All in one coolers are all the rage these days and there’s no better evidence of that than the countless number of examples on today’s market. We’ve seen both the good and bad here at Hardware Canucks so when Enermax approached us to review their latest offerings, there wasn’t exactly much excitement. With that being said, one look at the Liqtech 240HP and 120X had us looking at Enermax’s AIOs in a whole new light.
For some it may be surprising to learn that these are not Enermax's first try at AIO designs. The 240HP and 120X can loosely be considered the successors to the Liqmax lineup which helped put Enermax on the radar for cooling enthusiasts. The largest and most obvious differences between the older generation and this one is the fact that unlike Asetek or CoolIT based units, the Liqtech line does not use plastic clad waterblocks. Instead of cheap plastic they feature a custom waterblock and pump that may be larger than the competition but are an all-metal affair. In many ways these pumps will hearken PC enthusiasts back to the days before mass production made AIOs popular, when style and performance were more important that lightweight, cheap, fast production.
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<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/water_cooling/Enermax_Liqtech/intro.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>
One benefit of using a metal waterblock is that it allows for a more classical installation process which can be more precise in its mounting pressure than most of today’s designs allow for. In addition, Enermax has designed a custom micro-channel copper waterblock which should provide this new Liqtech series with a much needed boost in performance. This is especially true when the custom high performance, twister bearing-based 120mm Enermax fans are taken into account.
The Liqtech 120X is a single bay 120mm cooler which has some unique looks due to its massive double-thickness radiator. Despite its advanced set of features, Enermax has kept their entry-level AIO at a relatively reasonable $85 which puts it at a significant advantage against the likes of Corsair’s H80i and even Silverstone’s extremely good yet expensive Tundra series.
On the other end of the spectrum is Enermax's flagship model, the dual bay $105 Liqtech 240HP. This model represents the pinnacle of Enermax’s technology in a form-factor that has the cooling potential to keep even the hottest running of CPU's well below their thermal limits. To create it, Enermax has taken that selfsame water block and pump that makes the 120X so interesting and have paired it with a 240x120x27mm radiator as well as two of those high performance 120mm fans. This combination should allow it to favorably compare against the likes of the SilverStone TD02, Corsair H100i, and Cooler Master Seidon 240M.
While price competitiveness is certainly one of Enermax’s goals here, they have been able to achieve lower costs via a slightly reduced feature set. While many of the newest coolers from the likes of Corsair, NZXT and others have integrated fan controllers and associated software for modifying fan output, the Liqtech series do without such niceties. Warranty length doesn’t compare all that favorably either, with a length of just two years. Hopefully we’ll see performance outweigh these slightly negative points.
<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/water_cooling/Enermax_Liqtech/mfg.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>
For some it may be surprising to learn that these are not Enermax's first try at AIO designs. The 240HP and 120X can loosely be considered the successors to the Liqmax lineup which helped put Enermax on the radar for cooling enthusiasts. The largest and most obvious differences between the older generation and this one is the fact that unlike Asetek or CoolIT based units, the Liqtech line does not use plastic clad waterblocks. Instead of cheap plastic they feature a custom waterblock and pump that may be larger than the competition but are an all-metal affair. In many ways these pumps will hearken PC enthusiasts back to the days before mass production made AIOs popular, when style and performance were more important that lightweight, cheap, fast production.
<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/water_cooling/Enermax_Liqtech/intro.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>
One benefit of using a metal waterblock is that it allows for a more classical installation process which can be more precise in its mounting pressure than most of today’s designs allow for. In addition, Enermax has designed a custom micro-channel copper waterblock which should provide this new Liqtech series with a much needed boost in performance. This is especially true when the custom high performance, twister bearing-based 120mm Enermax fans are taken into account.
The Liqtech 120X is a single bay 120mm cooler which has some unique looks due to its massive double-thickness radiator. Despite its advanced set of features, Enermax has kept their entry-level AIO at a relatively reasonable $85 which puts it at a significant advantage against the likes of Corsair’s H80i and even Silverstone’s extremely good yet expensive Tundra series.
On the other end of the spectrum is Enermax's flagship model, the dual bay $105 Liqtech 240HP. This model represents the pinnacle of Enermax’s technology in a form-factor that has the cooling potential to keep even the hottest running of CPU's well below their thermal limits. To create it, Enermax has taken that selfsame water block and pump that makes the 120X so interesting and have paired it with a 240x120x27mm radiator as well as two of those high performance 120mm fans. This combination should allow it to favorably compare against the likes of the SilverStone TD02, Corsair H100i, and Cooler Master Seidon 240M.
While price competitiveness is certainly one of Enermax’s goals here, they have been able to achieve lower costs via a slightly reduced feature set. While many of the newest coolers from the likes of Corsair, NZXT and others have integrated fan controllers and associated software for modifying fan output, the Liqtech series do without such niceties. Warranty length doesn’t compare all that favorably either, with a length of just two years. Hopefully we’ll see performance outweigh these slightly negative points.
<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/water_cooling/Enermax_Liqtech/mfg.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>
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