The Enermax Liqtech 120X utilizes dual fans, a chunky 120 mm radiator design, and a proper metal mounting system to challenge competing all-in-one liquid coolers.
September 10, 2014 by Lawrence Lee
Product | Enermax Liqtech 120X AIO Liquid CPU Cooler |
Manufacturer | Enermax |
Street Price | US$90 |
The current popularity of enclosed all-in-one water cooling units reminds us a lot of the early consumer SSD rush. The market for solid-state drives started out rather slow with only a handful of players in the mix. Then SandForce unveiled their first generation controller and offered them to OEMs to build their own drives. The resulting boom had almost every flash memory company pushing out an SSD of their own. A similar thing happened in water cooling with Asetek licensing their technology to many of the big names in PC cooling. That’s the one of the reasons for the current proliferation and why so many liquid coolers look alike.
The latest closed-loop liquid cooler to hit our labs is the Enermax Liqtech
120X. Though primarily known as a power supply manufacturer, Enermax has dipped
their toes in a bit of everything and that includes fans and other cooling products.
The 120X has a single 120 mm heat exchanger but its thicker than average, measuring
43 mm across. Complementing the extra dissipation area are two 120 mm fans,
allowing users to setup a dual fan push-pull configuration right out of the
box. Furthermore, the fans have APS (Adjustable Peak Speed), a 3-speed switch
directly on the fan hub that changes the fan’s maximum speed only. The minimum
speed is always 600 RPM while the top speed can be toggled between 1300, 2000,
and 2500 RPM.
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The 120X uses the same packaging as virtually every other liquid cooler on the market. Inside the box, the cooler is curled up in a paper carton with the accessories and fans separated. Included in the package are two 120 mm fans, a dual-headed fan connector, AMD mounting arms (the Intel set is pre-installed), a backplate and the rest of the assembly kit, a tube of thermal compound, and a brief set of installation instructions.
As for the cooler itself, the basic design is nothing new — it works exactly
the same way as other AIO liquid coolers. However, it does use the less common
square waterblock design similar to the SilverStone
Tundra TD03. The boxy aluminum housing around the base isn’t as low-key
as the round plastic models but it’s much better built, opening up the possibility
of a mounting system that exerts more pressure.
Enermax Liqtech 120X: Specifications (from the product web page) | |
Model | ELCT-LT120X-HP |
Weight (w/o fan) | 955 g |
Bracket compatibility | Intel® LGA 775/1150/1155/1156/1366/2011, AMD® AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1/FM2/FM2+ |
Warranty | 2 years |
Pump | |
Cold plate material | Copper |
MTBF | 50,000 hours |
Bearing | Ceramic |
Speed | 2500 rpm |
Voltage | 12 V |
Rated current | 0.3 A |
Radiator | |
Dimension | 153 x 120 x 43 mm |
Material | Aluminum |
Tube | |
Length | 310 mm |
Material | Polyamide (PA) rubber |
Fan | |
Dimension | 120 x 120 x 25 mm |
Bearing | Twister |
MTBF | >= 160,000 hours |
Speed | 600 – 1300/2000/2500 rpm |
Rated voltage | 12 V |
Rated current | 0.13/0.27/0.45 A |
Air flow | 28.6 ~ 60.3/88.9/111.0 CFM 48.5 ~ 102.4/150.9/188.7 m3/h |
Static pressure | 0.8 ~ 1.7/4.7/7.4 mm-H2O |
Noise level | 15 ~ 21.5/27/30 dBA |
Connector | 4 pin PWM |
PHYSICAL DETAILS
The 120X is composed of a thin copper plate underneath a square aluminum structure housing the pump and reservoir inside, thick rubbing tubing, and a large heat exchanger with thin heatpipes and aluminum fins. Heat is pulled off the base and pumped away via coolant to the radiator fins and expelled via a pair of 120 mm fans while the fluid travels back to the base to the complete the cycle. According to our measurements, the base’s dimensions are 6.4 x 5.5 x 3.8 cm while the radiator measures 15 x 11.9 x 4.3 cm.
