Deepcool MaelStrom 120 Review
Category : Watercooling
Published by Hiwa Pouri on 20.08.14
With the Maelstrom 120 Deepcool has an all-in-one watercooler in its portfolio, that comes with the a rather slim radiator and apparenlty one 120 millimeter fan. At a first look the design is looking good while you get a black radiator and a fan with red fan blades. Overall we're curious to see wether this cooler is able to cause some damage or not.
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Today we have the pleasure to check out Deepcool's MaelStrom 120 compact liquid cooling system, which, according to Deepcool, should be compatible even with smaller cases and tighter spaces thanks to its 154mm tall and 27mm thick 120mm radiator. The special 120mm radiator on the MaelStrom 120 is slightly higher than normal 120mm models, which should guarantee increased performance while kink-resistant tubing should help with routing in smaller cases and tighter spaces. Overall this cooler is very well made and it looks nice and clean. The most unique feature about it is probably its color, as it features matte black with red accents which is something we have not seen with this type of cooler before. The build quality is also on a really high level. The bundle includes one 120mm PWM fan with red wings and black frame. Mounting system supports most, if not all, recent Intel and AMD socket CPUs.
The MaelStrom 120 is actually Deepcool's new liquid cooler design which is not based on CoolIT design, we think that MaelStrom 120 is designed and manufactured by Asetek OEM.
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As you can see from the picture manufacturing quality of the MaelStrom 120 is on the level it should be. It's not exceptional but still on decent level for a 75 Dollar all-in-one cooler. The radiator measures 120 x 27 mm and is made from aluminium. The cooler itself features a copper coldplate with pre-applied thermal compound. To be a bit more precise the dimensions of the MaelStrom 120 are 120mm x 154mm x 27mm (WxHxD). The fans also come with a new design that works well with the rest of the MaelStrom 120 AIO cooler. Deepcool decided to pair the MaelStrom 120 with one 120x25mm GF120 fan, with nine red blades.
Specifications |
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| Model |
MaelStrom 120 |
| Type | AIO WaterCooler |
| Dimensions | 154 x 120 x 27mm (LxBxW) |
| Weight | n/a |
| Provided Fan(s) | 1 x 120x25mm PWM |
| Supported Fan(s) | 2 x 120mm |
| Base Material | Copper |
| Radiator Material | Aluminium |
| Tube | Fep Tubing |
| Socket Support | Intel LGA 1150, 1155, 1156, LGA 1366,
2011 AMD AM2(+), AM3(+), FM1, FM2, FM2+ |
| Thermal compound | Pre-applied |
| Product Page | MaelStrom 120 |
The packaging is quite standard for an all-in-one water cooling system. Alongside the AIO unit you receive one fan, a manual and mounting kits. Deepcool bundles the MaelStrom 120 with two mounting kits, one for AMD and one for Intel-based systems, as well as a backplate which is compatible with both AMD and Intel sockets. Deepcool MaelStrom 120 is not compatible only with the old Intel socket LGA775. If anything should break down with the MaelStrom 120 AIO water cooler you get a warranty that covers such event for two years.
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| Page 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Photo Gallery
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| Page 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Installation
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The installation procedure is quite easy and practical. It is pretty much self explanatory and everything is clearly explained in the manual, so it should not be a problem even for less experienced users. The design is not completely toolless as you will still need a screwdriver in order to mount the fans and the waterblock. The pressure on the CPU is good and since the base/pump is a low profile design there shouldn't be any clearance issues as even tubing can be moved in any direction without worry of blockage or leaking.
