Valkyrie AL125 CPU air cooler delivers IPS screen and RGB lighting frills for under $20

Valkyrie has just released its AL125 CPU air cooler to retailers in China, where it is now on pre-sale. The new tower-style cooler packs in many frills for its sub-$20 pricing, featuring both a built-in IPS display and an RGB fan. Elsewhere, this device looks like a standard CPU air cooler tower design, aided by a single fan and a few heatpipes.

Judging by PC component and accessory maker product trends, LCDs are increasingly popular among DIYers. We have seen extraneous displays added into, and onto the front of, PCs in increasing numbers. The large surface areas of components like GPUs and AiO coolers have also been used to house display panels. Now those with a preference for air cooling, or on a smaller budget, won’t have to feel left behind, thanks to the Valkyrie AL125 CPU air cooler.

The headlining display isn’t huge. Situated on the top of the tower block, space is limited. A square 1.54-inch IPS display is all there is room for, but it offers 240 x 240 pixels for user customization. This should lift customization levels above and beyond rival CPU air cooler towers with digital displays showing basic stats.

Valkyrie makes display content customization available to users via the myth.cool software. If you check out this app’s product pages you will see that it allows for the display and playback of custom media (images, videos) as well as monitoring content, with a range of layout, typography, and other important display options.

Valkyrie says that the AL125 dissipates up to 230W. So, overall, this might seem like a very attractive package for the equivalent of roughly US$20.

However, our limited experience with Valkyrie CPU air coolers hasn’t been the best. Back in June, we reviewed the premium-priced ($72) Valkyrie Vind SL125 CPU air cooler and while we liked the anime aesthetics, the product was a so-so performer and could get loud. If you care about products meeting their touted performance and noise, it may be wise to wait for a third-party reviewer to pass judgment on the Valkyrie AL125.