- Joined
- Jun 6, 2002
I bought one of these maybe close to a month ago now, it sat for a bit since the other pc i was till working on.
PC specs:
Intel X5560
Asus Ramage II GENE
Corsair 3x2gig DDR3-1600 cas9 (to be swapped out for some cas8 sticks later on.)
Mushkin ECO3 240gb
Ati R5 230 passive
Corsair CX650 (to be replaced with a CX430 later on)
Thermostat Reading: 71F or 21.6C *note thermostat is on the wall right next to the room im in.*
Temps Stock Fans(2x120mm push):
stock speeds (TDP 95watts)
1289rpm *Idle 34-37c* *Load 47-53c*
2008rpm *Idle TBT* *Load TBT*
Noctua U12P-SE(Phobya ELOOP's. push-pull)
1684 rpm *idle 32-40c* *Load 46-48c*
4ghz@(1.36v LLC-Idle/1.37v LLC-Load) (TDP?)
1289rpm *idle 34-43c* *Load 70-78c* (stopped load testing after 20mins due to 78c on two cores)
2008rpm *idle 33-42c* *Load In Testing*
Noctua U12P-SE
1684 rpm *Idle 32-44c* *Load 68-73c*
running each section for about 3hrs on load, idle doesn't take long to come down and stabilize. these fans can go up to 2.5k rpm but they are just to loud for me, tested at 2k since its not as loud. these founds sound different then the Eloop phobya's i have red blades with 1.8krpm actual running speed vs listed at 1.6k. even when lowered to 1.6k they are still emitting some kind of higher pitched noise i think is from the fan motor. i found a channel on youtube with a bunch of fan testing for sound, while his setup isnt that quiet over all due to background noises. two of the other ELOOP based fans he tested, i hear the same noise on. they were from noiseblocker one was the S2 or S3, will need to go find them and post them. i do not plan on changing the fans to the ELOOP's like i thought i was going to when buying the fans and the AIO. the CM fans are far better in smaller ways, hardish rubber mounting to the plastic frame of the fan. no higher pithed noise that is from the fan motor or is it from the motor? the CM fans have a sound that is just more like hearing air being pushed vs any kind of noise from the motor, this could be due to a number of things since the cm fan is a 4pin pwm vs the phoybia's being a 3pin. now the noise i hear from the eloops does seem to change in pitch slightly as well as loudness when turned down. at full 1798rpm the sound is air plus a higher pitched noise then at 1.6k, if this noise could be fixed they would be awesome fans.
Things i think should have been on the fans, labeling to show direction of air flow. i forgot which way was which so stuck the to directions of how they were mounted. its now mounted in the front of a N200 matx case pushing air out the front. wont be hard to fix this just swap the fans around to the other side, bingo!. even though the pump is pwm it doesnt seem to change speed at all this could be my older board. since i hear the pump more on some restarts after setting options in the bios for the pwm fans using the options i have. mostly after setting any option it stays near 9k, some times i hear it and it sounds like it picks up speed but then quiets down with the options in enabled. need to test to see if with the options off if the pump speed picks up and stays up or of this is a power on function of the pump.
CM fans at 2k, i may have said this already but want to make sure i cover this. i hear what i think is just sound of air being moved and this gets louder when it was at 2.5k rpm, i just couldnt take that. now at 1.28k rpm i hardly heard any noise maybe a slight sound of air moving. granted i was sitting next to the pc about 1ft away from me so if this was set somewhere else you shouldn't hear it at all. at 2k rpm im sure farther away i wouldn't hear it as much, which will be nice when set farther away(for those wondering).
I threw in my aircooled results as to compare if there was any improvements. i dont have any picts for these, didnt think about it at the time, posting what i wrote down in notepad. the same TIM was used in both air and wc results, using the Gelid Extreme tim, using an X patter with a smaller BB on top center of the X. As you can see though the WC setup would have been close to matching the U12PSE at 4ghz if i could have gotten the fan speed up a bit more on that next.