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INSTALLATION
The most critical aspect of installation is that the cooler
be securely mounted as a firm mating results in good contact between the
base and the CPU heatspreader, generating more efficient heat conduction. Ideally it
should also be a simple procedure with the user having to handle as few pieces
of hardware as possible. Compared to most liquid coolers, the 120X’s mounting system looks quite upscale and is easy to install.
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TESTING
Before thermal testing, we took some basic physical measurements of the radiator for comparison.
Large Heatsink Comparison: Average Fin Thickness & Spacing | ||
Heatsink | Fin Thickness | Fin Spacing |
SilverStone Heligon HE02 | 0.52 mm | 3.30 mm |
Thermalright HR-01 Plus | 0.45 mm | 3.15 mm |
Thermalright HR-02 Macho | 0.34 mm | 3.12 mm |
Thermalright HR-22 | 0.53 mm | 2.74 mm |
Scythe Ninja 3 | 0.39 mm | 2.64 mm |
Noctua NH-U12P | 0.44 mm | 2.63 mm |
Noctua NH-C12P | 0.47 mm | 2.54 mm |
LEPA LV12 | 0.51 mm | 2.38 mm |
Noctua NH-D14 | 0.43 mm | 2.33 mm |
Thermalright Archon SB-E | 0.49 mm | 2.33 mm |
GELID Tranquillo Rev.2 | 0.40 mm | 2.30 mm |
Phanteks PH-TC12DX | 0.39 mm | 2.30 mm |
GELID GX-7 Rev.2 | 0.31 mm | 2.25 mm |
Phanteks PH-TC14PE | 0.40 mm | 2.21 mm |
be quiet! Dark Rock 2 | 0.38 mm | 2.22 mm |
Prolimatech Armageddon | 0.51 mm | 2.08 mm |
Prolimatech Megahalems | 0.50 mm | 2.00 mm |
Zalman CNPS10X Quiet | 0.40 mm | 2.00 mm |
Scythe Ashura | 0.43 mm | 1.97 mm |
Scythe Kabuto & Zipang 2 | 0.34 mm | 1.94 mm |
NZXT Havik 140 | 0.41 mm | 1.91 mm |
Scythe Mugen-2 | 0.31 mm | 1.89 mm |
SilverStone Tundra TD03 (radiator) | 0.43 mm | 1.86 mm |
Swiftech Polaris 120 | 0.43 mm | 1.85 mm |
SilverStone Argon AR01 | 0.30 mm | 1.85 mm |
Thermalright Venomous X | 0.53 mm | 1.84 mm |
Scythe Mugen 4 | 0.30 mm | 1.82 mm |
Noctua NH-D15 | 0.46 mm | 1.79 mm |
Noctua NH-C14 | 0.38 mm | 1.79 mm |
Enermax ETS-T40 | 0.40 mm | 1.79 mm |
Scythe Yasya | 0.32 mm | 1.78 mm |
Enermax Liqtech 120X (radiator) | 0.46 mm | 1.76 mm |
be quiet! Shadow Rock Slim | 0.42 mm | 1.73 mm |
SilverStone Argon AR03 | 0.42 mm | 1.72 mm |
Noctua NH-U14S | 0.42 mm | 1.72 mm |
Cogage TRUE Spirit 1366 | 0.40 mm | 1.70 mm |
Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme Rev.2 | 0.30 mm | 1.70 mm |
Scythe Kotetsu | 0.35 mm | 1.66 mm |
Scythe Grand Kama Cross | 0.38 mm | 1.66 mm |
Reeven Kelveros | 0.47 mm | 1.61 mm |
Zalman CNPS9900 MAX | 0.16 mm | 1.59 mm |
Thermalright Silver Arrow | 0.32 mm | 1.57 mm |
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus | 0.43 mm | 1.54 mm |
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme Rev.C | 0.56 mm | 1.52 mm |
Zalman CNPS10X Extreme | 0.42 mm | 1.50 mm |
NZXT Kraken X31/X41 (radiator) | 0.15 mm | 1.07 mm |
Testing on larger heatsinks like this one is done on our
LGA1366 heatsink testing platform, while smaller coolers are tested
on our LGA1155
heatsink testing platform. A summary of the test system and procedure
follows.
