Enermax, famous for its quality PSU and recently, PC cases and Fans and Aicoolers, have been also making quite a push in the All-in-One water cooling market and some of its Aircoolings have been quite impressive. Today, we are looking at the latest Enermax Liqtech series AIO water cooler which stands out with its impressive manufacturing quality. We will certainly try to find out if it has what it takes to compete in the quite crowded AIO water cooling market.
Today we have a pleasure to check out Enermax's Liqtech 120X compact liquid
cooling system, which, according to Enermax, should be compatible even with
smaller cases and tighter spaces thanks to its 153mm tall and 43mm thick 120mm
radiator. The special 120mm radiator on the Liqtech 120X is slightly higher than
normal 120mm radiator, which should guaranty
a better
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 this cooler 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
two 120mm PWM fans
and on the back of
each fan
you will find a really nice feature
, a little switch that lets
you choose
the maximum rotation speeds of the rotor. The settings you can choose
from are:
Silent mode 600 to 1300 rpm, Performance mode 600 to 2000 rpm or Overclock mode 600 to 2500 rpm. Mounting system
supports most, if not all, recent Intel and AMD socket CPUs.
The Liqtech 120X is actually Enermax's new liquid cooler design
which is not based on Asetek design, The Liqtech 120X
is designed and manufactured by AVC
, just like
the previous ELC series.
As you can see from the picture as well as we could see from our first look,
the manufacturing quality of the Liqtech 120X is really impressive.
Enermax decided to go for high quality materials, making the Liqtech 120X
look and feel much better than
their former ELC series. It packs a 120 x 43mm radiator made from aluminium, features a copper coldplate
as well as
high-quality ceramic bearing pump which should be inaudible. To be precise
the dimensions
of the Liqtech 120X
are 120mm x 153mm x 43mm (WxHxD). Although the
radiator design is completly different, the aforementioned
dimensions are used in order for it to have the best peroformance
for overclockers and when the CPU under load
.
Enermax
has also decided to use the new, and quite good looking, design for the
pump/base part. The fans also come with a new design that works quite well with
the rest of the
Liqtech 120X
AIO cooler. Enermax decided to pair the Liqtech 120X with two
120x25mm LT120HP fans, which are definitely high-quality looking
fans
.
Specifications |
|
Model |
Liqtech 120X |
|
Type |
AIO WaterCooler |
|
Provided Fan(s) |
2 x 120x25mm PWM |
|
Supported Fan(s) |
2 x 120mm |
|
Base Material |
Copper
|
| Radiator
Material |
Aluminium |
|
Tube |
Polyamide (PA) rubber tube |
|
Socket Support |
Intel LGA 775, 1150, 1155, 1156, LGA 1366,
2011
AMD AM2(+), AM3(+), FM1,
FM2, FM2+
|
|
Thermal compound |
Enermax (Tube) |
|
Product Page |
Enermax Liqtech 120X |
The packaging is quite standard for an all-in-one water cooling setup as you
get the AIO unit, two fans, manual and the mounting kit. Enermax bundles
the Liqtech 120X 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. Enermax also threw in a Y-split fan cable and
some Dow Corning TC-5121thermal paste
in a small tube
, making the
installation quite a breeze even for an average computer user.
Enermax has a two year warranty backing the Liqtech 120X AIO water cooler.
[pagebreak]
Photo Gallery
[pagebreak]
Installation
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 very good and since the base/pump is a low profile design
there should not be any clearance issues as even tubing can be moved in any
direction without worry of
blockage or
leaking.
Test Setup |
|
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 |
Enermax Tube |
[pagebreak]
Absolute Performance
Temperatures
| 7V |
Idle |
Load |
| Enermax Liqtech
120X |
32 °C |
50 °C |
| Corsair H75 Single
Fan |
32 °C |
51 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S
Dual Fan |
33 °C |
53 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan |
34 °C |
54 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40
White Cluster |
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 |
| Scythe Ashura |
36 °C |
58 °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 |
| Thermolab LP53 |
38 °C |
69 °C |
| Scythe IORI
Scior-1000 |
39 °C |
65 °C |
| Thermolab ITX30 |
38 °C |
75 °C |
| Intel Stock |
39 °C |
83 °C |
To measure 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 package after one pass of wPrime v2.10. The
wPrime test takes 4 minutes and puts load on all 8 threads.
Room temperature is 25°C.
| 12V |
Idle |
Load |
| Enermax Liqtech
120X |
31 °C |
44 °C |
| Corsair H75 Single
Fan |
32 °C |
51 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S
Dual Fan |
33 °C |
51 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S
Single Fan |
33 °C |
53 °C |
| Raijintek Themis
EVO |
33 °C |
54 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan |
33 °C |
54 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40
White Cluster |
34 °C |
54 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan |
34 °C |
55 °C |
| Prolimatech Lynx |
34 °C |
55 °C |
| Scythe Ashura |
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 LP53 |
37 °C |
65 °C |
| Thermolab ITX30 |
36 °C |
69 °C |
| Intel Stock |
35 °C |
70 °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 |
| Scythe Ashura |
600 rpm |
1'440 rpm |
| Raijintek Pallas |
960 rpm |
1'440 rpm |
| Noctua NH-U12S
Dual Fan |
900 rpm |
1'500 rpm |
| Noctua NH-U12S
Single Fan |
900 rpm |
1'500 rpm |
| Raijintek Themis
EVO |
960 rpm |
1'500 rpm |
| Alpenföhn
Matterhorn Pure |
660 rpm |
1'530 rpm |
| Prolimatech Lynx |
600 rpm |
1'740 rpm |
| Enermax ETS-T40
White Cluster |
1'260 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 LP53 |
300 rpm |
2'180 rpm |
| Scythe IORI
Scior-1000 |
280 rpm |
2'220 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 |
| Noctua NH-U12S
Single Fan |
32.3 dBA |
37.4 dBA |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan |
34.6 dBA |
38.0 dBA |
| Alpenföhn
Matterhorn Pure |
32.3 dBA |
38.4 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 LP53 |
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
White Cluster |
33.3 dBA |
40.7 dBA |
| Scythe Ashura |
32.0
dBA |
41.0 dBA |
| Corsair H75 Single
Fan |
34.5 dBA |
41.7 dBA |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan |
36.1 dBA |
43.6 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.
