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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jmke - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
as with everything, the noise scale and extreme focus of SPCR does give a slightly twisted view.none of these AIO would qualify as silent, anything above 30dBA would be loud for him; his kitchen is <30dBA... ;-)
EnzoFX - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
>30DB is loud lol. At least audible to anyone I would say, so can't we at least say it's not silent? Furthermore he'd provide at least a vast array of reference points, where Anandtech is severely lacking when it comes to cooling/cases/etc.E.Fyll - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
Definitely not loud and not even audible to most. 30 dB(A) is the lowermost threshold that the vast majority of sound level meters can take a reading from. I have provided a thorough explanation about this down below in the comments. I personally consider any test that I have seen stating that they got a valid reading below 30 dB(A) with sub - $30k equipment to be rubbish.Jon-R - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
So you're saying that the tests over at SilentPCReview are rubbish? What sound measurement equipment did you use? I couldn't find a mention of it.JlHADJOE - Thursday, February 13, 2014 - link
30 dB is very quiet far as background noise goes.Whisper Quiet Library at 6' 30dB
Sauce: http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/loudness.h...
JlHADJOE - Friday, February 14, 2014 - link
It's not so much that their tests are rubbish, just unrealistic.SilentPC tests in an anechoic chamber, so the noise floor when they test is near zero. Compared to that, an increase to 30dBA is very loud. But in a real-world environment, 30dBA is whisper quiet.
I do agree though that use of the anechoic chamber keeps their tests consistent and repeatable. Just not necessarily representative of what a case will actually sound like in a real room.
YazX_ - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
Thx for this thorough review, i have corsair H100i, its awesome AIO cooler, but the fans are piece of shit and very noisy, i replaced them with Bitfenix LED ones, although they operate at 1800 RPM, but i never had to see them operate on that speed, my CPU is OCed to 4.5Ghz and max temp is 65, so they work 50% most of the time and pretty silent.AshyPistachios - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
This ended up comparing fans more than it did rads/pumps. I would like to see a test scenario where identical fans are used on each rad. The current testing methodology does test the complete package, but people seeking silent setups tend to swap all of the fans anywayMrSpadge - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
Agreed - comparing performance doesn't mean much with such different fan noise levels. You could use some high pressure fans for all systems, for example.And I couldn't care less if a stock fan runs at 7 V or what ever. What I do care about is the noise. In practice I set my rigs up for the best cooling I can get at subjectively low noise level (they're running 24/7 under load). So pick any reasonably quiet noise level, set the fans to whatever speed is required to get there and then compare performance (note: this is even more meaningful if you use similar fans). With PWM you're not limited to 12V and 7V, it's not 2005 any more.
E.Fyll - Wednesday, February 12, 2014 - link
7 Volts is about the same voltage level as most modern motherboard apply in their "quiet" mode. High enough to start nearly all fans ever made, low enough to keep things quiet. Unfortunately, I cannot perform testing the way you propose. As you mentioned yourself, it would have to be a "subjectively low" noise level. The very word "subjectively" puts me off. Even if I do set such a noise limit, which would be terribly wrong as it would just be based on my subjective opinion, not all coolers would be able to operate as such a noise level at all.It is even less meaningful to use the same fans; when you are buying a kit, you are buying the kit with its fans. Purchasing additional fans not only raises its cost but, depending on the characteristic behavior of the fan, the fan itself can affect performance and favor some kits over others. The actual performance of a fan is not based on its RPM or CFM ratings, it is a very complicated matter. That would render any comparisons between different kits virtually useless. Furthermore, the choice of fans would be based on my subjective opinion as well, nobody warranties that the end user will be purchasing the same fans out of the hundreds of possible choices. Someone would want me to use a quieter fan, others might want something more powerful, others something cheaper, others something fancier and so on. And of course, most would just want to buy a kit and be done with it. The only objective comparison is to compare the performance of a kit with its stock fans, as it comes supplied from the factory. Everything else is based on assumptions and subjective opinions that, including mine, have no place in an objective review.