1. I just don't get the "from our three best compact air coolers" part. At $80, tne article would have been nmore valuable to the reader if it was compared with other air cooler in it's price range like the the NH-D15 ? Comparing with only cheaper offerings (Brontes $35, other two in low to mid $50s) seems almost designed specifically to show the 120X in a favorable light. Even if it sells at a lower price, seems the Phanteks, Thermalright, H7 and some Scythe coolers would have been more valuable to the reader.
Granted this is a bit less than apples and apples comparison as the fan speeds differ but here we see ...
http://www.eteknix.com/deepcool-captain-120ex-white-edition-cpu-cooler-review/4/
Delta T w/ system overclocked and inder load:
Noctua NH-D15 = 34C (42 dbA)
Deepcool Captain 240X= 35C (43 dBA)
Deepcool Captain 120X = 47C (43 dbA)
Cryorig H7 = 44C (42 dbA)
The "same price" air cooler beats the 120EX by an enormous 13C and does it quieter. Doubling the radiator and fans, it still can't catch the Noc in thermal or noise performance despite being $20 more. Even the $35 H7, at only 44% of the price tops the 120X in both thermals and noise. Now if ya triple the fans and use the 360 Gamer Storm Captain, it ties the Noc in thermal performance.
The "Gamer Storm" Captain is slightly different from the plain Captain in that the "Storm" apparently refers to the air stream created by the higher rpm fans which jumps from 1800 rpm to 2200 rpm and therefore twice as loud.
Techpowerup tested the 360mm version Of the Gamer Storm and with 3x the radiator, it tied the Noctua both hitting 83C max in the FPU test noting:
"Using Aida 64 to put a high load on the CPU's FPU for as much heat as possible, the Captain 360 again performs poorly. At stock, it is rivaled by 120 mm AIOs and beaten by many high-end air coolers. "
In short ... I like the article, found the aesthetics interesting tho too "blingy" for my tastes. But if this is truly going to sell at $80, it should be compared with other $80 coolers. If it eventually sells for less, than the $55 - $80 range having the better options available in that price range would have been more useful and relevant.
2. "As expected the Captain 120EX outperforms all of the other coolers in our comparison set by a decent margin at both high and low fan speeds. Besides the use of liquid as the cooling medium, we also attribute the Captain 120EX’s success partly to the fact that the it jettisons its hot air out of the case, unlike the other coolers that dump their hot air back into the case to be recirculated. "
Using our test bench (5 x 140mm of rad, push and push / pull capability, 6 thermal sensors, infrared thermometer, and fog machine for air flow tracking, we have not found this to 'hold up" in practice. Ever notice that every custom loop guide and most CLC manufacturers (i.e. Corsair) state that "for best cooling performance, we recommend that the fans be installed as intakes". But what do they know, they only make the things.
http://www.corsair.com/~/media/corsair/download-files/manuals/49-000175_rev_ab_h100i_qsg_web.pdf
Cooling performance is proportional to delta T ... example:
Ambient Air = 23C
Interior Case Air = 28C
Coolant Temperature = 33C
Using exterior cool ambient air therefore has twice the cooling effectiveness
on the CPU than using interior case air.
When peeps buy this cooler, what component are they concerned about lowering the temperature of ? Is it the SSD or HD ? Is it the MoBo ? What component inside the case will have its performance reduced because of this rad exhaust air being 3-5C above ambient ? ... assuming it every actually passes over those components. None. You buy the CPU cooler to cool the CPU.... using preheated case air instead of cooler ambient air reduces the effectiveness of this effort.
The other factor not considered is that one of the biggest cooling features of your case is the rear grille. The typical case comes with 2 front fans and 1 rear fan. The two front fans can lose as much as a third of their air flow to inlet air filter resistance. ... more if left to get really dirty. So now we have 2 fans on the front blowing air in, reduced to 2/3 of their effectiveness (1.33 fans) and 2 fans blowing out.
Now with more air blowing out than in, you are sucking in PSU (10-15% of PSU electrical consumption wasted as heat) and GFX card exhaust, which exited thru the rear of the case, right back into the case thru the vented slot covers and rear grille. So why are we worried about the waste heat from the cooler being tossed around the case, but no concern exists about the heat from 1 or more 250 watt GFX cards and PSU exhaust being sucked back in and bringing all that dust along with it ?
Finally, if we look at the air path... with CLC fan blowing out (either thru top or rear) we have intake air drawn up to the top rear corner of the case ... and we have all the GFX card heat and recycled hot exhaust from PSU / GFX card all passing over the MoBo / CPU and preheating the air going up thru the radiator and exhaust fan, either of which is located on top and rear of case.
When used as intakes.... locating the rad on top, all air from 3 fans is forced out the rear grille with positive case pressure and no exhaust (and dust) being sucked back into the case. GFX card exhaust (generated externally) stays outta the case, that which escapes the shroud and radiated inside the case is drawn upward and out of the case. Intake air from the rad is blown past the upper MoBo CPU area but how is this any worse the GFX card heat which will dot he same ?
Of course the effectiveness of these techniques depends on having a case design matched to your installation and whether, at least with 120mm rad, its located on rear or top of case. No doubt you could create a scenario where there is an advantage here for the exhaust option ... however we gotta go back to this:
"we also attribute the Captain 120EX’s success partly to the fact that the it jettisons its hot air out of the case, unlike the other coolers that dump their hot air back into the case to be recirculated"
a) The Noc and H7 "dump their hot air back into the case" and yet the clearly beat the 120EX ... we therefore a) can't credit a "success" because it loses to both those coolers and
b) On the cooler which exhausted the air, the CPU was hotter.
When The Gamer Storm Captain EX 360 with 360mm of rad and fans, can't beat an air cooler's thermal performance ... and is twice as loud even in the 120mm version ... I can't see making a case for the 120mm, 240mm or versions.
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