[pagebreak]
PWM Performance
Temperatures
| |
Idle |
Load |
| Raijintek Nemesis
Dual Fan |
33 °C |
54 °C |
| Enermax Liqtech
120X |
34 °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 |
| Raijintek Themis
EVO |
35 °C |
56 °C |
| Prolimatech Lynx |
34 °C |
57 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40
White Cluster |
35 °C |
57 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S
Single Fan |
36 °C |
57 °C |
| Scythe Ashura |
36 °C |
58 °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 LP53 |
39 °C |
67 °C |
| Thermolab ITX30 |
39 °C |
70 °C |
| Intel Stock |
39 °C |
75 °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 package after 10
minutes idle. The load temperature is the highest temperature hit by the
processor package 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 |
| Scythe IORI
Scior-1000 |
424 rpm |
880 rpm |
| Corsair H75 Single
Fan |
800 rpm |
969 rpm |
| Enermax Liqtech
120X |
580 rpm |
970 rpm |
| Raijintek Themis
EVO |
990 rpm |
1'115 rpm |
| Prolimatech Lynx |
765 rpm |
1'077 rpm |
| Enermax ETS-T40
White Cluster |
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 |
| 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 LP53 |
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-U12S
Dual Fan |
32.0 dBA |
32.4 dBA |
| Alpenföhn
Matterhorn Pure |
32.0 dBA |
32.7 dBA |
| Enermax Liqtech
120X |
32.1 dBA |
32.8 dBA |
| Corsair H75Single
Fan |
32.2 dBA |
33.2 dBA |
| Enermax ETS-T40
White Cluster |
33.0 dBA |
33.2 dBA |
| Scythe Ashura |
32.0
dBA |
33.4 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 |
| Thermolab Bada
2010 |
33.8 dBA |
34.2 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 |
| Thermolab LP53 |
34.0 dBA |
36.8 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.
[pagebreak]
Conclusion
|
General |
|
+ |
- |
| Overall, the Enermax Liqtech 120X Series is a very
good product with exceptional quality and we
especially liked the manufacturing quality. It offers a really good cooling capacity
while maintaining silent operation and good
performance. |
|
- Cooling capacity
- Noise levels
- Quality
- PWM |
|
| |
|
Installation |
|
+ |
- |
| The installation could not be more simpler, as it
is very easy, practical and pretty straightforward. With two included
Intel and AMD mounting systems and single backplate
for both, it should be quite easy even for
less technical users as every step is explained in the manual in
the clearest possible way. The thermal paste comes in a small tube
containing Dow Corning TC-5121
and is actually what Enermax is using lately
with their water and
air coolers. |
|
- Easy and practical
- Compatible Intel and AMD |
|
| |
|
Performance |
|
+ |
- |
| The Enermax Liqtech 120X series has a very good
cooling performance in every scenario, including 7V and 12V as well as
the PWM mode. We tested the Liqtech 120X in push and pull configuration since
Enermax already provided two fans with the Liqtech 120X. The
performance did not change a lot between the two or single fan configurations
and while the Pull&Push is definitely a bit louder, we set the fans in
both Silent 600 to 1300 rpm and
Performance 600 - 2000 rpm
modes and the best result is the drop of
CPU temprature by a single degree. |
|
- Cooling performances |
|
| |
| Noise Levels |
|
+ |
- |
| The pump on the Enermax Liqtech 120X is noisy
compared to other products.
Using a single fan and 7V
setting the Liqtech 120X
is not noisy at all. At the
12V setting we measured 40.6 dBA at 2'050 rpm
which is a
little noisy for our taste,
and test settings of
the fan silent mode showed us 32.0
dBA while performance and overclocked mode measured 40.4 and 40.9 dBA. The noise does not climb any higher when CPU is
under heavy load in PWM mode, which is always a good
thing in our book. |
|
- Noiseless pump
- Noise levels 7V
|
-
Noisy Dual Fan and 12V
|
| |
| Recommendation /
Price |
|
+ |
- |
| With all this in mind, we simply have no
choice but to recommend the Enermax Liqtech 120X series AIO water cooler,
and we certainly do it with a great pleasure. With price of 76 Euros, it
is a bit more expensive than the competition but considering great
performance which is almost noiseless even under load as well as the
exceptional manufacturing quality and two fans, the price does not seem
too steep and it is definitely justified. |
|
- Price
|
|
| |
Rating |
| We gave the Liqtech 120X from Enermax 4.5 out of 5 stars. |
| |
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