Cooler Master Seidon 240M and 12 More Coolers: The Retest and Mega-Roundup
by Dustin Sklavos on April 26, 2013 6:01 AM ESTConclusions: It Always Depends on Your Needs
Before I get into specific recommendations, it's worth taking a few moments to talk about the three new coolers that were tested today: the Cooler Master Seidon 240M, the Noctua NH-U12S, and the Noctua NH-U14S.
First, while the Swiftech H220 may be the best 240mm closed loop cooler available, it also commands a healthy premium over the competition. This leaves Corsair's H100i and the Cooler Master Seidon 240M competing against each other, and this one's really a no brainer in favor of Cooler Master. The Seidon 240M sometimes lists for cheaper than the H100i, and while you don't get the software functionality or extra fan headers of the H100i, the 240M is slightly more efficient overall, and its mounting system is head and shoulders above the H100i. If you're in the market for a 240mm cooler and the Swiftech is too rich for your blood, then you're going to want the Seidon 240M.
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What surprised me was just how well the two new Noctua coolers performed. The NH-U12S is basically at least as good as the stalwart NH-D14, but it's smaller and it's cheaper. Meanwhile, the big brother NH-U14S puts in a solid performance of its own, but losing that top PCI Express port for just a couple more degrees of performance is a major drag. These are both excellent air coolers in their own right, but if you're looking to spend premium cash on an air cooler, I'd go with the NH-U12S and then probably tack a second NF-F12 PWM fan on to the order.
I was happy to evaluate three new products and have all of them perform well. Asetek's probably none too happy that Cooler Master made a better 240mm cooler than they do (let alone CoolIT's mediocre entry), while Noctua's newer, simpler cooler designs seem to be more effective than the older, bulkier ones. Though it's not a head turner, as the least expensive cooler on the charts, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo continues to perform admirably and justifies the Bronze Editors' Choice award it earned in the last roundup.
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So what do you buy for what market? If you're on a budget, then your decision has been made for you: the Hyper 212 Evo is the best bargain out there. As for the rest of the coolers, you essentially need to consider your options. Outside of the NZXT Kraken X40 or Corsair H90 with a second fan, closed loop coolers under the 240mm mark just don't impress. The H80i was better than the H55 and H60, but that doesn't mean much when Noctua's solutions are competitive at around the same price. You have to run the H80i full bore for it to break away from the NH-U12S or NH-U14S, and that's a tough sell when either cooler can do the same job more quietly.
When you go north of $100, you're really looking at getting an H90 or Kraken X40 and buying a second fan, 
buying a Seidon 240M, or going for the Swiftech H220. The comparably priced 280mm Kraken X60 is able to break away from Swiftech's H220, but it has to run its fans a lot faster to get there, and you'll have a much harder time finding a case compatible with it than you will the H220. At ~$110, I'd probably opt for the Seidon 240M over having to beef up one of the 140mm solutions, but at ~$140, the Swiftech H220 is really where the buck stops.
It bears mentioning that in my last review, the H220 had issues with pump noise and harmonic resonance in the testbed. Using the retail kit, I experienced no such issues during testing. With my chief concerns largely taken care of in the retail model, I'm now totally comfortable giving the Swiftech H220 a Bronze Editor's Choice award. It's heavy, it's powerful, it's copper, and it's as good as you're going to get before you go full custom (which, hilariously, you can also do with it.) The same award also goes to Noctua's NH-U12S, which at $65 is as good a bargain as you're going to get from Noctua, and screams quality while offering solid performance.
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Rogerdodge1 - Friday, April 26, 2013 - link
are these really the delta temps in Celsius above room temp? if they are then even at a room temp of 21.11C (70 F) you have gone way beyond the temp spec on the processor(72.6C at the heat spreader) with several of your air coolers....even if these are absolute temps Celsius some of the air coolers are dangerously close to max temp. I understand pushing the overclock to test the coolers, but subjecting the chip to those temps is bound to kill it a lot quicker. i suppose if this is all you use it for it doesn't matter much, but damn i would hate to do that to a chip i paid for.Bobs_Your_Uncle - Friday, April 26, 2013 - link
I've remained extremely intrigued with both the design & the potential efficacy of a prototyped cooler noted within Anandtech ( http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=21782... ) & elsewhere ( http://www.tomshardware.com/news/cpu-cooler-sandia... --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWQZNXEKkaU ). It's been quite some time since initially publicized & I wonder if you might know where to research for an update on it's status?While the concept has many possible applications, the thought of it's implementation for PC component cooling is enough to excite one into debilitating nervous ticks. (Well, maybe it's not quite that exciting, but ..... I'm still interested on where it is in development!)
