While I had high hopes for the ID-Cooling SE-207-XT, it doesn't quite live up to them. Performance is by no means terrible as it is still a decent value. It soundly beat its smaller siblings and single-tower coolers that are heat-soaked due to less mass when our test bench CPUs are under intense load. That said, performance on AMD was definitely hampered by less than stellar CPU IHS contact. I have multiple ID-Cooling products with the same base mounting hardware, and even swapping out parts made no difference. Rather than seeing areas where you have good contact with very little thermal paste, I was greeted by a fairly thick, far more uniform layer of thermal paste, which reduces heat-transfer potential. This problem was not noticed on the Intel test system.

Suffice it to say, it's not all bad. After all, the SE-207-XT does manage to score quite highly on the performance per dollar charts. It should also be noted that in the FPU only tests, the SE-207-XT does perform better than the SE-224-XT Basic. However, these results are not taken into account in the relative performance and performance per dollar charts due to their unrealistic nature, which is something to keep in mind. Due to the review sample's improved performance in some of those tests, the end result would have been more favorable for the SE-207-XT had they been included.

In terms of its back and forth battle with the Scythe Fuma 2, it is at first glance relatively close until you consider that when both coolers are noise-normalized, the Scythe offering holds a clear advantage over the SE-207-XT. When both coolers operate at maximum fan speed, the problem becomes readily apparent. The Fuma 2 at 45 dBA can do what the SE-207-XT can at 57 dBA. The other nail in the coffin is that the Fuma 2 is similarly priced and has better memory clearance. I believe ID-Cooling has a good base design here, but it's not the best option at $55–$60. At a lower price point, say $45–$50, it would be an option that outclasses its smaller siblings for high heat loads, which would make it a more attractive offering in this highly contested market segment.

It is also worth noting that I updated the pricing information and included both the MSRP from ID-Cooling and current retail price in the performance per dollar charts. At $60, the cooler is slightly less attractive for the performance offered, but it could be far worse. At $55, not all is lost, but at $60, it can't beat the Fuma 2. Regardless of MSRP or current retail prices, the cooler doesn't quite hit the sweet spot.

So what does this all mean? Well, ID-Cooling needs to tweak the design for better contact with AMD's processors at the very least, as that would greatly improve performance on that platform. I remounted and retested the cooler four times, and the issue remained the same even after partially swapping to a different set of mounting hardware. While it is possible a different sample would have much better performance if it is within the typical margin of error, it won't change the results all that much. The gap being wider shows that there are some QC issues manufacturing side. Regardless, the cooler has room for improvement, and should ID-Cooling choose to improve it, it could be an even better option.

Overall, ID-Cooling's SE-207-XT Black is a decent value that is shown up by its smaller siblings. Meanwhile, competing products stifle it with their more useful features and better noise-normalized performance.