Key Components in LGA1366 Heatsink Test Platform:
- Intel Core i7-965 Extreme
Nehalem core, LGA1366, 3.2GHz, 45nm, 130W TDP. - Asus
P6X58D Premium ATX motherboard. X58 chipset. - Asus
EAH3450 Silent graphics card. - Intel
X25-M 80GB 2.5″ solid-state drive. Chosen for silence. - 3GB QiMonda
DDR3 memory. 3 x 1GB DDR3-1066 in triple channel. - Seasonic X-650 SS-650KM
650W ATX power supply. This PSU is semi-passively cooled. At the power levels
of our test platform, its fan does not spin. - Arctic Silver
Lumière: Special fast-curing thermal interface material, designed
specifically for test labs. - Noctua 140 mm fan (used when possible with heatsinks that fit 140x25mm
fans) - Nexus 120 mm fan (used when possible with heatsinks that fit 120x25mm
fans) - Nexus 92 mm fan (used when possible with heatsinks that fit 92x25mm
fans)
Key Components in LGA1155 Heatsink Test Platform:
- Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge core, LGA1155, 3.1 GHz, 45nm, 95W TDP, overclocked/volted to 3.6 GHz and 1.300V.
- Intel DP67BG ATX motherboard.
P67 chipset. - Asus
EAH3450 Silent graphics card. - Kingston
SSDNow V 30GB 2.5″ solid-state drive. Chosen for silence. - OCZ Platinum Extreme Low Voltage DDR3 memory. 2 x 2 GB, DDR3-1333 in dual channel.
- Seasonic X-400 SS-400FL
400W ATX power supply. Passively cooled - Arctic Silver
Lumière: Special fast-curing thermal interface material, designed
specifically for test labs.
The systems are silent under the test conditions, except for the CPU cooling
fan(s).
Normally, our reference fans are used whenever possible, the measured details
of which are shown below.
Reference Noctua 140mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements | ||
Voltage | Speed | SPL@1m |
12V | 1250 RPM | 28~29 dBA |
9V | 990 RPM | 21 dBA |
8V | 880 RPM | 18 dBA |
7V | 770 RPM | 15~16 dBA |
6V | 660 RPM | 13 dBA |
Reference Nexus 120 mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements | ||
Voltage | Speed | SPL@1m |
12V | 1080 RPM | 16 dBA |
9V | 880 RPM | 13 dBA |
7V | 720 RPM | 12 dBA |
Reference Nexus 92 mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements | ||
Voltage | Speed | SPL@1m |
12V | 1470 RPM | 17 dBA |
9V | 1280 RPM | 14 dBA |
7V | 1010 RPM | 12 dBA |
Measurement and Analysis Tools
- Extech 380803 AC power analyzer / data logger for measuring AC system
power. - Custom-built, four-channel variable DC power supply, used to regulate
the fan speed during the test. - PC-based spectrum analyzer:
SpectraPlus with ACO Pacific mic and M-Audio digital
audio interfaces. - Anechoic chamber
with ambient level of 11 dBA or lower - Various other tools for testing fans, as documented in our
standard fan testing methodology. - SpeedFan,
used to monitor the on-chip thermal sensors. The sensors are not calibrated,
so results are not universally applicable. The hottest core reading is used. - Prime95,
used to stress the CPU heavily, generating more heat than most real applications.
All instances are used to ensure full stress. - CPU-Z,used to monitor the CPU speed to determine when overheating occurs.
- Thermometers to measure the air temperature around the test platform
and near the intake of the heatsink fan.
Noise measurements are made with the fans powered from the lab’s variable DC
power supply while the rest of the system is off to ensure that system noise
do not skew the measurements.
Load testing was accomplished using Prime95 to stress the processor, and the
graph function in SpeedFan was used to ensure that the load temperature is stable
for at least ten minutes. The temperature recorded is the highest single core
reading. The stock fans were tested at various voltages to represent a good
cross-section of airflow and noise performance.
The ambient conditions during testing were 10~11 dBA and 21~23°C.