politbureau - Friday, April 26, 2013 - link
Hey Dustin, where's the H110? I understand you'd like to limit the test to 'current' coolers, but the H110 is still readily avaialable at retail, and it seems coutnerproductive not to include what should be the top performaing CLC is this roundup...Dustin Sklavos - Friday, April 26, 2013 - link
The H110 and Kraken X60 are almost the exact same product, just different fans (understanding that Corsairs fans are superior) and different control (the Kraken X60 uses USB and software, the H110 relies entirely upon your motherboard). But they're the same Asetek radiator and I suspect the same pump.Guspaz - Friday, April 26, 2013 - link
I recently tried to replace my Shuttle's 92mm fan with a Noctua NF-B9 PWM, which was a very disappointing experience. Yes, it was quiet, but it also spins extremely slowly at max speed, with a low static pressure and a very low airflow. The end result was an increase in CPU load temperatures of 40 degrees (celcius) or so, which is pretty damned massive. Since the CPU fan in a Shuttle doubles as the case fan (the CPU has a heatplate which connects via heatpipes to a large heatsink on the rear of the case, onto which a 92mm fan blows air through it, cooling the CPU and exhausting air from the case at the same time).The problem is that the stock fan, while decently quiet up until 35-40% speed, has this point around 40% speed where it very quickly gets very loud (motor noise, not airflow noise). Some research showed that there are only a tiny handful of fans on the market that spin anywhere near as fast (Delta had one, that's about it), and they're a tad pricey to buy on a "hope it's quieter at medium speeds".
Is it really so much to ask for a fan that is quiet at lower speeds, but can still spin fast (loud if required)? I don't care how loud the thing is at max speed, because if I'm gaming I've got headphones on anyhow. But during normal use (or while trying to sleep) the occasional CPU spike pushes it just past the 40% mark and even the 5% speed bump causes an audible revving.
epoon2 - Friday, April 26, 2013 - link
to your point on quiet at lower speeds, but can still spin fast (loud if required) -It would be more expensive, and the fan may be larger, and the original target audience would flock because their original wish was getting a quiet fan at all times.
FH123 - Sunday, April 28, 2013 - link
I'm a bit out of the game, but I think the Noctua fans that only have 6 blades, spaced quite far apart, have a reputation for low air pressure and don't work well when the CPU heat sink has lots of closely spaced fins. I also use a Noctua fan (see below), but it's a model with more blades and more closely spaced ones.In general I agree with you. Fans that run at low speeds by default are a silly marketing phenomenon, which are only useful when you don't have a fan controller, no motherboard fan headers or can't get to grips with the freely available Speedfan program. What you really want is a fan that will still actuate and won't stall at low speeds (say 600RPM), but can ramp up to (much) higher speeds, if needed.
Another phenomenon I find with my own fan / case combination is that there are certain speeds where the fan noise takes on a distinct and annoying pitch. I don't think it's motor whine, but perhaps some sort of whistling effect produced by the fan holes in the case. This happens at 1,300RPM and around 1,050RPM for me, but neither at 900RPM nor 1,200RPM. I therefore find it very important to be able to regulate the fan speed.
StitchExperimen - Sunday, April 28, 2013 - link
I would like to see the replacement of fans with 9 blade fans and see if a lower rpm and higher air flow makes a difference. I took two 9 blade fans in push pull on a Corsair 80i on a i7 3770 because the stock fan noise was so loud/bad. Possibly with this is what I used in push pull from newegg >>> COUGAR CF-V12HPB Vortex Hydro-Dynamic-Bearing (Fluid) 300,000 Hours 12CM Silent Cooling Fan with Pulse Width Modulation (Black)FH123 - Sunday, April 28, 2013 - link
Are there any fan ducts still on the market? I built my PC years ago using a Thermalright HR-01 with the optional fan duct that connects the heatsink to the rear 120mm case fan. This arrangement seems to work very well, which perhaps ties in with your observation that the case fan is very important for air coolers. Fan ducts also seem to be common in commercial designs from the likes of Dell. I don't even use a CPU fan, only the case fan.If it's of any interest, my system is built in an Antec Solo case, optimised for low noise. The only fans are the rear case fan, the power supply fan (at the top of the case) and the GPU fan (ATI 5850 radial fan). There is no front intake fan. The Q9650 CPU has a mild overclock from 3 to 3.6GHz, while remaining at stock voltage. The case fan, at 1,200RPM, keeps the CPU within 45 to 50C over ambient during a Prime stress test. It runs at merely 900RPM during lighter loads.
flemeister - Sunday, April 28, 2013 - link
You can easily make your own with cardboard and tape. I've found a three-sided duct to be the best for connecting a CPU heatsink to a rear fan (with the open side facing the motherboard). It still pulls plenty of air through the CPU heatsink, but also allows air to be pulled over the motherboard VRMs.