Test Setup |
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| Cooler |
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| Mainboard | ASUS Z87-Deluxe (BIOS 1602) |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-4770K Stock (Turbo On / HT On) |
| Memory | ADATA XPG V2 2x4GB DDR3-2800 CL12 1.65V |
| Video | Intel HD Graphics 4600 |
| Software |
Windows 7 x64 wPrime Benchmark v2.10 CPUID HWMonitor 1.24.0 |
| PSU | Seasonic Platinum SS-660XP2 |
| Fan Controller | Lamptron FC5 V3 |
| Thermal Compound | Pre-applied |
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| Page 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Absolute Performance
Temperatures
| 7V | Idle | Load |
| Enermax Liqtech 240 | 32 °C | 50 °C |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 32 °C | 51 °C |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 33 °C | 51 °C |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 33 °C | 51 °C |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 32 °C | 51 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 33 °C | 51 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 33 °C | 53 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 34 °C | 53 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 34 °C | 54 °C |
| Deepcool MaelStrom120 | 35 °C | 55 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 35 °C | 56 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 35 °C | 56 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 34 °C | 57 °C |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 34 °C | 57 °C |
| Raijintek Pallas | 37 °C | 59 °C |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 36 °C | 60 °C |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 36 °C | 61 °C |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 35 °C | 63 °C |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 39 °C | 64 °C |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 39 °C | 65 °C |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 38 °C | 75 °C |
| Intel Stock | 39 °C | 83 °C |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 38 °C | 69 °C |
| Scythe Ashura | 36 °C | 58 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 34 °C | 56 °C |
To measure the cooling capacity we took temperatures in idle and load with the fans at 7 and 12 V. The idle temperature represents the lowest temperature hit by the processor package after 10 minutes in idle. The load temperature is the highest temperature hit by the processor after one pass of wPrime v2.10. The wPrime test takes 4 minutes and puts load on all 8 threads. Room temperature is at 25°C.
| 12V | Idle | Load |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 32 °C | 50 °C |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 32 °C | 50 °C |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 32 °C | 50 °C |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 32 °C | 51 °C |
| Enermax Liqtech 240 | 32 °C | 51 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 33 °C | 51 °C |
| Deepcool MaelStrom120 | 33 °C | 53 °C |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 31 °C | 53 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 33 °C | 53 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 33 °C | 54 °C |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 33 °C | 54 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 34 °C | 54 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 33 °C | 55 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 34 °C | 55 °C |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 34 °C | 55 °C |
| Raijintek Pallas | 36 °C | 56 °C |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 34 °C | 57 °C |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 36 °C | 58 °C |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 37 °C | 60 °C |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 39 °C | 64 °C |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 36 °C | 69 °C |
| Intel Stock | 35 °C | 70 °C |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 37 °C | 65 °C |
| Scythe Ashura | 34 °C | 55 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 35 °C | 55 °C |
Fan Speeds
| 7 Volt | 12 Volt | |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 840 rpm | 1'180 rpm |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 780 rpm | 1'200 rpm |
| Enermax Liqtech 240 | 750 rpm | 1'300 rpm |
| Raijintek Pallas | 960 rpm | 1'440 rpm |
| Scythe Ashura | 600 rpm | 1'440 rpm |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 900 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 900 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 960 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 960 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 960 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 660 rpm | 1'530 rpm |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 960 rpm | 1'560 rpm |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 1'020 rpm | 1'560 rpm |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 600 rpm | 1'740 rpm |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 1'260 rpm | 1'860 rpm |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 1'020 rpm | 1'860 rpm |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 1'140 rpm | 1'980 rpm |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 1'200 rpm | 1'980 rpm |
| Intel Stock | 1'260 rpm | 2'040 rpm |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 1'270 rpm | 2'050 rpm |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 300 rpm | 2'180 rpm |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 280 rpm | 2'220 rpm |
| Deepcool MaelStrom120 | 1'500 rpm | 2'280 rpm |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 1'580 rpm | 2'400 rpm |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 1'620 rpm | 2'580 rpm |
Fan speeds (RPM) at 7 and 12 V.