STOCK FAN MEASUREMENTS
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Specifications: Enermax Liqtech 120X Stock Fan | |||
Manufacturer | Enermax | Power Rating | 1.56 / 3.24 / 5.4 W |
Model Number | ELC-LT120HP / ED122512S-PA | Airflow Rating | 28.6 ~ 60.3 / 88.9 / 111.0 CFM |
Bearing Type | Twister | Speed Rating | 600 ~ 1300 / 2000 / 2500 RPM |
Frame Size | 120 x 120 x 25 mm | Noise Rating | 15 ~ 21.5 / 27 / 30 dBA |
Hub Size | 47 mm | Header Type | 4-pin PWM |
Blade Diameter | 111 mm | Starting Voltage | < 4.0 V |
Cable Length | 50 cm | Weight | 150 g |
Corner Type | Open | Retail Availability | No |
Additional notes: |
The included stock fan isn’t available in retail but it appears to be a variant of Enermax’s TwisterPressure fan. It features the same design elements (save the translucent blades) and Smart APS (Adjustable Peak Speed) with three different peak speed settings, albeit with lower top speeds. The stock fan has a range of 600 ~ 2500 RPM while the TwisterPressure is capable of only 500 ~ 1800 RPM. The model is characterized by a large hub and blades with a sharp twist that presumably increases pressure, a key factor in liquid cooling systems.
Stock Fan Measurements (Single Fan, Medium Speed) | ||
Voltage | Speed | SPL@1m |
12V | 1810 RPM | 34~35 dBA |
9V | 1450 RPM | 29 dBA |
7V | 1180 RPM | 21~22 dBA |
6V | 1020 RPM | 18 dBA |
5V | 840 RPM | 15 dBA |
Pump Measurements | ||
12V | 2500 RPM | 14 dBA |
9V | 1900 RPM | 12~13 dBA |
Measuring mic positioned 1m at diagonal angle from the center of the heatsink. Ambient noise level: 10~11 dBA. |
Like the LEPA LV12, we opted to test the fan at the medium speed setting to a get broad variety of data points. Noise levels varied between a very quiet 15 dBA@1m at 5V and a horrendously loud 34~35 dBA@1m at 12V. By comparison, the pump was as quiet as a mouse, producing just 14 dBA@1m at full speed, making it the quietest pump we’ve had the pleasure of using. Undervolting the pump to 9V resulted in only a minor drop in SPL, but may be still be worthwhile depending on how it affects performance. Typically we see very little difference when the pump is slowed down.
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At full speed, the stock fan had an acoustic profile similar to that of a typical sleeve bearing fan with a high degree of turbulence and a breezy sound. The drop to 9V actually made it sound worse as it developed a whiny, scratchy character. 7V gave the fan a much smoother sound but there was some underlying buzzing/rattling produced by the motor. At 5V, the buzzing turned into a dry clicking sound though this was only audible at close range. Throughout much of its quiet range, tonal peaks were observed at about 400 and 1200 Hz.
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The stock fan at 5V and pump at full speed produced a similar noise level but the pump had better acoustics. It emitted an electric-like buzzing but the higher frequency was less annoying than the fan’s tones and it was quieter overall.
TEST RESULTS
The presence of a pump forces us to adjust our testing methodology somewhat. Tests were conducted by varying voltages for both the pump and fan. Some levels were not tested if the fan was obviously going to drown out the pump (or vice versa) by a big margin.
Test Results: Enermax Liqtech 120X | ||||
Pump Voltage | Fan Voltage | Thermal Rise | SPL@1m | |
Sample #1 | Sample #2 | |||
12V (14 dBA) | 12V | 40°C | 34~35 dBA | |
9V | 43°C | 29 dBA | ||
7V | 46°C | 45°C | 21~22 dBA | |
6V | 48°C | 47°C | 19 dBA | |
5V | 50°C | 48°C | 16~17 dBA | |
9V (12~13 dBA) | 5V | 51°C | 49°C | 16 dBA |
Reference 120 mm Fan (Nexus) | ||||
12V (14 dBA) | 12V | 46°C | 44°C | 20 dBA |
9V | 50°C | 48°C | 18 dBA | |
7V | 51°C | 50°C | 14~15 dBA | |
9V (12~13 dBA) | 12V | 46°C | 44°C | 20 dBA |
9V | 50°C | 48°C | 16 dBA | |
7V | 51°C | 50°C | 13 dBA | |
Best results for each sample/fan configuration in bold. Measuring mic positioned 1m at diagonal angle from the center of the heatsink. Ambient noise level: 10~11 dBA. |
Our first sample was characterized by poor performance, something we were expecting after inspecting the surface of the copper baseplate. Slowing down the pump resulted in a slight drop in cooling proficiency but it was accompanied by a minor noise reduction so the overall effectiveness was similar.
