[SOLVED] DeepCool Castle 280 RGB vs DeepCool Assassin III

Maikurosofuto

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I'm still looking for a nice, not pricey, cooling solution and just found a DeepCool Castle 280 RGB and a DeepCool Assassin III for the exact same price, i'm not into water stuff but if there's a considerable difference between these two i can make an exception. So, which one should i buy?

My complete specs: Sapphire RX 5700 XT Pulse | Intel Core i7-10700K | Asus TUF Gaming Z490-Plus | Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition (Dual Fan, Push/Pull) | 16GB (2x8) T-Force Delta RGB DDR4 2666MHZ CL15 | Crucial MX500 1000GB + SanDisk Plus 120GB | Corsair CX750 80+ Bronze | NZXT Noctis 450 ROG Black
 
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2 different criteria. Capacity vs efficiency. The Assassin III is supposedly a 280w cooler, which handles the 250w 5.1GHz OC on a 10700k as far as capacity goes. Barely. The Castle is a 300w+ AIO, which has greater capacity, better surface to air ratios etc.

Efficiency is a different story. Because of the capacity of the Castle, it puts you lower down the fan curve, at similar noise/rpm levels it'll have slightly lower temps compared to the same fans on the Assassin. The difference being spikes. Aircooling responds much faster to spikes, so you'll get rampups when temps shift. With liquids being far slower, that doesn't happen as much, if at all, when set to monitor coolant temps vrs cpu temps.

There's also fitment. The Assassin III...

Lutfij

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I'd go with the AIO, provided the case you have can accept the unit. FYI, if your specs are that which is list in your sig space, please find it in your heart to post your specs in your thread's body since any suggestions or solutions given in this thread will be moot once you change the sig space(which will happen in due time) and the user in the same boat as you will be...well, lost.
 

Maikurosofuto

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I'd go with the AIO, provided the case you have can accept the unit. FYI, if your specs are that which is list in your sig space, please find it in your heart to post your specs in your thread's body since any suggestions or solutions given in this thread will be moot once you change the sig space(which will happen in due time) and the user in the same boat as you will be...well, lost.
Is this model in particular reliable? I mean, acceptable rate of failures/leaks. Also, it really outperfoms the Assassin III that much?
 
Is this model in particular reliable? I mean, acceptable rate of failures/leaks.

The only way to know this for sure is by knowing how many of those have been sold till this day and how many of them have been RMA due to leaks or pump issues. All you can do is search the web for "Castle 280 problems issues" or similar.
Is a known fact that AIO have more points of failures than an air cooler. In fact as long as the mounting system remains compatible the only thing to care about with air cooler is the fan, that can be replaced easily.
But i do agree with
Lutfij, for your particular high end CPU I would probably pick the Castle 280 too.


Also, it really outperfoms the Assassin III that much?

This will depend much on how good the installation is performed, the case, the airflow inside the case and your ambient temperature.
 
I also think the AIO will be the better option. As to failure rates, no doubt this does happen but AIO's have become far more reliable over the years and me personally, I have been using AIO's from the start without issues and currently have a 360mm AIO cooling my 10700K which does an excellent job keeping my overclock cool.

The Deepcool series are not bad at all and the 280mm version will do a decent job.

If you plan on overclocking the 10700K, which you should, then the AIO makes even more sense.
 

Phaaze88

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I actually think neither is better. Those coolers are practically in the same performance tier.
The 280mm should give you lower idle thermals - like that even matters - and that's about it.
Oh, and depending on your ears, the pump at 100% may be audible to YOU, over the rest of your chassis fans.

The top end air coolers match or beat 280mm AIOs/CLCs. If there's a range of noise and performance air can't touch yet, it's the 360s and up.
 

Maikurosofuto

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I actually think neither is better. Those coolers are practically in the same performance tier.
The 280mm should give you lower idle thermals - like that even matters - and that's about it.
Oh, and depending on your ears, the pump at 100% may be audible to YOU, over the rest of your chassis fans.
I usually don't mind a bit of noise, also i use a Cloud Alpha headset which makes little noises almost inaudible. My major concern is about leaks, i never have experienced one but just knowing about the possibility in ocurring makes me uncomfortable. I'm just expecting someone to ensure me that's a very very very rare thing to happen, if that's not the case ill just stick with the beefy giant metal brick air cooler. I had a ML120L RGB before, i find it pretty silent even at 100%.
 