Noise Levels
| 7 Volt | 12 Volt | |
| Intel Stock | 33.3 dBA | 37.1 dBA |
| Enermax Liqtech 240 | 33.5 dBA | 37.0 dBA |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 32.3 dBA | 37.4 dBA |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 32.2 dBA | 37.4 dBA |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 32.3 dBA | 38.4 dBA |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 33.7 dBA | 38.9 dBA |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 33.4 dBA | 38.9 dBA |
| Raijintek Pallas | 34.7 dBA | 39.3 dBA |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 34.2 dBA | 39.5 dBA |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 33.4 dBA | 39.6 dBA |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 31.2 dBA | 39.7 dBA |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 33.9 dBA | 40.1 dBA |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 32.8 dBA | 40.3 dBA |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 33.0 dBA | 40.3 dBA |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 32.3 dBA | 40.4 dBA |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 33.4 dBA | 40.6 dBA |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 33.1 dBA | 40.7 dBA |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 33.3 dBA | 40.7 dBA |
| Scythe Ashura | 32.0 dBA | 41.0 dBA |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 34.1 dBA | 41.2 dBA |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 34.5 dBA | 41.7 dBA |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 33.3 dBA | 41.7 dBA |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 36.1 dBA | 43.6 dBA |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 36.1 dBA | 43.6 dBA |
| Deepcool MaelStrom120 | 38.2 dBA | 46.9 dBA |
Decibel meter (Voltcraft SL-200) has been placed 1 meter away from the cooler. Measurements are conducted in a quiet room, where there are no other noise source. 32 dBA is the lowest we can get in our room. Also here the measurements are conducted at 7 and 12 V.
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| Page 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
PWM Performance
Temperatures
| Idle | Load | |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 33 °C | 50 °C |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 33 °C | 51 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 33 °C | 53 °C |
| Enermax Liqtech 240 | 34°C | 54 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 33 °C | 54 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 34 °C | 54 °C |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 36 °C | 54 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 33 °C | 55 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 34 °C | 55 °C |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 35 °C | 55 °C |
| Deepcool MaelStrom120 | 36 °C | 56 °C |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 35 °C | 56 °C |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 34 °C | 57 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 35 °C | 57 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 36 °C | 57 °C |
| Raijintek Pallas | 37 °C | 58 °C |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 35 °C | 59 °C |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 36 °C | 60 °C |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 39 °C | 64 °C |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 42 °C | 66 °C |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 39 °C | 70 °C |
| Intel Stock | 39 °C | 75 °C |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 39 °C | 67 °C |
| Scythe Ashura | 36 °C | 58 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 35 °C | 58 °C |
At this point we plugged the fan(s) to the motherboard CPU fan header and let the motherboard take care of fan speeds. In other words the motherboard will adjust the fan speed via PWM signal according to CPU temperature. The idle temperature is the lowest temperature hit by the processor after 10 minutes in idle. The load temperature is the highest temperature hit by the processor after one pass of wPrime v2.10. The wPrime test takes 4 minutes puts load on all 8 threads. Room temperature is 25°C.
Fan Speeds
| Idle | Load | |
| Scythe Ashura | 436 rpm | 550 rpm |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 380 rpm | 687 rpm |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 450 rpm | 740 rpm |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 471 rpm | 770 rpm |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 466 rpm | 860 rpm |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 424 rpm | 880 rpm |
| Enermax Liqtech 240 | 790 rpm | 950 rpm |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 560 rpm | 955 rpm |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 800 rpm | 969 rpm |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 580 rpm | 970 rpm |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 870 rpm | 1'000 rpm |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 765 rpm | 1'077 rpm |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 950 rpm | 1'100 rpm |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 820 rpm | 1'110 rpm |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 990 rpm | 1'115 rpm |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 920 rpm | 1'170 rpm |
| Raijintek Pallas | 952 rpm | 1'170 rpm |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 1'120 rpm | 1'190 rpm |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 1'120 rpm | 1'270 rpm |
| Deepcool MaelStrom120 | 790 rpm | 1'360 rpm |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 950 rpm | 1'465 rpm |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 1'250 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Intel Stock | 1'230 rpm | 1'630 rpm |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 1'475 rpm | 1'672 rpm |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 1'475 rpm | 2'253 rpm |
Values are in RPM, we took the lowest speed hit by the fan(s) in idle and the highest under load.