Now be it the PWM controller on the fan since it has 3 settings to choose from, need to get the pic i took for that. it is currently on the S setting which allows a max 2k rpm, the P setting goes to the max 2.5k rpm. I have not tried the Q setting since i think that would be far to low for any usefull need, unless your wanting to use this on some stock 65watt TDP or lower cpu.
now my board has options to set the duty cycle, every attemp has failed to get the % i set it too. After checking the bios the fan speed reads 2k even if set to the low 40% duty cycle. using the temp option in the bios the fan gets stuck in the low setting which is the above posted 1289rpm, even when temps got to 70c in testing the fan speed never picked up. which lead me to think the pwm controller on the fan is overriding any setting i try. it would have been nice when using the Y cable to attach both to a single header if the fan control was built into the cable instead of the fan. as i would have opted to find my own balance of fan speed/noise/cooling ratio for my clocks. as im sure i could get reasonable temps with a bit lower noise with these fans.
This is a two kind of post, one a personal usage one and two a mini review. as there are 2 sites with reviews posted of it, it does quiet well IMO for an AIO. i honestly was expecting worse vs what some say about AIO's. i think there is a battle going on with this CM MasterLiquid PRO 240 unit and the Alphacool Eisbaer 240 both are listed $1 apart on PerformancePC's where i got my CM unit. i think the new Raditor layout is better with more area contacting the tubes for heat removal vs the more traditional what looks like to me a pyramid design with small points making contact. i do have a pic of the rad but i dont think it came out to well, i need to get that off the camera so i can post it. getting a new one now with it mounted just isnt going to happen. if i had to describe what i see, it looks more like a square wave form with 1-2mm possibly, making contact with the tubes. The CM fans in this kit are not sold retail which is a shame, as im willing to bet many would change over to them. It would be nice if CM would lose the on fan rpm controller to allow other fan controllers or PWM settings from the bios to take effect. unless this is some glitch with my board and pwm fans, as i was able to have 3pins using any % in bios with no problems.
PC specs:
Intel X5560
Asus Ramage II GENE
Corsair 3x2gig DDR3-1600 cas9 (to be swapped out for some cas8 sticks later on.)
Mushkin ECO3 240gb
Ati R5 230 passive
Corsair CX650 (to be replaced with a CX430 later on)
Thermostat Reading: 71F or 21.6C *note thermostat is on the wall right next to the room im in.*
Temps Stock Fans(2x120mm push):
stock speeds (TDP 95watts)
1289rpm *Idle 34-37c* *Load 47-53c*
2008rpm *Idle TBT* *Load TBT*
Noctua U12P-SE(Phobya ELOOP's. push-pull)
1684 rpm *idle 32-40c* *Load 46-48c*
4ghz@(1.36v LLC-Idle/1.37v LLC-Load) (TDP?)
1289rpm *idle 34-43c* *Load 70-78c* (stopped load testing after 20mins due to 78c on two cores)
2008rpm *idle 33-42c* *Load In Testing*
Noctua U12P-SE
1684 rpm *Idle 32-44c* *Load 68-73c*
running each section for about 3hrs on load, idle doesn't take long to come down and stabilize. these fans can go up to 2.5k rpm but they are just to loud for me, tested at 2k since its not as loud. these founds sound different then the Eloop phobya's i have red blades with 1.8krpm actual running speed vs listed at 1.6k. even when lowered to 1.6k they are still emitting some kind of higher pitched noise i think is from the fan motor. i found a channel on youtube with a bunch of fan testing for sound, while his setup isnt that quiet over all due to background noises. two of the other ELOOP based fans he tested, i hear the same noise on. they were from noiseblocker one was the S2 or S3, will need to go find them and post them. i do not plan on changing the fans to the ELOOP's like i thought i was going to when buying the fans and the AIO. the CM fans are far better in smaller ways, hardish rubber mounting to the plastic frame of the fan. no higher pithed noise that is from the fan motor or is it from the motor? the CM fans have a sound that is just more like hearing air being pushed vs any kind of noise from the motor, this could be due to a number of things since the cm fan is a 4pin pwm vs the phoybia's being a 3pin. now the noise i hear from the eloops does seem to change in pitch slightly as well as loudness when turned down. at full 1798rpm the sound is air plus a higher pitched noise then at 1.6k, if this noise could be fixed they would be awesome fans.
Things i think should have been on the fans, labeling to show direction of air flow. i forgot which way was which so stuck the to directions of how they were mounted. its now mounted in the front of a N200 matx case pushing air out the front. wont be hard to fix this just swap the fans around to the other side, bingo!. even though the pump is pwm it doesnt seem to change speed at all this could be my older board. since i hear the pump more on some restarts after setting options in the bios for the pwm fans using the options i have. mostly after setting any option it stays near 9k, some times i hear it and it sounds like it picks up speed but then quiets down with the options in enabled. need to test to see if with the options off if the pump speed picks up and stays up or of this is a power on function of the pump.
CM fans at 2k, i may have said this already but want to make sure i cover this. i hear what i think is just sound of air being moved and this gets louder when it was at 2.5k rpm, i just couldnt take that. now at 1.28k rpm i hardly heard any noise maybe a slight sound of air moving. granted i was sitting next to the pc about 1ft away from me so if this was set somewhere else you shouldn't hear it at all. at 2k rpm im sure farther away i wouldn't hear it as much, which will be nice when set farther away(for those wondering).
I threw in my aircooled results as to compare if there was any improvements. i dont have any picts for these, didnt think about it at the time, posting what i wrote down in notepad. the same TIM was used in both air and wc results, using the Gelid Extreme tim, using an X patter with a smaller BB on top center of the X. As you can see though the WC setup would have been close to matching the U12PSE at 4ghz if i could have gotten the fan speed up a bit more on that next.
Now be it the PWM controller on the fan since it has 3 settings to choose from, need to get the pic i took for that. it is currently on the S setting which allows a max 2k rpm, the P setting goes to the max 2.5k rpm. I have not tried the Q setting since i think that would be far to low for any usefull need, unless your wanting to use this on some stock 65watt TDP or lower cpu.
now my board has options to set the duty cycle, every attemp has failed to get the % i set it too. After checking the bios the fan speed reads 2k even if set to the low 40% duty cycle. using the temp option in the bios the fan gets stuck in the low setting which is the above posted 1289rpm, even when temps got to 70c in testing the fan speed never picked up. which lead me to think the pwm controller on the fan is overriding any setting i try. it would have been nice when using the Y cable to attach both to a single header if the fan control was built into the cable instead of the fan. as i would have opted to find my own balance of fan speed/noise/cooling ratio for my clocks. as im sure i could get reasonable temps with a bit lower noise with these fans.
This is a two kind of post, one a personal usage one and two a mini review. as there are 2 sites with reviews posted of it, it does quiet well IMO for an AIO. i honestly was expecting worse vs what some say about AIO's. i think there is a battle going on with this CM MasterLiquid PRO 240 unit and the Alphacool Eisbaer 240 both are listed $1 apart on PerformancePC's where i got my CM unit. i think the new Raditor layout is better with more area contacting the tubes for heat removal vs the more traditional what looks like to me a pyramid design with small points making contact. i do have a pic of the rad but i dont think it came out to well, i need to get that off the camera so i can post it. getting a new one now with it mounted just isnt going to happen. if i had to describe what i see, it looks more like a square wave form with 1-2mm possibly, making contact with the tubes. The CM fans in this kit are not sold retail which is a shame, as im willing to bet many would change over to them. It would be nice if CM would lose the on fan rpm controller to allow other fan controllers or PWM settings from the bios to take effect. unless this is some glitch with my board and pwm fans, as i was able to have 3pins using any % in bios with no problems.
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