Deepcool Gamerstorm Castle 280EX liquid cooler review - Introduction

Deepcool Gamerstorm Castle 280EX LCS review
Anti-leak, anti-heat

Today, we are reviewing an AIO cooler from Deepcool: the Castle 280EX. A new thing to emphasize in this review: we’ll show you results for an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, not just the Intel Core i9 9900K this time. As for the hero of the review - it’s the third variant in the family. We already reviewed its smaller (240 mm) brother almost one year ago. There is also a 360 mm variant available, so by releasing the 280 mm Deepcool has now covered all of the most popular sizes in the AIO market. The product is fitted with Deepcool’s exclusive Anti-leak Technology. This technology helps the system achieve an automated pressure balance, which will significantly improve the operation safety of AIO liquid cooling solutions. Surprise, surprise, there’s some RGB here (but only on the pump, not the fans), and there is the option to customize the logo as well. The castle 280EX uses a popular All-in-One formula, with a radiator, pump, and fans (2 x140 mm in this case) that are coupled into a single, closed-loop. The EX has skipped additional RGB accessories, and instead opted for a pair of four-pin TF140S PWM fans capable of moving up to 97.03 cubic feet of air per minute at speeds ranging from 400 to 1,600 RPM.  

The Castle 280EX supports all major motherboard RGB systems, such as Asus Aura, as well as manual control via the included RGB controller. You can check out the default effects below. We have received the 280 mm version of the Castle 280EX (there are also a 240 mm and 360 mm options available like we’ve mentioned before). The block is big enough to support the AMD TR4 socket without any adjustments needed. The pump is enormous and stands 71 mm tall. The top section of the pump has a mirror-like finish (when the lights are turned off) and a rim made of a silver-coloured plastic. With addressable LEDs, the unit looks attractive.

The radiator is of standard size, namely 32.2 cm in length for the 280 mm model, with 2.7 cm in thickness and 12.5 cm in width. The radiator has aluminium fins instead of copper ones, which would have allowed for faster heat transfer (but it also costs significantly more). The MSRP is 149 USD for the 280 mm version, and you receive three years of warranty here. Now, let’s check what this AIO has to offer besides the leak-proof technology and customizable logo.