Closed-loop liquid coolers relieve stress from our motherboards, without the portability and maintenance issues of traditional open-loop kits. Are these the best devices for system builders who plan to move their machines and want to avoid damage?
We know from experience that cooling performance is mostly tied to the size of your sink and the air moving over it. The folks selling heat sinks know this too, which helps explain how our most recent round-up of air coolers grew to 14 samples (Big Air: 14 LGA 2011-Compatible Coolers For Core i7-3000, Reviewed).
Anyone who's ever studied physics tends to get a little nervous when they see us supporting a couple pounds of copper and aluminum with a few inches of leverage over a delicate circuit board. Configurations that work marvelously on a system you build and leave at home are prone to failure when you move that machine around. Just think about the nightmare boutique builders face when it comes to mailing off an expensive system with an aggressively overclocked processor and multiple graphics cards inside.
Even we're affected by the problem of heavy heat sinks! We used to ship the winners of our System Builder Marathon giveaways fully-built PCs. Enough coolers broke loose (or broke motherboards) that we had to start taking them apart and boxing up the individual pieces first. Sometimes I'd experiment with water-cooling in my high-end SBM submission, and that was equally problematic when it came to shipping.
Fortunately, a more user-friendly form of cooling is available. Closed-loop liquid coolers rarely leak, they have no fill ports from which to spill, there is no separate pump or reservoir to break loose, and the small water blocks place little stress on the motherboard. Although they aren't as configurable as conventional water-cooling kits, sealed coolers boast superior portability, transportability, and maintainability.
The newest generation of closed-loop systems is even said to offer better performance than those that matched the air-cooling market a year ago. But heat sinks and fans continue evolving too, and there's a new sheriff in town. Are sealed liquid coolers really ready to stand up to a truly monstrous air cooler?

| Closed-Loop Liquid Coolers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooler Master Seidon 240M | Corsair H100i | Enermax ELC240 | Zalman LQ320 | |
| Length | 10.7" | 10.9" | 10.6" | 5.9" |
| Width | 4.8" | 4.7" | 4.7" | 4.9" |
| Rad. Thickness | 1.0" | 1.0" | 1.3" | 2.0" |
| Cooling Fans | 2 x 120 x 25 mm | 2 x 120 x 25 mm | 2 x 120 x 25 mm | 1 x 120 x 25 mm |
| Total Thickness | 2.0" | 2.0" | 2.3" | 3.0" |
| Control Type | Motherboard Fan Headers | Integrated/Auto, Programmable | Motherboard Fan Header | Motherboard Fan Headers |
| Weight | 34 Ounces | 36 Ounces | 34 Ounces | 36 Ounces |
| AMD Processor Interfaces | All AM2 to AM3+ | Clip-On | All AM2 to AM3+ | All AM2 to AM3+ |
| Intel Processor Interfaces | 775, 1156/1155, 1366, 2011 | 775, 1156/1155, 1366, 2011 | 775, 1156/1155, 1366, 2011 | 1156/1155, 1366, 2011 |
| Web Price | $100 | $120 | $120 | $105 |
With four vendors ready to prove their worth, we needed only to find a suitable platform and high-capacity air cooler of similar cost.
- When It Comes To Cooling, Size Matters
- Cooler Master Seidon 240M
- Seidon 240M Installation
- Corsair Hydro Series H100i
- Installing The H100i
- CorsairLINK 2 Control Software
- Enermax ELC240
- Installing The ELC240
- Zalman LQ320
- Installing The LQ320
- Test Hardware Configuration
- Cooling, Fan Speed, And Noise
- Evaluating Performance
- Can Air Cooling Win A Round-Up Of Liquid Coolers?
Nice review as well. Too bad you didn't test NZXT kraken cpu coolers.
If you ask me, I'd rather stick with the D14
Nice review as well. Too bad you didn't test NZXT kraken cpu coolers.
If you ask me, I'd rather stick with the D14
(Source: Using a Corsair H60 w/ 2 Noctua NF-F12's in push-pull config in my Lian-Li PC-Q08; such large air-coolers as the Noctua could not fit due to the limited vertical clearance above the CPU)
Bit-tech.net has a review of Thermaltake water coolers and their top end 240mm took the crown. Better than H100i and the rest shown here.
It is HUGE, but I got it for 50$ and to me that was a great value. It was also on for 50$ again at NCIX's boxing day sale.
Sure fills up an SSF system.
Not embedding the image because it may mess up the page.
http://imageshack.us/a/img39/1358/dsc0458s.jpg
I recommend at least a 60 minute Prime95 test of each cooler to get an accurate delta over ambient
I recommend at least a 60 minute Prime95 test of each cooler to get an accurate delta over ambient
60mins? Somewhere around 20mins isn't enough for these CLCs to reach equilibrium?
For an lcs without any reservoir - 60 mins sounds excessive to have them maxed out, 20 min sound more than sufficient. Some home reviewers have claimed that it takes about 60 mins for a lcs without reservoir to max out but its been busted when its been shown the ambient room temperature have been the major change for the last 45 mins...