The DeepCool AS500 Plus, much like its sibling, delivers solid performance without being excessively loud. In fact, it is only truly noticeable when the fans are set to a PWM of 75% or higher. At anything below 75%, you have a cooler that is essentially whisper-quiet. When looking at performance on Intel, the AS500 Plus compares favorably to the Noctua NH-D15S and be quiet!'s Dark Rock Pro 4. That is rather impressive considering both of those coolers are dual-tower designs. On the AMD front, the AS500 Plus again delivers impressive performance. While not quite at the same level as on Intel, the cooler still competes with those dual-tower designs, but price to performance sees a slight drop.

While the AS500 Plus establishes itself as a damn good cooler, its easy installation is definitely a nice bonus. The mounting hardware is simple and rather painless on both Intel and AMD, which is always a good thing. Meanwhile, the ARGB lighting, while not a feature everyone wants to pay for, is tasteful, and the all-white design of this particular version is a visually appealing option for those who prefer a high contrast black and white build or simply like the clean aesthetic of a white build. Regardless of whether you plan to use the ARGB lighting or not, DeepCool's AS500 Plus WH is an appealing design. Thus, the cooler can pull double duty regardless of which camp you fall into.

The only real downside I see with the AS500 Plus is height, an issue it shares with the AS500. While 164 mm isn't the tallest cooler I have tested, the rising cost of building a system means some of the more affordable cases may not be compatible with this cooler. At $70 for the cooler, potential buyers probably do opt for a decent chassis with enough room. If not, well, you have been warned; make sure you got some extra breathing room all the same.

Overall, the DeepCool AS500 Plus WH is an attractive upper mid-range air cooler that delivers on all fronts, and it should easily handle your CPU cooling needs unless pushing an ultra-high-end system.