Switching to our reference fan generated similar results but in this case, undervolting the pump had absolutely no effect on performance, so the small acoustic improvement was essentially free.
Our second sample didn’t do much better, though at lower fan speeds, the CPU ran consistently cooler by 1~2°C.
Test Results: Enermax Liqtech 120X (Sample #2) | ||||
Fan Voltage | Single Fan | Dual Fans | ||
SPL@1m | Thermal Rise | SPL@1m | ||
12V | 34~35 dBA | 40°C | 38°C | 37 dBA |
9V | 29 dBA | 43°C | 40°C | 31 dBA |
7V | 21~22 dBA | 45°C | 42°C | 24 dBA |
6V | 19 dBA | 47°C | 44°C | 21 dBA |
5V | 16~17 dBA | 48°C | 45°C | 19 dBA |
Reference 120 mm Fan (Nexus) | ||||
12V | 20 dBA | 44°C | 41°C | 21~22 dBA |
9V | 16 dBA | 48°C | 45°C | 18 dBA |
7V | 14~15 dBA | 50°C | 47°C | 16 dBA |
Best results for each sample/fan configuration in bold. Measuring mic positioned 1m at diagonal angle from the center of the heatsink. Ambient noise level: 10~11 dBA. |
A modest improvement was noted when we added the second fan, giving it a superior overall performance:noise ratio. A 3°C bump is typical for a CPU cooler of any type when doubling up the fans.
HEATSINK COMPARISON TABLE
°C Rise Comparison: CPU Coolers with Single Stock Fan (Any Size) | ||||||||||
SPL (dBA@1m) | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 |
Scythe Kotetsu | 38 | 41 | 42 | |||||||
Thermalright Archon SB-E | 39 | 40 | 43 | |||||||
Thermalright HR-02 Macho | 39 | 40 | 41 | 43 | ||||||
Scythe Mugen 4 | 40 | 42 | 45 | |||||||
Noctua NH-U14S | 38 | 40 | 43 | |||||||
NZXT Kraken X41 | 38 | |||||||||
be quiet! Shadow Rock Slim | 40 | 41 | 42 | |||||||
Noctua NH-D15 | 39 | 41 | 44 | |||||||
Scythe Yasya | 40 | 43 | ||||||||
Cogage TRUE Spirit 1366 | 41 | 43 | 46 | |||||||
Zalman CNPS10X Quiet | 40 | 42 | 47 | |||||||
Scythe Ashura | 42 | 44 | ||||||||
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus | 41 | 44 | 54 | |||||||
Silverstone Argon AR03 | 43 | 48 | ||||||||
Scythe Ninja 3 | 44 | 46 | ||||||||
SilverStone Argon AR01 | 44 | 50 | ||||||||
Phanteks PH-TC12DX | 44 | 47 | ||||||||
Titan Fenrir | 45 | 47 | ||||||||
SilverStone Tundra TD03 | 44 | 46 | ||||||||
Antec Kühler H20 620 | 44 | 47 | ||||||||
LEPA LV12 | 45 | 48 | 52 | |||||||
Zalman CNPS9900 MAX | 45 | 47 | 49 | |||||||
Enermax Liqtech 120X (dual ref. fans) | 45 | 47 | ||||||||
NZXT Kraken X31 | 44 | 47 | ||||||||
Enermax Liqtech 120X (single ref. fan) | 44 | 48 | 50 | |||||||
Enermax Liqtech 120X (dual fans) | 45 | |||||||||
Enermax Liqtech 120X (single fan) | 47 | 48 | ||||||||
GELID Tranquillo Rev.2 | 48 | 49 | 50 | |||||||
be quiet! Dark Rock 2 | 48 | 52 | 55 | 61 | ||||||
GELID GX-7 Rev.2 | 51 | 56 | ||||||||
Core i7-980X Stock Cooler | 53 | 62 | ||||||||
Enermax ETS-T40 | 49 | 55 | 64 | |||||||
Core i7-920 Stock Cooler | 70+ | FAIL | ||||||||
SPL (dBA@1m) | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 |
Liquid coolers in yellow. |
Despite using the results from the superior second sample, compared to most of the larger CPU heatsinks we’ve tested previously, the Liqtech 120X falls flat, landing in the bottom third of our performance chart. Even amongst liquid coolers, the 120X came in last, slightly behind the NZXT Kraken X31. The improvement from the dual fan configurations wasn’t enough to really change the grand scheme of things either.