Phaaze88

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I'm just expecting someone to ensure me that's a very very very rare thing to happen, if that's not the case ill just stick with the beefy giant metal brick air cooler.
I only recently got my feet wet - 360mm AIO on the gpu via Kraken G12. Just a month in use, and things appear to be fine.


Just assuming my case airflow is almost perfect and my ambient temp. around 30°C, which one should perform better?
Same answer as above: they're going to be about the same.
 

Karadjgne

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2 different criteria. Capacity vs efficiency. The Assassin III is supposedly a 280w cooler, which handles the 250w 5.1GHz OC on a 10700k as far as capacity goes. Barely. The Castle is a 300w+ AIO, which has greater capacity, better surface to air ratios etc.

Efficiency is a different story. Because of the capacity of the Castle, it puts you lower down the fan curve, at similar noise/rpm levels it'll have slightly lower temps compared to the same fans on the Assassin. The difference being spikes. Aircooling responds much faster to spikes, so you'll get rampups when temps shift. With liquids being far slower, that doesn't happen as much, if at all, when set to monitor coolant temps vrs cpu temps.

There's also fitment. The Assassin III is a monster aircooler, requires adequate case size to fit it, requires low height ram to fit under the heatsink/fan at front. A 280mm AIO fitment is easy and readily available in many standard cases.

It's a 10700k. Throw out the budget concerns, price of coolers is irrelevant. Get what you need to do the job it needs to do. A Noctua NH-D15S is both smaller, better acoustics, better fitment, and outperforms the Assassin III on every level. It's just ugly imho. Can add a second fan in front to get the same, if not better results than a NH-D15, and still get the S offset benefits.

A nzxt Kraken X61/x62 is just as quiet as the Noctua air coolers, and has no fitment restrictions other than a 280mm mount, so even the tallest rgb ram and all the bling you can get is not an interference issue.

The Assassin and Castle each have their own bonuses and drawbacks, price aside, it's upto you which you can live with, deal with, accept.
 
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Maikurosofuto

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2 different criteria. Capacity vs efficiency. The Assassin III is supposedly a 280w cooler, which handles the 250w 5.1GHz OC on a 10700k as far as capacity goes. Barely. The Castle is a 300w+ AIO, which has greater capacity, better surface to air ratios etc.

Efficiency is a different story. Because of the capacity of the Castle, it puts you lower down the fan curve, at similar noise/rpm levels it'll have slightly lower temps compared to the same fans on the Assassin. The difference being spikes. Aircooling responds much faster to spikes, so you'll get rampups when temps shift. With liquids being far slower, that doesn't happen as much, if at all, when set to monitor coolant temps vrs cpu temps.

There's also fitment. The Assassin III is a monster aircooler, requires adequate case size to fit it, requires low height ram to fit under the heatsink/fan at front. A 280mm AIO fitment is easy and readily available in many standard cases.

It's a 10700k. Throw out the budget concerns, price of coolers is irrelevant. Get what you need to do the job it needs to do. A Noctua NH-D15S is both smaller, better acoustics, better fitment, and outperforms the Assassin III on every level. It's just ugly imho. Can add a second fan in front to get the same, if not better results than a NH-D15, and still get the S offset benefits.

A nzxt Kraken X61/x62 is just as quiet as the Noctua air coolers, and has no fitment restrictions other than a 280mm mount, so even the tallest rgb ram and all the bling you can get is not an interference issue.

The Assassin and Castle each have their own bonuses and drawbacks, price aside, it's upto you which you can live with, deal with, accept.
I'm really starting to consider the AIO more now, i didn't find any major issue report about this model and all benchmarks points to be +- on pair with NZXT x62 which is a tiny bit better than Assassin III. And you said this is a 300W+ cooler solution, with should be better for me who lives in an equatorial hot af country (Right now the temp is 31 <Mod Edit> degrees celsius, at 4:10PM).

