 1400 and the MSI B350 PC Mate as our test hardware for the Jonsbo HX4170D review. The Ryzen runs at 3.8 GHz at 1.25V. To heat up the processor, it was loaded with Prime95 for 15 minutes. The CPU's temperature was then read with the CPUID hardware monitor and the room temperature was around 20 °C during the measurements.

Considering the low profile of the Jonsbo HX4170D, the better cooling performance compared to the boxed cooler is remarkable. Regardless of the fan speed, the CPU temperature can be reduced by 20 °C. The Jonsbo HX4170D cannot hold a candle to a normal tower cooler, but that is not the goal of this low-profile cooler.However, some fine-tuning is necessary for the fan. At full speed, the fan of the Jonsbo HX4170D is clearly audible and definitely no longer silent. An adjustment of the fan curve in the BIOS would thus be advisable.

The small form factor sector is becoming more and more popular. And even though there are more and more cases that can accommodate water cooling radiators, often only a flat heatsink still fits. Since Jonsbo itself has some ITX cases in its portfolio, this naturally fits quite well. With the Jonsbo HX4170D, an interesting CPU cooler has been created that is not only very well manufactured and visually very appealing, it also cools very well measured against its height. In addition, it offers high compatibility and supports all current sockets (except AM5).

The only negative points from our point of view would be the fan noise and the mounting system. Due to the lack of springs or a backplate, it is not entirely clear how far the screws can be tightened. Therefore, the PCB bent slightly on our test system. However, the fan's noise is rather complaining on a high level, since other manufacturers deliver similar results here.

Overall, the Jonsbo HX4170D is a very good CPU cooler and could become a strong competitor for the Noctua NH-L9a/i. The latter costs a bit more and does without a black finish. Moreover, it is only ever suitable for a certain socket (AMD or Intel). In return, the NH-L9a/i is a bit lower and still performs similarly. Still, for a price of € 55.99 *, the Jonsbo HX4170D is a recommendable CPU cooler for SFF systems.

Jonsbo has created a very good CPU cooler for small ITX systems with the HX4170D. The looks and build quality are very good and the cooling performance is excellent considering its size. However, you have to be a bit careful with the mounting system.

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