MP3 SOUND RECORDINGS
These recordings were made with a high
resolution, lab quality, digital recording system inside SPCR’s
own 11 dBA ambient anechoic chamber, then converted to LAME 128kbps
encoded MP3s. We’ve listened long and hard to ensure there is no audible degradation
from the original WAV files to these MP3s. They represent a quick snapshot of
what we heard during the review.
These recordings are intended to give you an idea of how the product sounds
in actual use — one meter is a reasonable typical distance between a computer
or computer component and your ear. The recording contains stretches of ambient
noise that you can use to judge the relative loudness of the subject. Be aware
that very quiet subjects may not be audible — if we couldn’t hear it from
one meter, chances are we couldn’t record it either!
The recording starts with 5 second segments of room ambiance, then the fan
at various levels. For the most realistic results, set the volume so that
the starting ambient level is just barely audible, then don’t change the volume
setting again.
- Enermax Liqtech 120X stock fan only at 1m
— 5V (15 dBA@1m)
— 6V (18 dBA@1m)
— 7V (21~22 dBA@1m)
— 9V (29 dBA@1m)
— 12V (34~35 dBA@1m)
- Enermax Liqtech 120X pump only at 1m
— 12V (14 dBA@1m)
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Enermax Liqtech 120X is better built than most competing AIO liquid coolers
that are based on the round shape waterblock. These typically have plastic construction
both in the base and in the mounting system itself. By comparison, the 120X
is as solid as it gets, with its aluminum waterblock housing and a robust installation
scheme that involves a metal backplate, thick mounting arms, and bolts on both
sides. It impressed us as with with the similarly constructed SilverStone
Tundra TD03. Unfortunately, the nice mounting system could not overcome
a fundamental flaw: A concave shaped base.
Closed-loop water coolers have generally failed to deliver for us, and the
120X is no different. Aside from the NZXT
Kraken X41, all-in-one coolers have never produced great results for
noise/cooling on our testbeds. The extra noise produced by the pump is often
a contributing factor, but in this case, it was a complete non-issue. The 120X’s
pump is surprisingly quiet thanks to its modest 2500 RPM speed. With three different
peak speeds to choose from, the fan noise isn’t a problem either, though it
could definitely benefit from an upgrade in the acoustics department.
It’s the raw performance, or rather the lack thereof, that is ultimately the
120X’s downfall. As a water cooling unit, it was already at a disadvantage,
but the concave base profile dragged it down further. Both the initial and follow-up
samples had bases that did not make good contact with the center of the CPU
heatspreader. This aspect is vital in cooling, and the rest of the cooler, no
matter how large or how well designed, can’t make up for problems here. The
result is below average proficiency, making its US$90 price-tag prohibitively
high.
Our thanks to Enermax
for the Liqtech 120X AIO liquid CPU cooler sample.
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SPCR Articles of Related Interest:
Sub-$20 CPU Coolers: A Reader’s Roundup
LEPA LV12 Direct-Touch Heatsink
NZXT Kraken X31 & X41 Liquid CPU Coolers
Noctua NH-D15: Update to an Icon
Scythe Kotetsu CPU Cooler: A Compact King
be quiet! Shadow Rock Slim CPU Cooler
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