Noise Levels
| Idle | Load | |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 32.0 dBA | 32.0 dBA |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 32.1 dBA | 32.3 dBA |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 32.0 dBA | 32.4 dBA |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 32.1 dBA | 32.6 dBA |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 32.0 dBA | 32.7 dBA |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 32.1 dBA | 32.8 dBA |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 32.2 dBA | 33.2 dBA |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 33.0 dBA | 33.2 dBA |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 32.3 dBA | 33.0 dBA |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 33.0 dBA | 33.2 dBA |
| Scythe Ashura | 32.0 dBA | 33.4 dBA |
| Enermax Liqtech 240 | 33.2 dBA | 33.5 dBA |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 32.0 dBA | 33.6 dBA |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 33.3 dBA | 33.9 dBA |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 33.5 dBA | 34.2 dBA |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 33.7 dBA | 34.2 dBA |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 33.8 dBA | 34.2 dBA |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 33.3 dBA | 34.4 dBA |
| Intel Stock | 33.3 dBA | 34.4 dBA |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 33.2 dBA | 34.6 dBA |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 33.7 dBA | 34.6 dBA |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 34.8 dBA | 35.3 dBA |
| Deepcool MaelStrom120 | 34.9 dBA | 35.7 dBA |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 34.1 dBA | 37.6 dBA |
| Raijintek Pallas | 35.9 dBA | 41.4 dBA |
Decibel meter (Voltcraft SL-200) has been placed 1 meter away from the cooler. Measurements are conducted in a quiet room, where there are no other noise source. 32 dBA is the lowest we can get in our room. Also here the measurements are conducted at lowest and highest fan speeds in idle and under load respectively.
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| Page 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| Overall, the Deepcool MaelStrom 120 is a solid product with a good looking color scheme, which is perfectly suitable for ASUS ROG as well as all other black and black&red motherboards. It offers a really good cooling performance with a 120mm PWM fan. The cooler is small with a tiny pump/base, so it will fit even in small cases or SFF systems. The only thing we really didn't like is the pump noise. It's not loud but, since it's high frequent, you hear it well. |
- Cooling capacity
- Noise levels - Quality - PWM |
- High frequent pump noise | |
| Installation | + | - | |
| The installation is simple an pretty straightforward. With two included mounting kits, where one is for Intel and another for AMD sockets, it should be quite easy even for less technical users to mount the cooler properly in a heartbeat. The only - very minor - drawback that we could find is that it is unfortunately not compatible with LGA 775 socket. The thermal paste is pre-applied and although we would like to see it included in the box, this makes the installation even easier for an average user. |
- Easy and practical
- Compatible Intel and AMD |
- No compatible Intel LGA 775 | |
| Performance | + | - | |
| The Maelstrom Deepcool 120 offers good cooling performanace in almost any situation. With the fan driven at 7V and 12V we find the cooler in the top fourth of our charts. In PWM mode, the performance drops slightly but nevertheless remaining in the middle of the standings. | - Cooling performances | ||
| Noise Levels | + | - | |
| Our tests show that the fan included in the bundle is noisy at 7V and 12V, ranking at the bottom of our charts and reaching 38.2 dBA when running at 7V. Rotation speeds at 7 and 12V are 1'500 and 2'280 rpm. In PWM mode, the fan speeds are lower, causing the noise level to drop to a more reasonable 35 dBA under load conditions. Unfortunately the pump is not inaudible. There is a high frequent noise, that's well audible. | - Noise levels 7V - Noise levels 12V - High frequent pump noise | ||
| Recommendation / Price | + | - | |
| The suggested retail price of the Deepcool Maelstrom 120 is 74.99 USD. In our opinion, the price reflects the quality of the product and our results obtained. The build quality is on a good level as well as the bundle. We are always very specific in terms of noise and, in our opinion, is too high in some scenarios and especially the pump should be inaudible. Deepcools will start selling the Maelstrom 120 in August. | - Gaming PC | - Silent System | |
| Rating | |||
| We gave the MaelStrom 120 from Deepcool 4 out of 5 stars. | |||
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| Page 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |