Closed Loop AIO Liquid Coolers: 14-way Mega Roundup Review
by E. Fylladitakis on February 12, 2014 7:00 AM ESTEnermax
Enermax gained popularity and reputation through their high quality power supply units. The company has been around for decades but has only more recenty begun diversifying into cases and cooling solutions. They have also added a couple of new AIO liquid coolers into their product range and they shipped us two of them for this review. Unfortunately, these coolers are not yet available in the North American region.
Enermax Liqmax 120S
The first AIO liquid cooler from Enermax is the Liqmax 120S. The Liqmax series consists of two products, which are essentially the same cooler but with a different fan. Both models are depicted on the box. We received the LM120S-HP model, and the fan of lacks LED lighting on this model.
Even though the bundle of the Liqmax 120S is nothing special, it comes well presented, with the mounting hardware packed in separate nylon bags. There also is a manual with installation instructions and a syringe with thermal compound included. The biggest attraction of this kit however is definitely the fan. Although it looks like a simple, black fan without lighting or any notable features, there is a switch on the fan's engine that adjusts the speed range of the fan. There are three settings: 600 to 1300 RPM, 600 to 2000 RPM and 600 to 2500 RPM. By default, the fan is set on the 600 to 2000 RPM range.
Visually, the Liqmax 120S is not much different from most other AIO coolers with 120mm wide radiators. The radiator, measuring 32mm deep, is slightly thicker than the one used by the Seidon 120V and the Corsair H75. There are almost no deformations or imperfections about the aluminum fins, although a couple of them are slightly bent. Enermax went with black corrugated tubing, which is durable but a bit of a pain to turn. At least the connections on the block can turn sideways, relieving some of the stress.
The block-pump assembly is entirely made of plastic, with the exception of the copper base of course. Although plastic makes such designs look cheap, Enermax tried to improve the appearance of their product by engraving a symmetric pattern on it, grooves on its sides, and added blue LED lighting beneath their company logo in the middle of the block. It does help but the block of the 120S is definitely not the best looking around. The copper base of the block however is very well made, smooth and machined down to a nearly perfect finish.
Enermax Liqtech 120X
Despite the name, not Liqmax but Liqtech is actually the best series of Enermax's AIO cooling solutions. There are two versions with different radiators, the 120X and the 240. We received the small version, the 120X, supplied in a very well designed black/red cardboard box.
The bundle of the Liqtech 120X consists of the standard items; a manual with installation instructions, mounting hardware, and a syringe with thermal compound. Enermax also supplies a 3-pin Y-splitter fan cable, which can be used to power two fans off a single header. Two 120mm fans are supplied with the Liqtech 120X, both being the same as the black range-adjustable ELC-LT120HP fan of the Liqmax 120S kit.
If this were a beauty contest, the Liqtech 120X would be the most serious contestant. Enermax definitely spent a lot of time and energy designing the 120X so as to stand out from the crowd. The radiator has grooved aluminum blocks attached to its sides, with the company logo printed on them. Anti-vibration material forms red stripes where the fans will be seated. The design of the radiator itself is very different from that of most other kits as well; instead of wavy aluminum fins between the liquid pass-through channels, this design forms single, "seamless" fins from one side to the other. It is considerably thicker as well, measuring 43mm deep, which can be a problem in some system cases.
The block-pump assembly is entirely metallic as well, with an aluminum frame and a copper base. The black aluminum top of the block forms fins, which sort of function as a small heatsink, with the company name and logo clearly visible in silver. Even the mounting supports are made out of solid aluminum, with those for installation on an Intel CPU already attached to the block. The copper base is clean, smooth and very well machined. This AIO cooler obviously is a very different design than those from Asetek and or CoolIT; Enermax however did not want to reveal their source.
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thewhat - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
"the Corsair H90 ... is entirely silent when its fan's voltage is reduced down to 7 Volts."I've tried some of the quietest fans in existence and at 920 rpm they weren't even quiet, let alone entirely silent.
Anything over 600-700 rpm is usually audible, but quiet. And at around 800 rpm it stops being quiet.
Maybe we just have different standards for quietness.
But then liquid cooling was never a good option for silence freaks, anyway.
E.Fyll - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
There are great differences between fans, even at same RPM, depending on their engine and wing design. This is also being displayed in this review, as fans running at nearly the same RPM have vast performance differences. At one meter away, I could not possibly discern any noise coming from the H90, that is why I classified it as silent. If however you were to install it inside a metallic case with many openings, which would reflect and enhance the noise level, you might be able to notice a low-tone humming noise - that's a maybe, a mere assumption on my part.Aikouka - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
I don't know if anyone else considers it to be worthwhile, but I wouldn't mind seeing how well these coolers work when you remove one of the commonly-changed variables: the fans. I rarely ever use stock fans, and along those lines, it would be interesting to see what would happen if the same fans (per standard size -- 120mm and 140mm) were used on each cooler.jjj - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
Pretty pointless without a comparison with the same fans and some air coolers.silenceisgolden - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
I'm a little disappointed that patent trolls kept the Swiftech offerings from this list, but that's how things are I guess.casteve - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
Thanks for the review. What was the ambient noise level and the noise meter used for the test?E.Fyll - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
My apologies, I should have added this into the review. Will do so from now on. The meter is an Extech HD600 and the background noise level is 30.4 dB(A) (+/- about 0.5 dB(A), depending on the night I perform a test).casteve - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
Thanks. As this meter has a lower limit of 30dB(A) and an accuracy of +/-1.4dB, your ambient is probably quieter and you are just seeing the low end of what the meter can do. Sort of expected unless (as you say) you have an expensive set up for the test equipment. Get Anand to shill out the $'s for a 10dBA microphone and an anechoic chamber for that spare bedroom. :)Some terms - if the meter is reading sound pressure level, then it's dB(A) SPL, which is referenced to 20 micro Pascals (0 dB). So, 0 dB(A) SPL is the threshold of hearing, 20-30dB(A) SPL is a calm room.
pcfxer - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
All of these are way too loud. At 30+ dB, none of these coolers hit the envelope for someone who actually cares about "silence" and noise.E.Fyll - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
You are confusing dB and dB(A), I am afraid. The background noise of my room at 2:00AM is 30.4 dB(A). Sub-35 dB(A) levels are generally impossible to notice by a human ear. Sub-30 dB(A) levels are next to impossible to record with anything less than science lab-grade equipment. There is no handheld or desktop dB(A) meter that can perform such readings. If you have seen reviews stating sub-30 dB(A) levels, make sure to check their methodology (given that there is any). Either the meter cannot read lower than 30 dB(A) (and/or will display a bogus reading, as most cheap Chinese meters do) and the review is a fictional text or their methodology is based on dB readings, not dB(A) readings, which is useless to a consumer.