Too bad the RAM height is on the "high" size, cause OP could also fit a NH-D15 Chromax Black inside the case, which will work flawlessly and look awesome through the glass side panel :) .
The D15 Chromax would be my "must have" option if Noctua's products were not twice the price and with few options available in my country. (In a direct convertion, Assassin III: U$ 123.73, while D15 CB: U$213.22)
 
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Phaaze88

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Too bad the RAM height is on the "high" size, cause OP could also fit a NH-D15 Chromax Black inside the case, which will work flawlessly and look awesome through the glass side panel :) .
T-Force Delta RGB : 49mm tall
Naked ram: 30
Noctis 450: up to 180mm tall
NH-D15: 165mm
165 + 19 = 184mm

Well, just move the front fan behind the 2nd tower, assuming the I/O shield isn't too bulky - really can't tell with some of those things.
Same deal with the Assassin 3.

(In a direct convertion, Assassin III: U$ 123.73, while D15 CB: U$213.22)
Holy bananas, Batman!
Noctua is good, but they're not THAT darn good.

How about Thermalright's Le Grand Macho RT? Is that an option for you?
 

Maikurosofuto

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Holy bananas, Batman!
Noctua is good, but they're not THAT darn good.

How about Thermalright's Le Grand Macho RT? Is that an option for you?
Sadly no, the brand doesn't even exist here...

T-Force Delta RGB : 49mm tall
Naked ram: 30
Noctis 450: up to 180mm tall
NH-D15: 165mm
165 + 19 = 184mm
Well, i read a review which says the Noctis is actually up to a maximum of 190mm, i dunno if thats right. Here: https://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/nzxt_noctis_450_review,7.html
 
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Maikurosofuto

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I really liked the Assassin III and would recommend it.

That, and I haven't really been that impressed with DeepCool's AIO lineup. They're OK, but they're not groundbreaking.

Interesting that we're only looking at 2 perspectives and only from DeepCool.
I'm the kind of beefy Aircooler guy, but when comes down to a 1:1 price ratio and similar performance for a 14nm++++++++ CPU, i just don't know what's the better option.
 

rubix_1011

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I'm the kind of beefy Aircooler guy, but when comes down to a 1:1 price ratio and similar performance for a 14nm++++++++ CPU, i just don't know what's the better option.

You mean, between the Castle 280 and the Assassin III?

This all depends on how you define 'better' and what criteria drives that decision. The Castle 280 costs a lot more than the Assassin III and in looking at the review coverage I did for both, the Castle 280 really only performs 1-2C better than the Assassin III.

The question you need to decide on is whether the the 40% to 50% price premium is worth 1-2C.
 

Karadjgne

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Easy enough to figure out. Measure a stick 180mm and run some painters tape across the opening holding the 180mm stick upright on top of the cpu. Then put the cover on. You'll be able to see the stick through the panel and determine exactly if it's 180mm or not. Most case designs are taken from full sheet side panels, which usually fit interior, so allowances need to be made if the window is acrylic (fits interior by a few mm), straight panel, sound batting or TG which often fits exterior. Few case measurements for cpu cooler height are exact, for every model of the panel. It's more of a 1 model size used for all sides.
 
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Karadjgne

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@rubix_1011
I'm still looking for a nice, not pricey, cooling solution and just found a DeepCool Castle 280 RGB and a DeepCool Assassin III for the exact same price
Same price, realistically the same performance, so it's a matter of looks vs fit vs quality, now. In his neck of the woods (desert would be a more apt description), aios have the better benefits, but the Castle isn't exactly a shining example, the Assassin a 'better built' cooler in comparison.
 
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Maikurosofuto

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You mean, between the Castle 280 and the Assassin III?

This all depends on how you define 'better' and what criteria drives that decision. The Castle 280 costs a lot more than the Assassin III and in looking at the review coverage I did for both, the Castle 280 really only performs 1-2C better than the Assassin III.

The question you need to decide on is whether the the 40% to 50% price premium is worth 1-2C.
Weirdly, the Castle and the Assassin is at the exact same price here. As i said, i'll be paying the same price for both, i think i'll just pick the Castle then, this may be a before the human malware price in stock, probably the next stock refill will skyrocket the price. Assassin III price: $123.73, Castle: $121.74.