Packaging

Corsair uses quite the bright packaging for this cooler with the yellow background letting the full-color image of the A500 standout. Turning the box to the left side, we get a far more boring black panel with a small image of the product and its name. It seems a bit like a waste of space, but oh well, it is not a bad thing to keep marketing stuff to a minimum either. Another turn and this time, we are presented with all the information on the cooler, including dimensions, specifications, etc.


A quick look at the right side and we find another black panel, this time with "Super Chilled" in bold along with the product name. Next up is the top of the box, which is similar to the left side in that it is another black panel with a small image of the cooler and nothing else. Finally, the bottom shows the warranty length next to the standard bar code and supported sockets.

Contents

Opening the box shows the cooler encased in plastic shells with the mounting hardware on top in a small yellow box. I pretty much hate plastic shell-style packaging, but these give the cooler plenty of space here, so it is not an issue. That said, I will always prefer foam packaging myself, but that is neither here nor there. The packaging did its job, and the cooler arrived intact and ready to go.


The mounting hardware is about as simple as it gets, and at first glance appears to be exceptionally solid. Everything you need along with a few quirky extras, like zip ties, is included, which is unexpected. However, what was most interesting or maybe thoughtful was the inclusion of a fancy screwdriver I forgot to take a photo of, so you will have to take my word for it being nice and long and quite sturdy.

Common parts supplied for mounting include

• 6x Fan clips
• 4x Nuts
• 4x Standoffs
• 4x LGA2011 standoffs
• 4x Backplate screws
• 2x Fan clips
• 2x AMD mounting brackets
• 2x Intel mounting bracket
• 2x 140 mm fans
• 1x Backplate
• 1x Cleaning wipe
• 1x Thermal paste applicator
• 1x Tube of thermal paste
• 1x Heatsink
• 1x Installation manual
• 1x Screwdriver