Final words and conclusion
Final words and conclusion
I hope for Enermax that the stigma and reputation damage done with the 1st generation model is a thing of the past for them. Realistically, what we have tested today costs just 75 USD/EUR, and that is just a terrific deal. We tested the relatively small 240mm model; it has a 330 Watt rating, so that's plenty enough of a performance to cool any processor you throw at it. And yeah, the numbers do back that up as even at 1.4v on the processor tweak, we did not pass 80 degrees C under full load.
Acoustics
At defaults, the acoustics are acceptable but definitely not silent despite remaining in that 35~39 DBa marker depending on your tweak; when the fans ramp up, you can hear them; it's not airflow, but the fans themselves. So as far as the fans go, I am not a fan. And that is definitely something that Enermax should opt to improve on future generations. That said, it isn't noisy at all, but it could be better. To tweak that out, you can fire off allow fan RPM profiles at the fans with your Rothbard BIOS.
Aesthetics
The overall looks are distinguished as far as I am concerned; the black design makes the rad/fans/pump look nice. All feels well balanced; however, I mark my reservations on brand name logos being RGB lit; the Enermax logo sitting in the middle is a bit much, TBH. OVERALL, the RGB effects bring a subtle look to the cooler but add more wiring to deal with. The fans all are aRGB lit as well, and that does look nice; however, the number of wires to hideaway can be annoying. Remember, this kit does not come with an RGB controller, so you'll need to hook it onto a motherboard or controller with a 5V aRGB connector.
Installation
Overall it is straightforward to install with the mounting system, prefilled... it's one of the easier and comfortable kits on the market to use and install. We find the kit to have a bit too many screws and whistles and bells, though, which after unpacking can be a little overwhelming. For example, the backplate bracket needs four screws and four washers before you can even insert it. Then on the CPU side, you secure it with two screws but not before you mounted two brackets to the CPU block. It's all no biggy, but we do wonder if that process cannot be simplified. We do dislike all the cabling needed for aRGB, though.
Pricing
Here's where things get perfect for Enermax; if you look up street prices, then the unit as tested costs can be spotted for just 75 EUR/USD. That's this 240 version with included RGB fans. That's pretty good value.
Final words
We mentioned a couple of times that Enermax's stigma and reputation due to the issues with their 1st generation Liqtech coolers is still haunting them. The problems should have been fixed at revision II, and we tested revision II already. We firmly believe in second chances and have not heard any complaints from you guys on these coolers in the past year or so. The cooler itself actually is quite impressive in cooling performance; the fans could be a notch more silent though they are not too noisy. When you OC your processor, you'll likely need to limit fan RPM to acceptable levels for this kit to become silent (which it certainly can be). The aesthetics are fine, and the kit is aRGB 5V compatible. Yeah, this is not perfect, but for 75 USD, you get a lot of value for money, though. This could work out really well for a lot of people.
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