Test setup and results …
For the practical test, we have installed the Enermax LiqTech II 280 water cooling system on our new AM4 test system, which consists of the following components:
ASRock Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming K4
AMD A8-9600 @ 3.8 GHz with 1.4 Volt
4GB DDR4-2400
Cooler Master Testbench v1.0
For measurement, the following tools were used: Prime95 and SpeedFan.
The ambient temperature during the test was about 21°C.
The Enermax LiqTech II 280 first competes against the AMD Boxed cooler as usual. If you want, you can also join our recently released test of the Enermax LiqFusion 240 AIO water cooling, which was tested under the same conditions, and compare the results.
As the AMD Boxed cooler isn’t really a serious opponent for a 280 AIO watercooling, we also – as in the case of the Enermax LiqFusion 240 test – sent the Noctua NH-D15 into the race as opponent. The pump of the Enermax LiqTech II 280 always ran at the same speed as the fans. However, since 40% reached the lower limit at which the pump still works reliably, it also ran at 40% at 20% fan speed.
We then used the CPU for 30 minutes with Prime95 and recorded the temperatures.
The Enermax LiqTech II 280 water cooling beats the AMD Boxed cooler naturally both in the temperature and the noise level and finally we have a cooling on the test stand, which comes close to the Noctua NH-D15.
In addition, we also compared the Enermax LiqTech II 280 and the Noctua NH-D15 on a AMD Ryzen 1800X.
Here is the same picture as on the AMD A8 APU: The temperatures of the LiqTech II 280 are very good, those of the NH-D15 a little better.
Since the pump can be perfectly controlled, we also tested how the pump speed affects the cooling performance and have the pump regulated separately at 100% fan speed.
The cooling capacity decreases measurably but not dramatically with the pump speed. You can use the control range 40% – 100% in favor of the volume.
The fan volume is measured with a dB meter from 100cm distance. In addition, we determine the respective rotational speed. In the case of the Enermax LiqTech II 280 watercooling, however, the pump was also included, so that the values remain practical.
| Enermax LiqTech II 280 | ||
| 20% | 31dB | 436rpm |
| 40% | 32dB | 589rpm |
| 60% | 34.5dB | 988rpm |
| 80% | 42dB | 1296rpm |
| 100% | 43dB | 1305rpm |
The fans have a balanced tuning, in which both the silent operation is possible, but you can also give gas if necessary. The fan noise is free of disorders.
To be able to estimate the fan noise, we have again a video, by letting the speed range run completely up and down.
It’s not uncommon for AIO water coolers to encounter a slight pump hum or buzzing, which unfortunately we have also noticed in the Enermax LiqTech II 280. However, since the pump can be regulated so well, you can also fine-tune this. Again, we have a short video.
Overall, however, the pump whirring is so low that it quickly goes down in the fan noise as soon as you switch them on.
Let us now turn to the optical criteria of AIO water cooling.
Enermax LiqTech II 280 RGB Optic …